15-Year-Old Florida HS Student Skips Three Grade Levels, Makes History

Meet Janiya Baker, the 15-year-old high school student who went from a freshman to a senior in just one school year.

The Homestead High School student has now made Miami-Dade County history and will be recognized at Homestead City Hall for her incredible achievement, WSVN reports. She accomplished the feat while participating in a number of extra-curricular activities. The student-athlete had the highest GPA in her class.

“I was ready to finish school,” she said. “It was a lot of work I had to do,”

Baker’s mother noticed her daughter’s academic talents in elementary school.

“I noticed she was very accelerated, and I’m like, ‘OK, she don’t make B’s,” so them 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,’” she said.

“Me and her dad, Travis, we raised her to be the intelligent young woman that she is, and we’re proud of her,” she added.

The class president and varsity cheerleader wants to attend Florida International University to pursue a degree in business and join the cheer squad.

“Moving from 9th grade to 12th, that shows grit, and perseverance,” Homestead High’s principal said. “It shows a young lady with tenacity and the vision to accomplish her future goals, sooner rather than later.”

Her mom remembers the day Janiya announced her plans to finish high school early.

“She was like, “Mom, I’m ready for it, I’m ready to go off, I’m ready to graduate, I’m ready to be me,’” Baker’s mom said.

The teen advises other students to possess a “stick-to-it” attitude and remain consistent with their studies.

“Never give up and keep going, even if it gets hard and just have a great support system around you,” the teen said.