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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Kennedy: Twins take top academic honors at area school

Staff Photo by Mark Kennedy / Tate Bird, left, and Aidan Bird are twin brothers who attend Skyuka Hall, a small independent school in Brainerd. Tate is the valedictorian of the class of 2023, and Aidan is the salutatorian. The brothers are pictured Wednesday.
Staff Photo by Mark Kennedy / Tate Bird, left, and Aidan Bird are twin brothers who attend Skyuka Hall, a small independent school in Brainerd. Tate is the valedictorian of the class of 2023, and Aidan is the salutatorian. The brothers are pictured Wednesday.

Twins brothers Tate and Aidan Bird say they didn’t know they were competing for the title of valedictorian of their senior class.

But when their final grades were tallied, only two hundredths of a point separated the brothers’ GPAs.

Tate Bird, who wants to study aerospace engineering, is finishing his high school career with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Meanwhile, his brother, Aidan Bird, who will study history in college, hit the high school finish line with a 3.98 GPA — only a pesky B in an online Spanish II class denying him a perfect GPA, too.

The two attend Skyuka Hall (formerly Scenic Land School on Mountain Creek Road), a small independent school in Eastgate Center for students with learning challenges such as ADHD and dyslexia.

Despite the loss of family bragging rights, Aidan said he has no regrets about losing out to his brother. In fact, he is focusing on the sunny side. As salutatorian, he only has to give short introductory remarks at graduation, while Tate must tackle an entire valedictory address.