winning teacher of the year essays

• The Education Gradebook

In their own words: Excerpts from finalists' essays for Hillsborough's Excellence in Education awards

• Marlene Sokol Times staff

TAMPA — Three educators will be recognized on Jan. 24 as the top teacher, diversity teacher and support employee in the Hillsborough County public school system.

To get this far, they submitted essays that speak to their accomplishments and their spirit, from the painstaking task of decorating hallway bulletin boards to the careful planning of a physical education lesson for children with severe disabilities.

They hold hands and head committees, run demonstration classrooms and lead math night for parents at the local supermarket.

Here, in their own words, is just some of what this year's entrants did to reach the final round:

Nicole Bates , 36, math resource teacher, Mendenhall Elementary, Teacher of the Year:

"I bring math into the community by hosting events at Publix and the Village Inn. Watching parents and their children solve problems together in a realistic setting is inspirational."

Aymee Carbon Mejias , 49, Head Custodian, Eisenhower Middle, Instructional Support Employee:

"I think the most important thing is to listen to all people, even if they speak another language, have a different culture or cannot express it verbally."

Dakeyan C. Graham , 34, Director of Instrumental Music, King High, Teacher of the Year:

"Our classroom is a second home for my students. We refer to ourselves as a family. Since we spend more time together than some of my students spend with their biological families, we have the opportunity to generate and cultivate an atmosphere of mutual respect and rapport that translates into an incredible work ethic and desire to always demonstrate our best for one another."

Jordan Luke Harris , 21, Custodian, Stowers Elementary, Instructional Support Employee.

"I am a college student during the day and have studied Spanish and use my ability in that area to direct parents who do not understand very well where certain places are around campus. My childhood preacher told me every Sunday morning, 'people don't care what you know, unless they know you care,' so I've always tried to keep that in mind in my interactions with others."

Scott Hottenstein , 48, Social Studies Teacher, Barrington Middle, Teacher of the Year:

"My passion for education led me to run for School Board this year and also to actively support education issues during the election. Each year, I sharpen my focus on what works, discard what doesn't, and add new things to benefit the students."

Barbara Jean Maxwell , 60, Secretary, Dover Elementary, Instructional Support Employee:

"I love greeting the parents and students each day with a warm happy smile and helping the teachers and staff any way I can."

Le'Jean Michelle Miller, 48, Kindergarten Assistant, Just Elementary, Instructional Support Employee:

"I love making our children smile each day. I love making our school bright and beautiful. Our hallways have display bulletin boards for each classroom. For each month or holiday I love to make our boards come to life. For the first day of school to the last day of school I try to display something different for our children to see. For Black History and our Hispanic Heritage month, I display the history and the culture of our children. I love hearing the students say, 'Ms. Miller, I love what you're doing to the boards today.'"

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Sandra Misciasci , 42, Reading Teacher, Newsome High, Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator:

"I purposefully search to find my students' strengths; I make at least 10 positive phone calls to my parents weekly. It is so much fun to hear parents experience a 'good' phone call, it is like they found hope in their child again!"

Amalia Santiago , 40, Gifted Teacher, Crestwood Elementary, Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator:

"Since I have had the privilege to be at the same school for 14 years, it has given me an amazing opportunity to be a part of many things. The ones I am most proud of is starting an annual Father/Daughter dance. I feel that especially with our population, it is essential that our girls understand they are beautiful, special and valued."

Anne Smith , 64, Physical Education Teacher, Caminiti Exceptional Center, Teacher of the Year:

"I gear my lessons and my relationships with students with the belief that confidence in P.E. leads to positive feelings of self-esteem and that P.E. activities strengthen peer and family relationships. P.E. is an excellent laboratory for cooperation skills that transfer into the classroom and increase independence for life."

Jeffrey Van Hise, 28, Fourth Grade Teacher, Gorrie Elementary, Teacher of the Year:

"I unlock potential by creating a risk-free climate that embraces diversity and fosters relationships with every student, every day. I dissolve school-home barriers using social media and family courses. By bringing math night to a local grocer, I created a community partnership. I crafted the school theme, 'Be the Change,' and will adopt a charity with my class."

Unique Vernon , 42, Social Worker, Stewart Middle, Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator:

"My role as a servant leader is to help parents, teachers and students identify and address barriers that interfere with student success and their future endeavors."

Tamon Williams , 27, Third Grade Teacher, Foster Elementary, Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator:

"I've given my sweat, my heart, and my smiles to being (that) teacher! The teacher who waits outside with a student until their parent comes home, the teacher who takes a student to get a haircut the day before the picture day because their mom is at her wit's end, the teacher who attends sporting events that are extracurricular and on Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m., a teacher who picks up the phone in the middle of the night because a student is scared and doesn't know who else to call. I'm that nurturing teacher who loves and gives and loves and gives AND teaches her students so they'll be prepared for whatever life hands them."

Contact Marlene Sokol at [email protected] or (813) 226-3356. Follow @marlenesokol.

Education Reporter

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9 Questions For National Teacher of the Year Finalist Kelly Harper

The teach for america alum and d.c. teacher of the year winner talks about partnering with families and advocating for policy changes from the classroom..

Laura Zingg

Editorial Project Manager, One Day Studio

Kelly Harper, a 2012 Houston alum, was recently named the 2019 District of Columbia Teacher of the Year, and is one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year. Kelly currently teaches third grade at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C., not far from where her family has lived for generations, and where she yearned to serve after her time in the corps.

Kelly is a former Teach Plus policy fellow, a highly selective program for educators interested in shaping policies that impact high-needs students. She was also a 2014 Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award Houston finalist and national nominee.

On a recent Friday, while leading her students to lunch in the cafeteria, Kelly took some time to discuss her work and some of the big issues impacting education.

How has your role as a teacher evolved over the seven years you’ve been in the classroom?

I've learned more about educating the whole child and understanding the child as a person. Before, I was so focused on just content. Content is critical. However, it's important that our students also have social-emotional learning and support. I've also evolved in terms of helping students make connections between what they are learning and how they can use it in their community.

Second, I've learned it's so important that you partner with families, and always assume the best intent. I always let parents know that I know you as parents; mom, dad, grandma, or whoever you are, you are the first educator for this child, you are the expert on this child. I want to partner with you to figure out what we can do to help your child meet and exceed their goals. I think that's one of the biggest things that helps to move the needle for students and to help communities and families.

How do you emphasize involving families in your students' education?

I've been a family engagement leader for several years, where I coach teachers on ways to connect with families. I've helped train teachers, both at my school and across the district, on how to do home visits, and how to use the home visit as a tool for learning about their students and their families. 

Studies show that students who receive home visits and additional teacher-school partnering have increased academic outcomes. Before we can get to conversations about a student's data or test scores, there has to be that foundation of trust. Home visits help to build that relationship.

What have you learned about your students from your home visits?

With the home visits, you're getting to see where the child lives every day, and what their passions are. One of my students was very reluctant to read. When I did the home visit, I saw that he had all these Legos and cars and hands-on items. I realized he was very interested in building things. So I said, “Let's check out some books that are related to that.” That student went from being a reluctant reader to loving to read. From there, he expanded the genres he wanted to read and realized he wants to be a civil engineer. 

A lot of times you ask families and students to come to the school, come to the classroom, come to the table. But when I'm sitting on a family’s couch, I'm in their space. It's a way to humble yourself and say, "I want to learn from you. What can I do to best educate your child?"

What are some ways that you have incorporated culturally relevant teaching in your classroom? 

It starts with learning about your students’ community. I asked a couple of parents to share some of the cultural treasures that are part of the community. There's a community garden, a corner store where everyone gets their snacks, different barbershops. Embedding those things into the classroom is important.

I found it's also critical to explore a variety of texts. In addition to providing exposure to diverse backgrounds that students can learn from, students also have to see themselves in the text. For example, one of the texts we read was from Harlem by Walter Dean Myers. When students learned how the families in Harlem were living, they were like, "Wow, that's like us."

Students have to be active participants in their education and feel as if it means something. Every year I take my students to Howard University, which is a couple of miles away and has been a mecca for generations in D.C., where students come to see older students on a college campus who look like them. It's the most beautiful thing when their eyes grow so big as they look at students who are “their future selves,” as they say. This helps create a visible road to success and to show them, "Here's why what we do in third-grade matters."

“That's what I want more educators to understand—that you can still make amazing changes while in the classroom.”

Kelly Harper

Third Grade Teacher, Amidon-Bowen Elementary School

Houston '12

Do you think you'll stay in the classroom? 

I definitely want to continue teaching for a few more years. However, my ultimate goal is to be the United States Secretary of Education. The fact that my educational experience and the experience of my cousins in D.C. were so vastly different and we're only about 20 minutes away from each other—that is not acceptable. But this is happening still across the nation.

I want to continue honing my craft because I feel that we have to have folks at the table who truly understand and have real on-the-ground experience with our students. However, I do know that we need folks in all arenas in order to enact change.

Why have you chosen to remain in teaching rather than working in another field that is addressing inequity?

