Miami teen jumps from 9th grade to 12th grade, gets national honor

A Florida teen established a standard in the classroom that earned her hometown's respect. Homestead High School student Janiya Baker is the first person in the history of the Miami-Dade County Public School district to advance from ninth to twelfth grades. Locally, she will be honored at Homestead City Hall.

The 15-year-old told WSVN 7 News Miami, "I was ready to graduate school. I had to put in a lot of effort.

The source claims that Baker accomplished the record achievement while taking part in extracurricular activities as the class president and varsity cheerleader. Additionally, she has her classmates' greatest grade point average.

"I noticed she was moving along quickly and thought, 'OK, she doesn't make Bs.'" When she started accelerating and moving up in classes while maintaining a perfect attendance record, I thought, "OK, let's go for it,'" said Baker's mother. "Then I was thinking, let's put her in higher classes. She was nurtured by her father Travis and me, and we are proud of the intellectual young woman she has become.

"Moving from 9th grade to 12th, that shows grit, perseverance," the school's principal continued. "It shows a young lady with the tenacity and vision to accomplish her future goals, sooner rather than later."

Baker revealed plans to attend Florida International University where she intends to major in business as she continues her academic career. Additionally, she wants to continue cheerleading at the collegiate level.

Baker gave advice to other aspirant star students: "Never give up and keep going even if it gets hard and just have a great support system around you."