During school vacations, Reina Sultan doesn’t hang out at the mall or sleep until noon, then spend the rest of the day watching TV.

Not even close.

The 8th grader from Carden Academy of Huntington Beach reads … and reads … and reads some more.

That illustrates, to some degree, her high level of success as a student and person.

Exactly how much does Reina read?

Well, during Thanksgiving vacation, she read – get this -- 11 books. She nearly matched that during Spring vacation.

“I love reading and learning,” says Reina, who, not surprisingly, hopes to write books and be a magazine editor in the future.

But first things first – like high school and college … and thanks to Carden Academy of Huntington Beach, Reina is quite prepared for high school. She scored a 99.9% on her accumulated High School Placement Tests and has been accepted with Honors at prestigious Cornelia Connelly High School, where she will be a 9th grader this coming Fall.

Additionally, in the prestigious National French Contest, Reina scored in the 99th percentile, which was the fourth highest score in the nation, the second highest in Southern California and No. 1 in Orange County.

“Carden Academy has made me the good student I am today,” Reina says. “The curriculum is challenging. It’s so much more advanced. I’d never be this good if not for Carden and my teachers, especially Mrs. [P.J.] Stanley, who has had a huge impact on my life in terms of morals, values and honesty.”

Reina has been at Carden Academy since preschool, where she learned to read. Most students do not begin reading until first and sometimes second grade. At Carden Academy, they read in preschool.

“Learning to read is the basis of a great education,” Reina says.

“Reina is one of those very special and unique students who you love having in your class and who you know is going to extremely successful in life,” says Reina’s teacher, P.J. Stanley. “She’s an absolute joy to know.”

Carden Academy - Huntington Beach (at 721 E. Utica Avenue).

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