Originally, I wanted to be an attorney. I thought this was how I could dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline . But after I interned at the prosecutor’s office in Maryland and at the Southern Center for Human Rights while in college, I noticed there were so many clients who were functionally illiterate. I thought, "What if we had prior support then that could have prevented this?" I wanted to unlock that door. That's how I came across Teach For America. 

My plan was to teach for two years and then go to law school. But then I got into the classroom and realized there's so much work to be done. I’m still in this field because I know that our students need consistency. And as a Teach Plus policy fellow, I'm able to enact policy changes while having a voice in the classroom. We advocated for social-emotional learning training for teachers. We now have a professional development program in place because of our advocacy work. That's what I want more educators to understand—that you can still make amazing changes while in the classroom .

If you had the power to change one policy that is impacting education right now, what would that be?

The way we're funding our schools needs to change. I think we need to start from the drawing board and shift how our schools are funded and how we support our most struggling schools because it's evident that what has been done is not working. 

In one of our schools that serves our most vulnerable students, there's a higher risk of absenteeism. There are additional social-economic challenges. In order to truly equalize the playing field, there has to be funding to ensure that the community has what they need to be successful.

What advice would you share with people who are interested in becoming teachers?

The biggest thing is to build intentional relationships with your students and their families. We want our students to feel like their classroom is their home away from home. It's essential that we figure out ways to get to know our students on the individual level and use that knowledge about their strengths and their areas for growth in the classroom. When we build intentional relationships, that's a foundation. Once you do that, the content will come. Content is much easier when you have that strong relationship.

Do you feel like teachers are valued in our culture, and if not, what keeps you going?

In my particular district, they've done a lot of work to provide very competitive pay and professional development opportunities for teachers. But when I hear that some teachers are making only $5,000 or $10,000 more than they started making 20 years ago, that's disheartening. It shouldn't be that teachers need to have multiple jobs in order to make their ends meet. Our educators are professionals. That's something I'm very passionate about, especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining teachers of color because we’re still not where we need to be. 

I don't think that we have all the respect, but I do believe some of the best encouragement I’ve received is from the kids and parents. When I get thank-you notes from parents or when I see other colleagues who are able to take a student who is really struggling to the next level—that is what keeps me going.

Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Teacher — Lessons from a Teacher of the Year: Professional Growth and Development

Lessons from a Teacher of The Year: Professional Growth and Development

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Published: Apr 17, 2023

Words: 1592 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

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Introduction, the teaching profession, teacher of the year, profile of the south carolina graduate.

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Nomination Of Teacher Of The Year Essays

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Education , Teaching , Community , Students , Award , Laura , Teacher , College

Published: 01/28/2020

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I am writing this letter to nominate Laura Durbin of West Kentucky Community & Technical College for the teacher of the year award. She is of the best teachers I have ever and will ever come across. What I most regard about Laura is her exceptional ability to stimulate learning in students and add personality to the course contents. All students can feel optimism and energy radiating from her teaching. Laura also has a dynamic style of teaching that makes her students to listen actively to her.

Laura does not only teach well, she also cares so much about the understanding of each student in her class. She is a genuine, personal, enthusiastic and optimistic individual willing to help students by going beyond the call of duty. She is an exceptional teacher who takes extra effort in ensuring that students in need of extra help are accommodated in her teaching despite her busy schedule. She is also a master in the art of reaching struggling students with complete professionalism, and simple yet profound empathy and motherly instincts.

Laura also spends time giving feedback on all assignments and provides individualized feedback to every student concerning their strong and weak points. Laura Durbin is an excellent role model teacher who shows devotion and selflessness to West Kentucky Community college, her students and her coworkers, Laura is a source of inspiration for many students. She inspires and positively impacts all the people she meets every day in her teaching profession. She is always updated about the latest instructional technologies and teaching methodologies. Laura has a calling for teaching, and highly deserves the best teacher of the year award.

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VFW announces essay winners, teacher of the year

Spruce Mountain Middle School had 28 students enter the VFW Patriot's Pen essay contest through the efforts of teacher Denise Acritelli who was named teacher of the year by VFW.

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Patriot’s Pen essay contest winners were announced Thursday morning, Nov. 9, at Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay. Pictured from left are third place winner Jailinn Fortin, second place winner Avery Cook, first place winner Landyn Anthony, their teacher Denise Acritelli and Kim Cote, VFW auxiliary member who oversees the contest. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

JAY — At a Spruce Mountain Middle School assembly Thursday morning, Nov. 9, winners of the Patriot’s Pen essay contest and teacher Denise Acritelli were recognized by members of Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW].

Jim Manter, judge adjutant for VFW Post 3335 in Jay welcomed the students and noted he was a 1975 graduate of Livermore Falls High School. Among the veterans seated behind him were Pat St. Clair, principal of the elementary school and Craig Collins, dean of students/athletic director at the middle school.

Several veterans shared what specific sections of the Pledge of Allegiance meant to them.

Manter noted 28 middle school students wrote essays this year through the efforts of their teacher Acritelli. Kim Cote, Post 3335 auxiliary member oversees the contest, he added.

“We are so thankful, you do a lot of work for the children,” Cote said.

The contest theme this year was “How I am Inspired by America.” The three winners are all in the seventh grade. Advertisement

During an assembly Thursday morning, Nov. 9, at Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay winners of the Patriot’s Pen essay contest were announced. Six other students will have their essays sent to regional VFW Posts lacking entries in the contest. Pictured from left are students Cole Welch, Avery Castonguay, Jackson Marsten-Blaise, Melody Hubble, Madelyn Rowley, Lea Smith, Jailinn Fortin, Avery Cook and Landyn Anthony with their teacher Denise Acritelli. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

First place winner Landyn Anthony wrote about farmers feeding America and the military keeping people safe. He noted Acritelli teaches life lessons and what is going on in the world.

Spruce Mountain Middle School teacher Denise Acritelli reacts after being announced VFW teacher of the year During an assembly Thursday morning, Nov. 9, at the school in Jay. Jim Manter, judge adjutant of VFW Post 3335 in Jay is seen at left. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

“She inspires me to always work hard, to do my best no matter what, that I am a strong person and to never give up,” he wrote.

Avery Cook, who placed second is inspired by his dad, who travels all over the country working so his family can have a good life. He is also inspired by Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins goalie – because he doesn’t try to show off and stand out – and his two grandfathers who served in the military.

“Gazillions of things inspire me every day,” he wrote.

Third place went to Jailinn Fortin who noted the number of books published annually and how many could be produced from one tree. She is inspired by authors and the variety of books she can read.

“I am inspired by my Pepe who was in the Navy because he saved many lives,” she wrote. He taught never give up, always keep pushing forward and to keep going even when scared, she noted. Advertisement

Denise Acritelli at right is hugged by daughter Emily Thursday morning, Nov. 9, at Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay where Acritelli was named teacher of the year by VFW Post 3335, also in Jay. Seen from left during the presentation are her husband Bill, Jon McKenna and daughter Alison. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Cote noted some students would have their essays sent to other VFW posts in the region that did not receive contest entries. Essays from sixth graders Lea Smith and Madelyn Rowley will be sent to Auburn. Seventh graders Melody Hubble and Jackson Marsten-Blaise will have their entries sent to Rumford. South Paris post will receive essays from sixth grader Avery Castonguay and seventh grader Cole Welch.

Manter then recognized Acritelli as the VFW teacher of the year. She has been involved with the essay contest for more than 20 years with almost 600 entries submitted through her efforts, he noted.

Students stand and applaud during an assembly Thursday morning, Nov. 9, at Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay. Teacher Denise Acritelli was named as the VFW teacher of the year. Seen from left in front are her team colleagues Rachel Toner, Julie Taylor and Nic Chouinard. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Acritelli was presented with gift cards from the post and surprised by the appearance of family members. Her husband, Bill and her two daughters Emily and Alison, along with Alison’s boyfriend Jon McKenna shared hugs and presented flowers to an overwhelmed Acritelli.

Team colleagues Rachel Toner, Julie Taylor and Nic Chouinard also gave flowers to Acritelli. Students gave her a standing ovation and hearty applause.

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NABE 2024 Award Competitions Deadline Extended!

Nabe 2024 bilingual teacher scholarship.

Teacher of the Year

Congratulations 2024 teacher of the year.

Blaire Penry CTE & Electives Teacher Auburn School District

• 2024 ToY press release

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Learn more about current and previous State and Regional Teachers of the Year !

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Education Awards

Washington's Teacher of the Year program recognizes a cohort of regional finalists and selects one state Teacher of the Year annually. This state Teacher of the Year is Washington's nominee for National Teacher of the Year .

Learn more about this year's winners!

Nominate a teacher! Nominations for the 2025 Teacher of the Year are now closed. Please check back January 2025 for next year's nomination form. 

• Frequently Asked Questions

Any certificated teacher is eligible if they are -

• Currently teaching.
• Serving in a position where at least 50% of their time is spent giving direct instruction to students in a classroom setting.
• Planning to continue teaching for at least two more years.

Nominate your teacher online using the Educator of the Year Nomination Form.

