TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Public Schools students earned 343 Regional Scholastic Awards for 2020 including 24 Gold Keys in visual arts and 17 in writing.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in Grades 7–12. This year, 3,991 works were submitted by Maryland students. From those, 100 Gold Keys were awarded to the most accomplished works, 245 Silver Keys awarded to distinguished works, and 526 Honorable Mentions awarded to promising works. Gold Keys are automatically forwarded for consideration at the national level of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

In addition, five American Visions Nominees were selected as the strongest regional visual arts works, and five Top of Form American Voices Nominees selected as the strongest regional works in writing. BCPS earned two of the five American Visions and three of the five American Voices nominations.

The honored students are:

American Visions Nominees

• Hazel Gao, Grade 12, George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, “the tale of the sloth god”(Film & Animation)
• Madeline Menkes, Grade 12, George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, “The Monster Under the Bed” (Painting)

American Voices Nominees

• Judah Lyles, Grade 12, George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, “Baltimore City Streets” (Poetry)
• Joshua Torrence, Grade 12, George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, “Ballerina Boy” (Personal Essay/ Memoir)
• Avery Yoder-Wells, Grade 8, Dumbarton Middle School, “McSatans” (Flash Fiction)

In all, BCPS students earned 251 visual arts awards and 92 writing awards. BCPS earned 33% of all visual arts awards received by Maryland students and 68% of all writing awards in Maryland.

To recognize their outstanding work, this year’s Gold Key and Silver Key recipients are invited, along with their guests, teachers, and program jurors, to the 2020 Awards Ceremony for the Maryland Art and Writing Region of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

The award ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 1, at Baltimore Center Stage, and will feature Donna Drew Sawyer (chief executive officer of the Baltimore Office of Promotions and the Arts) and Kirk Shannon-Butts (curator of The Gallery in Baltimore City Hall) as keynote speakers.