Adaline Haney, 2024 Texas cohort
At just nine years old, Adaline Haney of Rhome, TX is printing 3D fidget toys, solving multi-step word problems in her head, and dreaming about birds. She’s fascinated by the structure of feathers and how wings work. She’s considered becoming an ornithologist. Maybe. She’s not sure yet—but she’s quite certain she’ll keep on learning.
Adaline’s curiosity isn’t new. She was reading by age three and mastered addition by four. By five, she was exploring square roots and learning about three-dimensional shapes with her grandfather. Her parents remember her mapping out driving routes when she was just two years old. “She’d sit in the car and tell us which way to go,” her mom, Tabitha, recalls. “She just saw the world differently.”
Now in fourth grade, Adaline is already working at a fifth-grade level in mathematics and is on track to start sixth- or seventh-grade math soon. She has a deep grasp of multiplication, division, arrays, and unit conversion—and a love of problem-solving that only continues to grow.
But Adaline’s gifts extend beyond numbers. She’s a talented artist, a fan of Bob Ross (who isn’t?), and her grandfather’s paintings fill the family’s home. Her favorite subjects at school include science and global cultures, and she recently completed a project on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She’s also passionate about design—especially with the new 3D printer that National Math Stars provided, which she plans to use to create decorations, cats, and “straight-up adorable things.”
Through NMS, Adaline has found more than just enrichment opportunities—she’s found a community. She’s built friendships with fellow students like Henry, Tricia, and Evani, and she describes her experience as finally finding kids who “get” her. “We ask each other really hard questions just for fun,” she says. “It’s a new way to have relationships—using math.”
Adaline’s family first learned about NMS through a school district referral, after her exceptionally high CogAT scores. The support has been transformative: from access to enrichment tools like robotics kits, marble runs, and CrunchLabs boxes, to family advising that helps her parents navigate school placement and new learning opportunities.
Her parents, Kyle and Tabitha, are thoughtful about maintaining balance—making sure Adaline can pursue academic acceleration while still enjoying the freedom of childhood. “She’s an all-rounder,” says Tabitha. “She loves to learn, but we also want to support her emotionally and socially. That’s what we love about National Math Stars. It’s not just about academics—it’s about the whole child.”
Tabitha has connected with other NMS parents through events and Welcome Weekend, building a support network that she finds incredibly valuable. “It helps to talk to other moms,” she says. “We’re all figuring it out—how much to lean into math, how much to encourage other passions. It’s good not to feel alone.”
Whether she’s designing structures in science class or diving into the math behind bird migration, Adaline brings energy, thoughtfulness, and creativity to everything she does. With the support of National Math Stars, she’s soaring.
