35 Sets of Twins to Graduate at Mansfield Independent School District in Texas

Mansfield Independent School District in Texas will see 35 sets of twins, and one set of triplets, graduating from high school this May among 2,600 students. To celebrate this remarkable event, all the twins gathered together for a photoshoot Friday, April 29.

Speaking with Today, one of the graduating twins said that it was "really cool" to be together in one place and meet all of the other twins. They felt an instant connection with each other since they lived their whole lives with another person by their side.

The school district is composed of nine high schools and alternative schools across Mansfield and Arlington, such as Frontier STEM Academy, Legacy High School, Lake Ridge High School, Mansfield High School, Summit High School, Timberview High School, Ben Barber Innovation Academy, The Phoenix Academy, and the Early College High School.

Twin births statistically happen once every 250 births, which means that the school district should only have about 10 or 11 sets of twins in the graduating class. Officials of the Mansfield Independent School District cannot explain the high number, but these twins are giving the community some pride, especially as some of them are set to attend the best universities in the country.

Embracing the Big Changes

Anthony Morka and fraternal sister Angela Morka, from Lake Ridge High School, will live separate lives in college as he's headed to the University of Houston while his sister has been accepted at Yale. Speaking with KKTV, Anthony said they would embrace the big changes of living apart from each other. However, the twins will still be able to keep in touch all the time with calls, texts, and chat messages.

Jordan and Joshua Morris, on the other hand, are feeling the nerves about their upcoming separation because they have never been apart from each other this way before. Jordan recalled that they both cried as elementary kids when they found out that they would not be in the same classroom.

However, some of the twins have decided to keep their cozy pairing intact by going to the same university this fall. Sisters Avery and Keaton Slimak are attending the University of Texas at Austin, and they will continue to be roommates at the dormitory.

Despite having 35 sets of twins, Mansfield Independent School District has yet to beat the record of New Trier High School in Illinois, which has earned a Guinness World Record for having 44 sets of twins, and one triplet, in the sophomore class.

Twin Births Peaking

Experts say that twin births will peak in high-income countries in Europe or North America in the next two decades due to the rising popularity of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Christiaan Monden from Oxford University cited that the twinning rates in North America alone have risen to 71 percent in the last decade, per the New York Post.

The scientist also said that most of these twin births come from dizygotic eggs or fraternal twins born from different eggs. However, the rate of monozygotic births, or identical twins born from the same eggs, has remained stable.