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Schools

Their Peers Come in Pairs

Eighth grade at Langston Hughes Middle School contains 14 sets of twins and a shot at a world record.

Students and teachers walking the walls of for the last two school years could be forgiven if they think they are seeing double.

They are.

The eighth grade at Hughes contains an astonishing 14 sets of twins. According to current figures available in the Guinness Book of World Records, it is a record number for sets of multiples in one grade. The current record listed is 13 sets of twins at a high school in Connecticut.   

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About 5 percent of Hughes' eighth-grade student body is a twin. That compares to about 2 percent in the U.S. population. Not only that, but Hughes would have had 15 sets of eighth grade twins if the sister of one eighth grader had not been homeschooled.

“We are used to a diverse group of students that come from the Reston community each year to Hughes Middle,” says Aimee Monticchio, the school’s principal. “But we have been particularly enthusiastic that it included such a unique combination of families that produced so many sets of twins in our current eighth grade class. It’s been a lot of fun to have them all here.”

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One of the twins’ families is leading an effort to officially pursue a world record through Guinness. With the support of all 28 twins, and their parents, Hughes is providing official assistance. Phyllis Degraffenreid, a seventh and eighth grade guidance counselor, is the school’s liaison to the record attempt, which is no small task.

“They [Guinness] require quite a bit,” Degraffenreid says. “We had to have a video clip, photographs, all of their birth certificates, a certified letter from our principal, and independent witness statements,” among other documents. The school used its resource officer, a Fairfax County Police officer, and one of the counselors from Glasgow Middle School as its two witnesses.

Before starting that, though, Degraffenreid says, “I went to the students. I asked them if they would be interested. They were very enthusiastic, and our parents were equally enthusiastic.”

Some eighth-grade twin facts at Hughes:

  • Three sets of twins are identical. The other 11 sets are fraternal.
  • All 14 sets have attended the school for two years.
  • Two sisters are the most common – there are seven sets.
  • There are six sets of brother-sister twins.
  • There is only one set of brothers.
  • It is unclear if a record will carry on next year to , as at least one of the sets of twins will be attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

All this data has surprised even some of the twins’ parents.  Many did not know there were so many twins until seeing an article in the school’s newsletter.

“I knew there were at least two or three sets,” says Julie McCool, parent of twins Katherine and Andrew. “I didn’t realize there were that many. It was definitely a surprise to me.”

Of the twins, she says, “I think they’re psyched about it..  I saw a Facebook posting… that’s usually a sign that they think it’s OK.”

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