In an effort to amplify student voices and support Tennessee student achievement, the State Collaborative on Reforming Education announced the 2015 Students Rise to the Challenge scholarship competition for public school students in grades 3-12.
The competition will award the three student winners a $1,000 college scholarship or a $500 college scholarship and their choice of an Apple iPad Air or HP Laptop. The teachers who helped with or inspired the winning entries will receive a $250 Donors Choose gift card.
The winners also will be honored during the fifth annual SCORE Prize event in October. The SCORE Prize is the hallmark data-based effort in Tennessee to recognize schools and districts that are leaders in student learning, and the event highlights how schools and districts in Tennessee are working to raise academic achievement.
“The Students Rise to the Challenge competition is a key part of the SCORE Prize celebration,” said SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson. “Hearing from students from across the state inspires and reminds us first and foremost of why we do this work: to prepare students for the future.”
This year’s Students Rise to the Challenge competition asks Tennessee public school students to write essays, create videos, or compose photo stories to describe how a teacher went above and beyond to help them learn something new or overcome a challenge. The competition will award the scholarship to one winner each in grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. More details about the scholarship competition and how to enter are here.
This is the fourth year of Students Rise to the Challenge. The competition’s first winner was Rolanda Mack, who in 2012 was a student at Covington High School and now is studying at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. “Students Rise to the Challenge affected my academic career in high school in a major way,” Ms. Mack said. “Your academic success is not only about how well you score on tests or what grades you get, but that you show that you can contribute to a community and to the world. Your voice makes a difference.”
The 2015 competition winners will present their entries during the SCORE Prize event on Oct. 26 in Laura Turner Concert Hall at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.