After the nomination is submitted, OSPI will send your nominee, their principal/supervisor, and their regional coordinator a copy of the nomination and a link to the online application.

Washington's educational service districts each select a Regional Teacher of the Year. The state selection committee chooses one of these Regional Teachers of the Year as the Washington State Teacher of the Year. The state committee uses the written application, interviews, a short keynote, and a mock press interview to decide which candidate best exemplifies the Teacher of the Year criteria:

• The teacher has the respect of their community.
• The teacher is knowledgeable in their field and guides students of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve excellence.
• The teacher collaborates with colleagues, students, and families to create a school culture of respect and success.
• The teacher deliberately connects the classroom and key stakeholders to foster a strong community at large.
• The teacher demonstrates leadership and innovation in and outside of the classroom walls that embodies lifelong learning.
• The teacher expresses themselves in an engaging way and effectively communicates about the classroom experience to a wide variety of audiences.

The Teacher of the Year is selected in mid-late summer or early fall. Regional finalists participate in interviews, a short keynote presentation, and a mock press interview followed by a weekend leadership retreat. The State Superintendent announces the Teacher of the Year on the Monday after the leadership retreat during an annual award ceremony.

State and Regional Teachers of the Year -

• Are recognized at the Award Ceremony and Spring Reception at the Mansion.
• Attend a leadership retreat and have opportunities for continuing professional development throughout the year.
• Have opportunities to participate in communications project such as the annual From Seed to Apple collection.
• Identify and advocate for educational issues of particular interest to them and are encouraged to speak or present in their region and around the state.

Additionally, the State Teacher of the Year -

• Represents the state at all required National Teacher of the Year events, including several national leadership conferences and the national recognition week in Washington, D.C.
• Serves as the Teacher-in-Residence for Washington's Teacher of the Year program January - June.
• Responds to and fulfill Teacher of the Year speaking requests, presentations, etc.
• Identifies statewide issues of interest to them and carry out a project aligned with those issues.
• Visits every region of the state to connect with alumni award winners and strengthen alumni network.
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Applebee's hosts long island 'teacher of year' essay contest, it's open for students from elementary to high school across nassau and suffolk counties..

Jerry Barmash , Patch Staff

LONG ISLAND, NY — Applebee's wants to be more than about burgers and beer. Doherty Enterprises, which owns and operates the local franchises across Long Island, is holding the 8th annual Above and "Bee" yond Teacher Essay Contest.

Winning students will receive a $500 sponsorship check to use toward their classroom in the 2024-2025 school year and an end-of-year party.

To nominate a teacher, students must submit an essay in person at their local Applebee's restaurant, explaining why their teacher should be "Teacher of the Year."

Find out what's happening in Rockville Centre with free, real-time updates from Patch.

Elementary students are required to write a half-page essay, while middle and high schoolers need to write a 500-word essay on why their teacher is most deserving.

All students who participate will get a certificate for free ice cream.

“We’re honored to recognize our local teachers who work so hard to educate the youth," Brian McDonnell, Doherty Director of Operations, Applebee’s LongIsland. "It’s truly gratifying to provide a platform where students can share the meaningful impact of their teachers."

Applebee's locations owned and operated by Doherty in Nassau County are: Baldwin, Bellmore, Bethpage, Elmont, New Hyde Park, Rosedale, Valley Stream and Westbury.

The participating Suffolk County locations are: Bohemia, Brentwood, Commack, Deer Park, East Farmingdale, East Islip, Farmingville, Lake Grove, Lindenhurst, Miller Place, Patchogue, Riverhead and Shirley.

Submissions will be accepted through March 17. Two winners will be selected from each county. Winners will be announced on April 19.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

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'We've been seen': Kickapoo educator, robotics leader named SPS Teacher of the Year

Walking off the stage after being named Springfield Public Schools' Teacher of the Year, Betsy Cannella barely made it to a table Friday when the line began to form. Her colleagues, friends and former teachers crowded in to hug her neck or pat her on the back.

The industrial technology teacher at Kickapoo High School — who leads the Robotics Club — was smiling but quiet. She admitting the honor was a lot to absorb.

"I was not ready for that," said Cannella, who started teaching 16 years ago.

"I love what I do," she told the News-Leader. "I didn't need this to continue but that fact that we've been seen is wonderful — and all four of us."

Cannella was recognized Friday along with finalist Julie Buerke, a vocal music teacher at Fremont Elementary; Alicia Johnson, a first grade teacher at Twain Elementary; and Laurie Macy, a special education teacher at Pipkin Middle School.

They were spotlighted during the Celebrate SPS event at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center. The annual event, long held on a Monday in mid-April, shifted to a Friday this year.

This wasn't the first time Cannella was named a finalist for SPS Teacher of the Year. She was a runner-up in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

At the podium this year after winning, Cannella said friends and colleagues know she doesn't love being the center of attention. "But, I want to thank everybody along the journey."

Cannella explained that she didn't start out as an educator but said she learned from Lenae Lazzelle, director of gifted education in SPS, and the "master teachers" at the Phelps Center for Gifted Education.

"I did not know what I was doing but I learned along the way and learning came hard for me growing up," she said.

She encouraged those listening to "trust” teachers.

"I love waking up and going to work," she said. "I get to go to work and teach and be part of this whole community."

There were other awards given out during the event, including:

Rookie of the Year Award

Named after Disney Elementary teacher Malori McGhe, who died during her first year of teaching, the award honors a beginning teacher who builds meaningful connections with peers and gains critical skills.

Drew Irwin, a 2007 graduate of Marshfield High School, initially pursued acting and was a manager at Best Buy when he decided to transition to teaching.

Irwin was part of the first cohort of the Future Educators program — a partnership between SPS and Missouri State University — to recruit, hire and retain teachers from underrepresented and under-resourced backgrounds. He was able to work Twain Elementary while at MSU but then got a job there.

"Whenever I joined the fourth grade team at Mark Twain Elementary, I found out teaching is hard," he joked. "I was moving from Mr. Drew, as they called me when I subbed, to Mr. Irwin."

More: First members of Future Educators program land jobs in Springfield Public Schools

He said experienced teachers provided support, guidance and "made me an equal part of the team."

"More than anything, they set a high bar of excellence for me to strive for and I want to say thank you," he said.

Librarian of the Year

The Linda Luke Librarian of the Year Award, established in 1997, was given to Michelle Cheeney of Pipkin Middle School.

Cheeney said growing up she hated to read but her father and grandfather said if she became a strong reader, she could accomplish anything. "I was crazy enough to believe them."

"That is why I am so determined not to let any of our reluctant readers slip through my hands," she said.

She praised other school librarians and thanked SPS for providing support for school libraries. "You understand the important role that we play in touching the lives of our children."

Counselor of the Year

Hollie Sykes, who works at McGregor Elementary, was named the Counselor of the Year. She said there are so many school counselors who also deserve recognition.

"It is my hope that my students know they are seen, accepted and loved," she said. "My goal is equip students with the skills and resources they need to navigate life's challenges, to reach their fullest potential in the school setting and beyond. But I can't do that alone."

She said the entire team at McGregor pulls together to help students. "I could not make this impact without their support."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Kickapoo educator, robotics team leader named SPS Teacher of the Year

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Vector databases are all the rage, judging by the number of startups entering the space and the investors ponying up for a piece of the pie. The proliferation of large language models (LLMs) and the generative AI (GenAI) movement have created fertile ground for vector database technologies to flourish. While traditional relational databases such as Postgres or MySQL are well-suited to structured data -- predefined data types that can be filed neatly in rows and columns -- this doesn't work so well for unstructured data such as images, videos, emails, social media posts, and any data that doesn't adhere to a predefined data model.

Microsoft's AI tool can turn photos into realistic videos of people talking and singing

Microsoft Research Asia has unveiled a new experimental AI tool called VASA-1 that can take a still image of a person — or the drawing of one — and an existing audio file to create a lifelike talking face out of them in real time.

Apple will reportedly unveil a genre-defining calculator app at WWDC 2024

The new Mac calculator will reportedly have round buttons and Notes integration.

GM's new V2H products help turn your EV into a home generator

It's only available for the Silverado First Edition RST for now, but will roll out to all Ultium EVs by 2026.

Quiz: How much do you know about marijuana and 420? Test your knowledge now.

Test yourself on side effects, which states have legalized marijuana for recreational use and more.

Florida's Jac Caglianone ties NCAA record with home run in 9th straight game

Caglianone is currently one of the top-ranked prospects ahead of the 2024 MLB draft.

Ditch the salon and snag this 'godsend' permanent hair-removal tool while it's over 40% off

More than 7,000 five-star fans say it has your back — and your upper lip, chin, armpits or any other place you want to banish rogue strands.

The mega-popular Hanes hoodie is on sale for just $11 on Amazon — that's over 50% off!

Make this your 'everywhere' hoodie this spring.

Left your pet turtle or your 'fart sensor' in an Uber? It's been found!

