BT 5th Grader picked for cast of "Smarter than a Fifth Grader"

The following article appeared in the Baltimore Jewish Times on July 25, 2008, written by Education Reporter, Rochelle Eisenberg,

Making The Grade

She's bubbly, outgoing and smart. Smart enough that Fox Broadcasting recently cast Jenna Balk, a Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School student, on the upcoming season of the game show hit, "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth-Grader?"

Jenna, who enters fifth grade this fall, will be one of the five students on the show, which airs Thursday evenings on Fox. She is currently in Los Angeles with her mother, Candy, taping shows.

During the shows, Jenna, her "classmates" and a contestant answer first- through fifth-grade questions. The contestants pick individual "classmates" to help them out if they don't know the answer.

For Jenna, the journey started as a lark. Her mom saw a promotion to audition at Columbia Mall. The evening before the audition, she decided to try out. Following the audition, the family received a phone call and learned Jenna was heading for California, bypassing a regional competition in New York.

Spending several days in L.A., where Jenna went through several auditions, the family headed back to Baltimore, knowing Jenna was one of the final eight. The other finalists included a Ralph Lauren model and an actor on the television show  "ER."

Last week, after a few more phone calls, the family was told Jenna was selected. She was told to pack her bag and head west the following morning. "I'm so flabbergastered," said Jenna's father, John. "And I'm so proud of my daughter."