Nationwide — Janiya Baker, a 15-year-old student from Homestead, Florida, has accelerated from the 9th grade straight to the 12th grade within a single year. She has made history as the first to ever achieve this in Miami-Dade County.
Janiya, who is studying at Homestead High School, currently holds the highest GPA in her class. But she didn’t just excel in her studies. She also actively participated in extracurricular activities and shone as a student-athlete.
Her passion was evident even back in elementary school when her mother noticed her accelerated pace of learning.
“I noticed she was very accelerated, and I’m like, ‘OK, she don’t make B’s,’ so then I’m like, let’s put her in higher classes, and then she started accelerating, accelerating and she went higher and she never dropped the ball so I was, ‘OK, let’s go for it,'” Janiya’s mother said.
Yet, Janiya’s journey was no easy feat. She acknowledged the immense effort she had to put in. She juggled her studies with extracurricular commitments such as being a class president and varsity cheerleader, among others.
Meanwhile, her impressive accomplishments are making her parents and principal beam with pride.
“Moving from 9th grade to 12th, that shows grit, perseverance,” her principal said. “It shows a young lady with tenacity and the vision to accomplish her future goals, sooner rather than later.”
“Me and her dad Travis, we raised her to be the intelligent young woman that she is, and we’re proud of her,” Baker’s mother said.
Janiya’s achievement also earned her a special recognition at Homestead City Hall.
Looking ahead, Janiya is set to attend Florida International University, where she plans to pursue a business major and join the cheer squad.
