TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Public Schools students from seven high schools and five middle schools have earned 350 awards from the Maryland Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognition program.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is considered the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious arts program for students in Grades 7-12. Awards are presented at the Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention level. Entries receiving Gold Keys are then considered for possible national-level Scholastic Awards.

BCPS students earned 246 visual arts awards including 83 Gold Keys and 57 Silver Keys, and they earned 104 writing awards including 21 Gold Keys and 36 Silver Keys. Students recognized represent Dulaney, Eastern Tech, Hereford, Patapsco, Sparrows Point Technical, and Towson high schools; George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology; and Dumbarton, Hereford, Pikesville, Ridgely, and Sudbrook Magnet middle schools. A complete list of honorees can be downloaded from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts website.

“BCPS is well represented in both art and writing this year,” said Sherri Fisher, BCPS director of Career and Technical Education and Fine Arts. “BCPS students earned 29 percent of all art awards and 53 percent of all writing awards in the region. This is really an amazing accomplishment for our students, teachers, and schools!”

“This recognition celebrates the creativity and dedication of our students and the depth and quality of our fine arts and English language arts programs,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “We invest in arts education for all of the academic and social-emotional benefits it offers our students.”

The regional award recipients and their teachers will be honored during an online awards ceremony on Sunday, March 6, from 3–4 p.m.

Special honors

The top five Scholastic submissions in the region for visual arts are named American Visions nominees, and the top five for writing are named American Voices nominees. These nominees will go on to compete for a National Medal. This year’s nominees from BCPS are…

American Visions Nominees

• Britney Simbana-J – “Your Landscapers” (photography), Grade 11, George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology
• Brea’ Williams – “Not So Little Anymore” (mixed media), Grade 10, Carver Center

American Voices Nominees

• Amanda Amadi-Emina – “You Are Getting Box Braids” (humor), Grade 11, Carver Center
• Josephine Halushka – “teenage girls: the revolution” (poetry), Grade 12, Carver Center
• Meadow Stanley – “To My Grandfather, BaBa” (poetry), Grade 12, Carver Center
• Yakhare Gueye – “The Magical Pills” (short stories), Grade 12, Perry Hall High School

In addition, Catie Grace O’Connor, a Grade 7 student at Dumbarton Middle School, was one of two regional winners of The Clean Energy Award, sponsored by Arcadia. This $500 prize was presented to award recipients whose work expresses the importance of taking care of earth. O’Connor was recognized for her “Earth Poems.”