Examiner: 8 Chicago students win essay

8 Chicago students win essay contest

Learning to write is a daunting task for anyone. For today’s students, it is an even more precarious issue, given that the gulf between formal writing styles learned in school settings and the common textual interface many students experience outside of school continues to widen.

However, eight student writers in the Chicago Public Schools showed both mastery of the skill and engagement in their topics through the 2010 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Competition hosted by CPS. The contest was open to all CPS students in grades 9 through 12.

The topic required both topical knowledge and research: "The motto of the Untied Farm Workers, founded by Latino leader and non-violent activist Cesar Chavez, is ‘Si, se Puede! (Yes, it can be done!). What does that motto mean to you personally and what person in of Hispanic descent, in your opinion, most exemplifies these words?“"

Each grade participating grade level had a Grand Prize winner and second place winner. Grand Prize winners included: Maddie Wagner Sherer, Whitney Young Magnet High School, Juan Castrejon, Edwin G. Foreman High School, Scarlet Moya, William Howard Taft High School, and Daisy Velasco, William Howard Taft High School. Each grand prize winner was awarded a laptop computer and a printer, plus a $5,000 scholarship to Roosevelt University. 12th grade winner received a $1,000 College Expense Award. The supporting teachers each receive a $100 gift card. Second Place winners included: Alejandro Llamas, George Washington High School, Yesenia Catalan, George Washington High School, Ana Patricia Juarez, Lincoln Park High School, and Beatriz Lebron, North-Grand High School. Each of the second place winners won a digital camera and a printer.

Over 3,500 essays were submitted from 37 schools in the Chicago Public School district. The Chicago Public School intends to host another like event in February 2011 for African American History Month.