Each year, Uber lists the strangest things that passengers have left behind. This year's list features a pet turtle, a "fart sensor," a Jeep Liberty engine, and much, much more.

to submit an obituary

Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:00pm, Call 610-915-2226

(Proofs will be provided for accuracy only, they will not be styled/formatted like the finished product)

Obituaries submitted on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays are accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. by email only [email protected]

(No proofs will be furnished. Pricing will not be available until the next business day after 10:00am by calling Dianne at 610-915-2226)

Obituaries received after Deadline will not be published in the following edition of the paper.

Sending Procedure:

Email is the preferable method for receiving Obituaries (and the only method on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays), they can be sent to [email protected] (Feel free to call and confirm that we’ve received the email)

Formatting:

Obituaries will continue to visually look the same as they currently do, but you will no longer be restricted in what you can say (ex. As much Family can be listed as you’d like; Wording like “Went to rest with the Lord” is now permissible)

There is a cost for each obituary. Pricing and payments are only available Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. All weekend and holiday submissions will be provided a cost the next business day.

Exceptions:

All New accounts, Out of State Funeral Homes and Private Parties will require prepayment upon approval of the obituary. Weekend and Holiday staff are not authorized to set up a new account or process payments

Deadline for the above is before 4:00 PM Mon – Fri. only (Holiday schedules may vary).

Prepayment required submissions will be handled on the very first business day following the weekend and/or holiday schedule. A complete name, address and best contact phone number are required upon submittal of your obituary request to set up your account. A proof will then be emailed for review but placed on hold until payment is received.

Local News | VFW 3460 recognizes Public Servant of Year,…

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Local News | VFW 3460 recognizes Public Servant of Year, Teacher of Year and essay contest winners

Shoprite and the fresh grocer donate $10k to red cross.

MEDIA — The VFW Post 3460 held its annual Commander’s Dinner on Sunday April 14.

The program included presentations to Springfield Township Police Officer Kevin Oswald as Public Servant of the Year, and Rose Wallace of St. Bernadette School in Drexel Hill, as Teacher of the Year.

Student essay contest winners Alice Paynter (Patriot’s Pen) and Otto Heckendorn (“Voice of Democracy”) were recognized and read their tributes to the guests.

Post Commander Mike Baker recognized a host of Post, Auxiliary and Home Association members for their contributions to the success of the VFW. Joseph Strauch received The Barlow Award. Jeffrey Jahnke was awarded Member of the Year.

Ed Creighton was recognized for his support of the post and the Commander’s Lifetime Service award went to Susan Chapin. Appreciation awards went to John Senatore, Marie Brennan, William Newburg, Christine Crosby, Evelyn Puckett, Jill Keithly, The Foxes and Kelly Messick.

Post 3460 is an All-American-All State VFW organization with an Auxiliary and a Home Association that welcomes and serves all veterans and their family members. New members are always welcome.

To find out more about the active post, visit www.vfw3460.com , call 610-566-9980 or stop by the post at 11 Hilltop Road, Media.

Burns’ Family ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer Supermarkets present $10K Check to American Red Cross

ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer supermarkets, owned and operated by the Burns family, raised $10,000 for the American Red Cross during the 12th annual fundraiser held in March in honor of National Red Cross Month. The monthlong fundraiser was supported by both corporate and customer donations.

All proceeds will help the Red Cross deliver on its mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering in the face of emergencies.

The official presentation of the check to American Red Cross was made Thursday, April 18 at ShopRite of Drexeline, 5000 State Road, Drexel Hill.

Tim Brown, COO, Burns’ Family Fresh Grocer and ShopRite Supermarkets, presented the check to Jennifer Graham, regional chief executive officer, American Red Cross, Southeastern Pennsylvania Region, and Lynn Cohen, executive director, American Red Cross, Delaware Valley Chapter

Delaware County Symphony offers chance to conduct orchestra

The Delaware County Symphony is accepting bids for the chance to conduct a full symphony orchestra.

To join the orchestra’s esteemed list of guest conductors, which includes Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz and Cecily Tynan, community members are invited to participate in the silent auction at the symphony concert, or send a bid to [email protected] by the evening of the concert, Sunday, May 5.

The highest submitted bidder will be contacted directly and become the 2024 grand prize winner.

The successful bidder will conduct the orchestra’s performance of John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” at the opening of the Rose Tree Park Summer Festival on Wednesday, June 12. They will also have the opportunity to rehearse with the orchestra and work with DCS Music Director Sebastian Grand.

The May 5 concert, “Tales from Europe,” features the winner of the Youth Concerto Competition, Kai Freeman, performing Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto,” along with the “Prelude to Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel” and “Aus Italian” by Richard Strauss.

Find out more about the pieces featured at this concert by attending Meet the Music, a free, pre-concert lecture presented by Neumann University Music Professor, Dr. Richard Sayers, at noon on May 5.

The “Tales from Europe” performance will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5 in Neumann University’s Meagher Theatre. Advance tickets and information about the silent auction are available at http://dcsmusic.org .

DCCC hold adjunct faculty job fair for its Chester County locations

Those who are passionate about their area of expertise and who enjoy the dynamic environment of a college campus may want to attend the upcoming Delaware County Community College’s Adjunct Faculty Job Fair on Wednesday, May 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. at its Downingtown Center, 100 Bond Drive, Downingtown.

The college is seeking adjunct faculty to teach in-person classes, day or evening, at its Chester County locations in Downingtown and West Grove, in the following academic divisions: allied health and nursing; business and computing; social sciences; communications; arts; humanities; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); and workforce and economic development, which includes carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, welding and more.

The college welcomes candidates who are enthusiastic about education and student success.

Candidates who attend the fair will get the opportunity to meet with deans and faculty, have their resume reviewed, and benefit from the opportunity of a preliminary screening interview. Pre-registration is preferred but not required.

For more on the specific subject areas for which there are openings, and to register: dccc.edu/adjunct-job-fair . For immediate consideration, interested candidates can apply online and search for their subject area of interest at http://schooljobs.com/careers/dccc .

Haverford Middle School hosts senior social

Haverford Middle School, 1701 Darby Road, Havertown, will host Social for Senior Citizens, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3.

Seniors must RSVP by April 22 to attend by calling 610-853-5900 ext. 5580 or by emailing [email protected].

Charity Golf Tournament benefits Mother’s Home in Darby

A Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Mother’s Home in Darby will be held Monday, May 13 at Paxon Hollow Country Club, Broomall, with lunch at noon and a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The day includes lunch, golf, cocktail reception and outdoor barbecue.

The Mothers’ Home mission is to transform the lives of pregnant women experiencing homelessness by providing safe housing and programs that prepare them for motherhood and provide a strong foundation for themselves and their children.

For more information and registration, or to be a sponsor for the event, go to www.mothershomegolf.com .

Horror film screens at Media’s Towne House

The new nonprofit organization Delco Horror Haven, which caters to the local horror film community, is hosting a screening of the independent horror comedy “Slaughter Beach,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 at Media’s Towne House, 117 Veteran’s Square. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Attendees can enjoy dinner and drinks — not included in ticket price — prior to the film. Tickets for the film are $15. Seating is limited.

“Slaughter Beach” is a love letter to the 1980’s summer comedies and slashers, along with the Delaware beaches. In this tongue-in-cheek slasher, Ralph and Barry strive to become their beach town’s greatest superheroes but can they track down a crazed fisherman before anyone takes them seriously.

Featuring award winning gore FX and a killer soundtrack from artists such as Station, the Jasons and Skatune Network. The event will also include a Q&A session with the filmmakers.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. More information on this and upcoming events can be found at www.facebook.com/delcohorrorhaven .

Krueger to host free record expungement clinic

State Rep. Leanne Krueger will host a free Clean Slate Expungement Clinic with Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 9 at Brookhaven Municipal Center, 2 Cambridge Road, Brookhaven.

Attorneys will be available to provide information and discuss options that may be available for clearing a person’s criminal record. If expungement is not an option, additional resources will be available.

Registration for the free service is required.

Interested residents can ask a question or sign up for appointments by calling Krueger’s office at 610-534-6880 or emailing [email protected].

People seeking expungement would need to bring case information, including a copy of court records and orders and must not currently be in violation or on probation/parole. Krueger and her office staff will be at the clinic to provide information on state-related programs and services.

Readers can send community news and photos to Peg DeGrassa at [email protected]. Typed press releases, please.

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Claire Cunningham, 2024 1st Place First-Year Writing

Any student enrolled in English 101P, 101, 102, or 112 during Spring 2022 through Spring 2023 may submit an essay of any kind on any topic. There are no length limits for this category. Claire Cunningham wrote the 1st place submission in the First-Year Writing category for the 2023 President’s Writing Awards

About Claire

Claire Cunningham is a Boise native and a current sophomore at BSU. Majoring in Film & Television, she plans to go into film after graduation, taking whatever job will have her. Outside of academics, Claire enjoys going to the movie theater, writing, reading, and live-tweeting episodes of Abbott Elementary.

Winning Manuscript – Girlhood

(Per the author’s request, “Girlhood” is unavailable to access on this website).

President's Writing Awards

25 Years Of Healing: How Six Columbine Survivors Found Life After Trauma

From EMDR therapy to “sad-mom playlists,” these women have found a path through the darkness.

It was nearing the end of spring term. The seniors had just gone to prom. Students were busy preparing for final exams and the long summer break. They walked through the halls of their beloved school, absorbed in all the usual joys and concerns that come with the ending of the school year. Then, suddenly, their lives changed forever.

Twenty-five years ago, on April 20, 1999, two gunmen shot and killed 12 students and a teacher at a high school in Littleton, Colorado. Twenty-four other students were physically injured during the attack at Columbine High School, but the invisible wounds inflicted on the entire school community—and their families—defy measurement.

Essays From The Survivors:

But the effects did not extend only to those on the scene. The number of people affected by a mass shooting is “astronomical,” says Jillian Peterson, PhD, a forensic psychologist and executive director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit gun-violence research center. In communities where a shooting took place, “you see higher levels of PTSD or acute stress reactions in people who weren't on the scene—who just identify with that community,” she says. “It’s shocking, the number of people impacted. And in many ways, we’re all impacted. When you have events like Columbine, they hit us on a national level.”

Trauma doesn’t remain within geographical boundaries either—it can trace along identity-group lines that extend far beyond the incident’s location, says Abigail Hurst, director of Trauma-Informed Programs at Everytown for Gun Safety . For example: The 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando had ripple effects across the broader LGBTQ community, and the El Paso Walmart shooting in 2019 had a similar impact on Latinx people, she says.

Additionally, mass shootings like Columbine end up getting replayed in the 24-hour news cycle, which seems to have a different traumatic effect, though more research into that is needed. “Columbine had such a profound impact. It hit right when 24/7 cable news was taking off, so the coverage was just constant,” Peterson says.

Survivors’ mental and emotional responses in the wake of gun violence vary significantly from person to person. But in the immediate aftermath, one in three survivors lives in fear and feels unsafe, a 2023 research report from Everytown for Gun Safety found. They also experience things like hypervigilance, numbness, paranoia, anxiety , and depression , says Hurst. Sometimes, those responses can last for decades. “It is very hard for people to truly understand the depth and the breadth of how trauma from gun violence can change [a person],” Hurst says.

Two and a half decades have passed since that spring morning in Colorado, but many people are still battling the aftereffects. Therapy, advocacy, loved ones, support groups, and sometimes medication have all helped with healing. As survivor after survivor told Women’s Health , the pain never goes away, but you adapt. You learn to live a full, joyful life with that pain.

It’s important to note that therapy and trauma counseling looked a lot different in the late nineties and early aughts as well. There was more stigma, fewer resources for survivors. So, for the six women here, the years immediately following the shooting were focused mostly on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to convince themselves, “I’m fine. I’m okay.” Healing—which is a continuous journey, they all say—came later. (Two of the women sought out mental health treatment only after becoming parents.)

“We’ve gotten, in some ways, much more comfortable in the last 25 years talking about mental health, talking about trauma, reducing the stigma around it,” says Peterson. “There’s a lot more awareness. A lot more language about it.”

Each woman here has dedicated her life to service to others—whether through helping young people, supporting other survivors, caring for children with special needs, or advocating for change at a national level. A few became teachers. One became a therapist. All have committed to sharing their stories, whether through public speeches or interviews, in hopes that they can educate people and be a resource to those who might be struggling. Every single one of them says that turning their pain into power—through advocacy work, public speaking, and connecting with survivors—has been one of the strongest therapies they’ve found for their trauma.

“Sometimes, survivors can also be the ones who can push us forward,” Peterson says.

Amy Over was a senior at Columbine when she hid under a cafeteria table and was able to safely evacuate with other students thanks to her basketball and track coach, Dave Sanders. She now works as a paraeducator for children with special needs and founded Survivor’s Path, which brings speeches about trauma recovery and mental health to audiences across the country. Her own kids are graduating from high school this year and will be heading to their senior prom this spring.

At 43, I feel like I’ve really come into my own. I was telling my husband recently that I feel really happy in my life right now. I feel strong, physically, and I’m taking care of my mental health. I feel at peace and grounded. I also feel like I found a new purpose, working with special needs kiddos as a paraeducator. It’s a physically demanding job, but I enjoy it, and it’s good for me to always be moving.

Last week I did my first lockdown drill at school. That was very, very triggering for me. My boss was with me, and she was holding my hand, telling me, “Everything is going to be okay—you’ve got this.” But I came home and I was emotionally and physically exhausted.

The shooting was a few days after my senior prom, so there’s the “pre- Amy” and the “after Columbine Amy.” I was in the cafeteria under a table. My basketball and track coach essentially saved my life—and thousands of other lives—because he told us when to run for the doors.

In the immediate aftermath, it was just so overwhelming. I didn’t know what to do. That June, my mom scheduled a couple of therapy sessions, because we got a few for free. I lost my ever-loving mind with one of the counselors. She had started asking me really triggering questions about the shooting, and I wasn’t in a place to answer them. I became so enraged that I snapped—and ended up throwing a vase at her. I had so much anger. And from there, I kind of just coped with alcohol and partying.

PTSD creeps and seeps in years later. Mine appeared when I became a parent. I met my husband at 19. We got married at 21, and I had my daughter, Brie, at 24. I was a young mom trying to send my daughter to preschool and I was just like, “how is she going to be safe?” It wasn’t about me anymore—it was about keeping my kids safe, and mass shootings just kept happening. I remember when Sandy Hook happened, my son was a baby and my daughter was in first grade. I was on a trip with my husband in New York City. We were in Times Square, and I fell to my knees when I saw on the big screen what had happened. I called my nanny: “Where’s Brie? Where’s Masen?” I just panicked.

I started feeling like I was having a heart attack every day, and I began having night terrors. I wasn’t sleeping. I was just in a really bad cycle. And it wasn’t until then that I decided, “hey, I need help. I’m drowning.”

.css-1cugboc{margin:0rem;font-size:2.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-family:Domaine,Domaine-roboto,Domaine-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;color:#f7623b;font-weight:bold;}.css-1cugboc em,.css-1cugboc i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;}.css-1cugboc b,.css-1cugboc strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;} “I have tools in my toolbox that help me. I still do check-ins with a new therapist once a month. I make sure I sleep enough and drink enough water—that I’m taking care of my basic needs.”

My husband helped me get on medication and found this amazing therapist—a Columbine teacher and counselor from back in the day. He knew my coach and all my peers. He was also on the forefront of EMDR therapy [eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, which is supposed to help reprocess traumatic memories ]. I’m proud to say that I haven’t had a panic attack in years.

These days, I have tools in my toolbox that help me. I still do check-ins with a new therapist once a month. I make sure I sleep enough and drink enough water—that I’m taking care of my basic needs. And I also exercise every day—it’s just part of my mental health [routine]. I kickbox, I run, I do races and challenges and goat yoga. I hike and fish. I walk around my neighborhood. I still box and train with a pro boxer. It empowers me. That anger is still there, and this is a safe way for me to take out my sadness and anxiety. It’s just fun and keeps my mind active.

My kids are graduating from high school this spring, and I’m just beyond proud of them. I’m really looking forward to celebrating. But [this time] has also been challenging: My kids will be going to their senior prom soon, and that was the last time I was “normal Amy”—at my senior prom 25 years ago. It was such a magical time in my life. And Columbine was such an amazing school. So that’s going to be tough. The shooting is something that I’m not over—I’m over coming . I’m still getting through this.

I tell my story not to make people sad, but to give them hope. I talk about Columbine because I want to talk about how I got through the nitty-gritty parts, and how I’m going to continue to take care of myself and others around me.

Heather Martin Egeland

Heather turned 18 two days after the mass shooting at Columbine. After the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, Heather and another Columbine survivor, Jennifer Hammer, cofounded The Rebels Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization named for the Columbine High School mascot, which helps survivors of mass shootings connect and find services. Heather is still the executive director and also a high school English teacher and the yearbook advisor.

The year mark—and the days leading up to it—are always weird. They’re always funky and difficult in different, sometimes unexpected, ways. And major moments in my healing journey—which has centered on peer support, advocacy, and starting trauma therapy—are also very closely tied to the big round-number year marks.

Ten years after the shooting at Columbine, I realized I wanted to become a teacher. That’s where I belonged. That was the space for me. And I don’t know if I would have become the teacher I am today if not for the events of April 20, 1999. I think I’m a better teacher because of my recovery journey.

I struggled so badly in college that I just eventually failed out. I started working in the restaurant business, but at the 10-year mark, I reconnected with all my classmates, and I decided to step down from my restaurant management role and go back to school. I finished my bachelor’s degree and got my teaching license.

While filming a documentary, [the crew] wanted to film some B-roll and asked if I would flip through my old yearbook. I hadn’t looked at it in years, and as I was flipping through, I saw that my high school English teacher had written, “I hope you major in English and become a teacher. Your students would love you.” I had apparently told my English teacher that I wanted to be a teacher, but I had totally forgotten because, well, trauma. We had graduated about a month after the shooting and, as seniors, never went back to that school.

It also took me 10 years to recognize and own the title of “survivor.” I was physically uninjured, and I wasn’t in the library. I really minimized my trauma and my experience. I was always making excuses to myself about why I shouldn’t be traumatized—because so many others had it worse, had experienced and seen worse. I felt like my trauma was not bad enough to warrant what I was feeling inside and the nightmares I was having. But at the 10-year mark, I was invited back to the school and finally got together with the Class of 1999, and I found out that I wasn’t alone in my struggles. What I was feeling was totally normal, and that peer support was a game changer for me.

I’d tried therapy one year after the shooting. Looking back, I’m really proud of my sweet little 19-year-old self, because I knew something wasn’t right. Fascinatingly, though, I didn’t think it was because of the shooting. “It’s been a whole year,” I’d tell myself—and that’s horrifying that I thought that and was putting that kind of pressure on myself. I thought it was because I was in college, dealing with whatever college kids dealt with. But I was dropping out of classes, and I knew something was wrong.

Thirteen years after the shooting, we started The Rebels Project. Another classmate and survivor, Jennifer Hammer, texted me a day after the Aurora theater shooting in 2012: “What do you think about starting a support group for survivors of mass shootings?” And I told her, “I’m in.” Two days later, we had an online platform up and running. We were desperate to help because when these events happen, it really amplifies the helplessness that I felt the day of the shooting. It’s very triggering and brings about really big emotions. This was a way that we could help, that we could give back.

Now, people find out about The Rebels Project through word of mouth—we’ve been around a long time, we’re established, and we’re trusted. And if Columbine is any indicator, we know our services are, unfortunately, going to be needed at least 25 years down the road.

“It’s important that other survivors know that trauma is not a competition. It’s not about who suffered more and who struggled more and who experienced more.”

At the 20-year mark, I finally started trauma therapy—like actual trauma therapy, where I did EMDR and brainspotting [therapy using spots in a person’s visual field to help them process trauma]. I had been on a planning committee for the 20-year mark and was connecting for the first time with victims’ families—and I found that I was not okay. So, I went to trauma therapy pretty extensively for about a year and a half, and now I go back a couple times a year—typically in March and April, when the year mark is approaching.

I think this year mark is going to be difficult. I say that out loud right now, knowing that next week, I’ll have a meltdown about something and I won’t know why until my husband says, “It’s April.” And I’ll say, “Oh, yeah.” I can still sometimes feel angry when I’m triggered, similar to my feelings in the months after the shooting. But now I recognize it for what it is and have learned that I don’t need to—nor should I—watch coverage of new [shooting] events. My bounce-back time is much shorter.

I would go back in half a heartbeat and change the events of that day if I could. I am also extremely proud of the person I am today, and that probably is because of how I reacted and grew in the aftermath. It took—and is still taking—time, but 25 years out, I’m just so much better and have overcome a lot.

It’s important that other survivors know that trauma is not a competition. It’s not about who suffered more and who struggled more and who experienced more. Your experience and your story are valid and real. Your trauma matters, and your experience matters, and you matter. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to still be impacted. I am of course still impacted 25 years later, but it definitely gets better.

Missy Mendo

Fourteen-year-old Missy Mendo was in math class at Columbine when she heard the shooting start. She and her classmates evacuated to a park across the street where the perpetrators began shooting at them. After immediately relocating to the East Coast after high school, Missy eventually headed back to Colorado. These days, Missy works for the state of Colorado in the department of regulatory agencies and is director of community outreach for The Rebels Project.

I heard this saying once: “You never know that your experience could become somebody else’s playbook.” And these days, the ability to help someone else who may be going through something similar to what I’ve gone through—especially another mom—makes me feel strong and empowered. Talking to other survivors has helped me significantly. I say this all the time: A hug from another survivor is totally different than a hug from somebody trying to console you. It’s an unwritten understanding. They get it.

When The Rebels Project first started after the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, I couldn’t get involved because I was living on the East Coast. But I ended up moving back to Colorado, and I showed up to a silent auction the group was holding. By the end of the night, I had accepted a job as their assistant director of fundraising. It was at that point that I started to really get to know other communities of survivors—helping them connect. Now, I’ve been director of community outreach for almost six years.

Twenty-five years ago, mental health wasn’t exactly a thing. The county offered us six free therapy sessions [after the shooting], but it’s not like you could pick and choose therapists. I got a marriage and family therapist who was much older, and she and I didn’t jive very well. We weren’t a good match. At the end, I just thought, Okay, I did my six weeks, I’m okay , and then spent the next 20 years with no therapy whatsoever. No support groups, no therapy, nothing—just figuring it out on my own.

“Twenty-five years ago, mental health wasn’t exactly a thing.”

After the shooting, my sleep pattern immediately changed—I wasn’t sleeping. My brain wouldn’t shut off. I got in the habit of sleeping with the television on because it helped with the silence in my head. The news outlets kept repeating everything [about the shooting], so I started watching ESPN. I ran cross country and played soccer, and sports was the one thing that didn’t talk about what was going on in my life.

One of the hardest things to understand is that I have an unseen injury. When I read The Body Keeps the Score [by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD], I had to put the book down because it showed scans of what your brain looks like with anxiety, during a panic attack, and when you’re distressed. For the first time, I could physically see my injury—it was nonexistent until that point. The processing that took place in the days after, before I could continue to read the book, was just hard. I am getting goosebumps talking about it now.

When I started working for The Rebels Project, I put so much pressure on myself to say the right things to these communities, to do the right thing and make the right suggestions. I was afraid any mistake would set them back emotionally or retraumatize them. And I realized: If I’m seeing the same things in myself that these other people are going through, and they’re in therapy… I don’t want to project this onto my child; I want to set her up for success in this world as much as I possibly can. And I’ve been in therapy now for over four years.

The toughest connections I make are with other parents who say, “My kid just went through this. They have to go back to school, but we’re having a really hard time. I don’t know what to do.” It’s the hardest [question] to answer because how do I tell a mom that I’m 25 years out and I’m still struggling? How do you tell them there’s no quick fix to this? You can’t tell them that there’s going to be severe challenges their entire life, and you can’t tell them that everything is going to be okay. In the 25 years that I’ve been a survivor, I have never met another survivor that was like, “Yep, I’m good. No problems.”

The trajectory of my life completely changed that day at Columbine. But over the years, I’ve come to realize that I have the capability of letting somebody else know that they’re not alone in the world, and make them feel like they have a support system. I’ve noticed a change in myself: I’ve come to realize that even though you are a tiny speck on this planet, you can still make a difference.

Michelle Wheeler

Michelle Wheeler was a senior at Columbine when the shooting occurred. She was in the choir room and hid in the auditorium until she could evacuate the school. Ninety-six bullets passed her body as she fled the building. She worked for nearly two decades as a preschool teacher before becoming an instructional coach at district schools, helping preschoolers through trauma and crisis. After spending time at The Rebels Project, she now works with Survivor’s Path, speaking to audiences about trauma recovery and mental health. She is still married to her college sweetheart, who unknowingly saved her life when he asked her out on a first date.

When I work with parents of survivors, I try to have them understand that their kids are not going to be the same as they were the day before. That child is dead, I tell them, and you need to grieve the loss of the child you once had and learn to love and understand the child you have now. Because we do change. And we are angry. And we’re going to take it out on the people that we love the most, because they’re the safest. That child is going to be different in school. If they’re an athlete, they’re going to be different at their sport. They’re just going to be different. Their brain has changed, and there’s really no going back to the person they were. But there’s also so much joy and triumph in the person they will become. It takes time, and it’s a very rocky road, but you will get there.

In high school, I was the class clown. School was hard for me. I don’t know if I would have had the same life if I hadn’t gone through what I did. I think I would have been a teacher, but I don’t know that I’d have worked with the population [of kids] that I work with now. I grieved the person [I was on] April 19, 1999, many, many years ago, and have let go of who she could have been. I worked on understanding who I was after April 20, 1999—loving the awkwardness and the dark humor and the sadness and the celebrations. It took many, many years to accept who I am.

I was upstairs in the choir room when the shooting began, and hid in the auditorium for what seemed like forever—but I think it was only a couple minutes. When I exited the school, about 96 bullets passed my body. None hit me, thank God. I made it out of the school probably 10 or 15 minutes after everything started.

I was a senior at the time, and I went straight to college the next year. Now that I look back on it, I can see [my] patterns of destruction. I was drinking alcohol. I had a lot of anger issues. I liked the thrill of trying to get away with things and made poor decisions that could have put me in danger, because I felt this invincibility—like, this [mass shooting] happened, I can survive anything. But when we had our first fire drill in college, I hit the ground. I panicked. And I remember thinking, This is really weird. There’s something wrong with my heart .

It wasn’t until my third year [of college] that I hit rock bottom. I was—unconsciously, but consciously—saving medication to kill myself. I just didn’t have any feeling in my body; I felt numb. Nothing excited me. I thought, Well, if this is life, this isn’t worth living . I had a plan. But the night I chose to do it, my now husband asked me out on our first date, and I finally felt something different. (We kept going out on dates, and have now been married for 20 years.)

That was my turning point. That was my realization that I wasn’t well and that I needed help. So, I went to therapy, and have done extensive therapy since then, including four rounds of EMDR, which has helped me process the sounds and the smells and the tastes I experienced in my flashbacks. I was lucky to find my husband when I was fresh in my trauma because it meant I didn’t have to explain that I was a Columbine survivor, and that I don’t like loud sounds or blue lights. That I hate balloons and black trench coats.

“I needed people who love me and support me, who may not have been through what I’ve gone through, but who can sit with me on dark nights.”

But I wish I’d had family connection and support after the shooting [to help process the trauma]. I’m the baby of seven kids, and there’s a 16-year difference between me and the next oldest. And I just didn’t have that family support. I didn’t have anybody to go to the funerals with me. I didn’t have anybody I could process my trauma with. After the shooting, I went to my boyfriend’s parent’s house, then to my sister’s. And when I got to her house, my mom met me at the door with a bottle of Jack and said, “We’re never going to talk about this. If you talk about it, you’re letting the perpetrators win.” Obviously, that is horrible advice. I love my mother to death, she’s a wonderful mother, but I don’t know that she could mentally handle what I went through. I honestly think it’s a generational thing.

It wasn’t until I met my husband, and experienced that love and bond, that I realized I needed people in my corner. I needed people who love me and support me, who may not have been through what I’ve gone through, but who can sit with me on dark nights and help me through a nightmare, or walk my path with me on the day that marks the shooting every year. Someone who can understand my triggers and know when to say, “Oh, we gotta go.” I have now surrounded myself with a survivor community and created my own family that I can call when I’m in crisis. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be. I don’t even know if I’d be here.

Suicide is a scary topic, but it’s important to talk about. We lost many friends to suicide after Columbine. And now that I have come out and talked more about it these past few years, I’ve had a lot of people come up to me after panel discussions, saying, “Oh my gosh, I have felt the same way.” So, I know by talking about the hard stuff, it’s going to make a difference.

[Trauma recovery] is not an easy road. But it’s not always hard. You will find love. You will have children. (That will have its own difficulties!) But you will figure out how to manage life with your trauma. It never goes away, but you learn to live with it. You learn that some days, you can do hard things, and some days you can’t. And that’s okay.

Coni Sanders

Coni Sanders was 24 when her father, beloved Columbine teacher and coach Dave Sanders, was shot and killed while trying to lead students to safety from the school’s cafeteria. Today, she honors her father and his memory through her life’s work, helping people convicted of violent crimes “find peace and live nonviolent lives.” She still lives in Littleton, Colorado, and is expecting another grandchild this year.

I’m a forensic therapist. For almost 20 years, I’ve worked with people who have committed violent crime or related harm in their communities. Working with them is such an honor. It feels really empowering when I see so many successes—see people doing the work to change their path and live nonviolent lives. Over the years, it feels less connected to Columbine and more like, “this is where I’m meant to be.” Most of my clients don’t know my story—it’s not something I openly share because I don’t want to take the focus off of them. And while I’m pretty Google-able, [my history] is kind of my secret superpower. This is where I carry on my father’s legacy by helping the struggling to find a path.

When my dad, teacher and coach Dave Sanders, was killed at Columbine High School, I was 24 years old, working at the local phone company. I was rebellious at the time and hadn’t gone to college (even though my dad wanted me to) and feeling a bit lost in my life overall. After the shooting, it felt like I was in a dream—there’s a fog and a haze [over my memories]. It was unreal. I remember the details, but I don’t remember feeling anything.

At the time, I worked in the Denver Post building, and reporters would just stop by my workplace to talk about the shooting. I had to change jobs because I just wanted to hide, to have some semblance of normalcy. I was convinced I was fine and didn’t need therapy. Everyone kept telling me “be strong,” so I was trying to do that. I tried to be tough. I wish I understood that I didn’t have to be strong; it’s not realistic that someone could “be strong” in that situation without significant support from others.

Three years later, I was driving down the highway and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”—the version sung by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole—came on, and I went back into that numb state. I pulled over, got out of my car, and went and sat in a ditch. And I just cried and cried and cried. When I got back in my car, I started driving really fast. And I realized I needed help.

When you’re a secondary or tertiary victim, it can feel like you don’t belong with other survivors. But these traumatic events are a wound for the entire community. That wound is seeing the people you care about suffer, the media coverage, the terror.

“When you’re a secondary or tertiary victim, it can feel like you don’t belong with other survivors. But these traumatic events are a wound for the entire community.”

Three years ago, we were cleaning out my mom’s basement and found the box of evidence. It had everything—his body bag, his bloody clothes—and we all just froze. We thought mom had the police department destroy everything. It was so horrifying, and the wounds just burst open. I went and found a therapist. “I can’t manage this,” I told them.

Twenty-five years doesn’t stop the hurt. It never stops. Even right now, my whole body will go numb, my breathing changes, and I have to remind myself that I’m okay. I do grounding techniques and try to stay in the present. I sometimes hold ice cubes to help bring me back into my body. When you suffer a trauma this deep, it’s always going to be there. I’ve been in this fight longer than most people who are surviving gun violence, but it’s a less lonely journey now because so many people have traveled this never-ending path. [After a mass shooting], you step onto this path not knowing where it’s going to go. I can tell you that you’re going to fall, you’re going to get bruised. You’re going to feel lost and numb and frustrated. But you’ll also find people along that path who have experienced the same thing, who care, who are advocating for change. There’s a wide network of supporters you can really lean on.

My daughter is about to have a baby, and my dad’s not here. He was such a wonderful grandpa, and some of my grandkids aren’t going to get to experience that. I remember when I turned the same age he was when he died, I kept thinking, Oh my gosh, he had so much more life to live . And I went numb again.

Someone left a pair of shoes at the memorial, and it says, “Coach, in these shoes, you gave me wisdom. In these shoes, you made me an athlete. In these shoes, you made me a champion. In these shoes, you made me a man. My love to you, Class of ’96.” People still come up to me to tell me my dad saved generations when he saved hundreds of kids in the cafeteria. “He saved my life, and now I have a baby,” one person told me. “And my baby will one day have a baby.”

Salli Garrigan

Salli Garrigan, 16, was in the choir room when the shooting at Columbine began. Now, she has two kids—a 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son—and finds her strength through telling her own story. Salli is now a volunteer with Moms Demand Action and a Senior Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network.

I loved high school. I was a truly normal teenager—if you want to call a choir-theater kid normal, which I do! I was excited to be part of the pom squad.

In the immediate aftermath, I felt a kind of grief amnesia. I was in a haze, and everything just felt fuzzy. When I look back, everything just kind of goes white, like a weird dream. I don’t truly remember things that happened during that time. We went through the motions: going to funerals, going to the hospital.

Our rival high school opened its doors to us, we got handmade blankets from Project Linus, the first responders made potpourri from the flowers at the memorial—and that outpouring was therapeutic. The community came together; the world was with us. [Knowing] that helped a lot. We had a “taking back our school” rally the next year. It felt good to be back, even though our library was taped off—it was still a crime scene—and we’d have to walk by that every day. But getting one last year with everyone, to sit in familiar classrooms again, was so helpful. We were able to make new memories, which was really important. Bringing our choir back together—and singing again—was great, great therapy.

Back then, I didn’t consider myself a survivor. I wasn’t physically injured, so I always thought, Okay, I’m fine . I wasn’t fine, and looking back now, I get that I had PTSD. Even though I didn’t know what I needed at the time, I was lucky because I found outlets like theater and singing with friends—outlets, like dancing, that were healthy. Onstage, I could pretend I was something I wasn’t. I was able to tell someone else’s story and not my own. I could hide. It was a wonderful escape. I ended up getting a degree in musical theater and moved to New York, where I went on tours and did a lot of regional theater. I never sought out therapy, but looking back, I should have. In the ’90s, therapy seemed like you failed, which is so silly [to think] now, but at the time, there was this weird stigma.

“Back then, I didn’t consider myself a survivor. I wasn’t physically injured, so I always thought, Okay, I’m fine . I wasn’t fine, and looking back now, I get that I had PTSD.”

For a long time, I didn’t tell my story. But then the Parkland school shooting happened in 2018—it was eerily similar to what happened at the Columbine shooting—and that made me realize I needed to do something. I saw the kids calling themselves survivors, and I realized I could be a survivor. The Parkland kids weren’t trusting the adults [who were saying it would never happen again]. They were speaking out, and I had a moment of thinking, Why didn’t we speak out? At this point, my daughter had been born and I was pregnant with my son, and I was starting to realize my children are going to go to school, and they will see a whole different school day. I have a lot of guilt because lockdown drills happen because of our school. Because nothing changed after the Columbine shooting.

Around that time, I started getting involved in Moms Demand Action and the Everytown Survivor Network , and advocacy became an incredible coping mechanism. It was the first time I actually opened up, and it was very therapeutic to call myself a survivor, to share my story. I have [developed] other great coping mechanisms too: a sad-mom playlist that I listen to, or if I’m angry, I take a long walk so I don’t lash out at my family. It’s a lifelong grief—and you’ll be grieving in different ways, even 25 years later. You just don’t know how it will hit you. So, it’s okay to take a step back, feel all the feelings.

My daughter was with me when I was speaking out a lot about this [gun violence prevention] in D.C., so she has an idea of what happened. I tell her, “I'm working hard to keep the guns out of the hands of bad guys, so you can feel safe at school. You do the lockdown drills, you do all these things, and we’re working on it.” But I have moments where I give my kids extra-big hugs when I say goodbye to them. I want them to ask their own questions and feel what they want to feel. But it’s hard to ask, “How was your lockdown drill today?” I just wish it had stopped with us.

The six essays were condensed and edited for clarity, and were as told to Currie Engel.

Currie Engel is the news and features editor at Women's Health. She loves working on zeitgeisty news, culture, mental health, and reproductive rights stories. When she's not editing stories, she's writing them—one of her essays was recognized as a National Magazine Award finalist in 2023. Currie previously worked as an award-winning local reporter specializing in health investigations and features, and as a researcher at Time magazine.  

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Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI

Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year, new data released by plagiarism detection company Turnitin shows.

A year ago, Turnitin rolled out an AI writing detection tool that was trained on its trove of papers written by students as well as other AI-generated texts. Since then, more than 200 million papers have been reviewed by the detector, predominantly written by high school and college students. Turnitin found that 11 percent may contain AI-written language in 20 percent of its content, with 3 percent of the total papers reviewed getting flagged for having 80 percent or more AI writing. (Turnitin is owned by Advance, which also owns Condé Nast, publisher of WIRED.) Turnitin says its detector has a false positive rate of less than 1 percent when analyzing full documents.

ChatGPT’s launch was met with knee-jerk fears that the English class essay would die . The chatbot can synthesize information and distill it near-instantly—but that doesn’t mean it always gets it right. Generative AI has been known to hallucinate , creating its own facts and citing academic references that don’t actually exist. Generative AI chatbots have also been caught spitting out biased text on gender and race . Despite those flaws, students have used chatbots for research, organizing ideas, and as a ghostwriter . Traces of chatbots have even been found in peer-reviewed, published academic writing .

Teachers understandably want to hold students accountable for using generative AI without permission or disclosure. But that requires a reliable way to prove AI was used in a given assignment. Instructors have tried at times to find their own solutions to detecting AI in writing, using messy, untested methods to enforce rules , and distressing students. Further complicating the issue, some teachers are even using generative AI in their grading processes.

Detecting the use of gen AI is tricky. It’s not as easy as flagging plagiarism, because generated text is still original text. Plus, there’s nuance to how students use gen AI; some may ask chatbots to write their papers for them in large chunks or in full, while others may use the tools as an aid or a brainstorm partner.

Students also aren't tempted by only ChatGPT and similar large language models. So-called word spinners are another type of AI software that rewrites text, and may make it less obvious to a teacher that work was plagiarized or generated by AI. Turnitin’s AI detector has also been updated to detect word spinners, says Annie Chechitelli, the company’s chief product officer. It can also flag work that was rewritten by services like spell checker Grammarly, which now has its own generative AI tool . As familiar software increasingly adds generative AI components, what students can and can’t use becomes more muddled.

Detection tools themselves have a risk of bias. English language learners may be more likely to set them off; a 2023 study found a 61.3 percent false positive rate when evaluating Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams with seven different AI detectors. The study did not examine Turnitin’s version. The company says it has trained its detector on writing from English language learners as well as native English speakers. A study published in October found that Turnitin was among the most accurate of 16 AI language detectors in a test that had the tool examine undergraduate papers and AI-generated papers.

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Andrew Couts

Emily Mullin

C. Brandon Ogbunu

Schools that use Turnitin had access to the AI detection software for a free pilot period, which ended at the start of this year. Chechitelli says a majority of the service’s clients have opted to purchase the AI detection. But the risks of false positives and bias against English learners have led some universities to ditch the tools for now. Montclair State University in New Jersey announced in November that it would pause use of Turnitin’s AI detector. Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University did the same last summer.

“This is hard. I understand why people want a tool,” says Emily Isaacs, executive director of the Office of Faculty Excellence at Montclair State. But Isaacs says the university is concerned about potentially biased results from AI detectors, as well as the fact that the tools can’t provide confirmation the way they can with plagiarism. Plus, Montclair State doesn’t want to put a blanket ban on AI, which will have some place in academia. With time and more trust in the tools, the policies could change. “It’s not a forever decision, it’s a now decision,” Isaacs says.

Chechitelli says the Turnitin tool shouldn’t be the only consideration in passing or failing a student. Instead, it’s a chance for teachers to start conversations with students that touch on all of the nuance in using generative AI. “People don’t really know where that line should be,” she says.

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Our 15th Annual Summer Reading Contest

Students are invited to tell us what they’re reading in The Times and why, this year in writing OR via a 90-second video. Contest dates: June 7 to Aug. 16.

By The Learning Network

The illustrations for this post were originally created by Adolfo Redaño for “ Summer Books 2023 .”

Our Summer Reading Contest is our longest-running challenge — and our simplest.

All you have to do to participate is tell us what you’re reading, watching or listening to in The New York Times and why.

Don’t have a subscription? No problem! We’ll be providing dozens of free links to teen-friendly articles, essays, videos, podcasts and graphics every week from June through August.

And this summer, both to celebrate the contest’s 15th year and to shake things up a bit, we’ll be trying something new: Students can enter as they always have by submitting a short written response — or they can make a video up to 90 seconds long.

Got questions? We have answers. Everything you need is detailed below.

But if you’re a teacher who would like to have your students practice for this now, before the contest begins, note that the only rule around content is that a piece must have been published in 2024. Beyond that, we don’t care if your students pick something on cats , chatbots , the cost of college or the crisis in the Middle East ; Beyoncé , book bans , basketball or banana bread . We just want to hear what they think. To help, we’ve created a special practice forum . Join us!

Have fun, and, as always, post your questions here or write to [email protected].

This announcement is available as a one-page PDF to hang on your class bulletin board.

Here’s what you need to know:

The challenge, rules and guidelines, resources for teachers, students and parents, frequently asked questions, how to submit.

Choose something in The New York Times that got your attention and tell us why — via a short written or video response.

Here’s how the contest works:

Every Friday for 10 weeks beginning on June 7, we will publish a post asking the same question: “What got your attention in The Times this week?” That’s where you should submit your response any time until the following Friday at 9 a.m. Eastern, when we will close that post and open a new one that asks the same question. On Aug. 9 we’ll post our final question of the summer, open until 9 a.m. on Aug. 16.

You can enter every week, or any week, all summer long, but you may only submit once each week.

You can always find the proper link to the place to submit at the top of this page, updated each week. Once the contest begins, you can also find it on our home page . Please see the How to Submit section below for more details.

You can choose anything you like that was published in the print paper or on nytimes.com in 2024, including articles, Opinion and guest essays , videos , graphics, photos and podcasts . To see the variety of topics winners have responded to over the years, read this column .

Then tell us what Times piece you chose and why it got your attention via a 250-word essay OR a 90-second video. See the full Rules and Guidelines for each type of response below. We have a contest rubric , as well as a guide for students that details four simple ways to make your response stand out.

We’ll choose winners each week, and every Tuesday during the contest, starting June 25, we’ll publish them in a separate post, which you can find here . All written and video entries will be judged together. We will also celebrate the winners on Facebook.

Please read these rules and guidelines carefully before you make your submissions.

Guidelines for written responses

Your written response should tell us what you read, watched or listened to in The Times and why it got your attention. You can find many examples in this column , which spotlights the work of our previous winners.

This guide walks you through some of the key elements of a great reader response, including making a personal connection to the piece, thinking critically about it, referencing specific details or quotes, and writing in your own unique voice.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Written responses must be no more than 1,500 characters, or about 250 words.

Make sure to i nclude the complete URL or headline of the Times piece you have chosen. For example, “The Joys and Challenges of Caring for Terrance the Octopus” or https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/us/tiktok-octopus-pet-oklahoma.html. Yes, this is included in the word count.

Guidelines for video responses

Just as with written responses, video responses should explain what Times piece you chose and why you chose it. The advice in this guide , while originally created with written responses in mind, can apply to video, as well.

We hope you’ll be creative, but that doesn’t mean your video has to be complicated or use special effects; sometimes simple is best. All you need is yourself and the camera on your phone to make a great video response.

Here are the guidelines:

Use a phone to shoot your video vertically (so it looks like the videos you might see on TikTok or Instagram Reels ).

Your video must be 90 seconds or fewer .

Please be sure to say or show the headline of the Times piece you are discussing.

Your video MAY NOT use any images, video clips, music or sound effects, other than those that appear in the Times piece you are discussing or what you create yourself. We cannot publish your video if it uses any copyrighted images or sounds — including TikTok sounds.

Make sure we can see and hear your video clearly. Pay attention to lighting and try to limit background noise as much as possible if it’s not an intentional part of your video.

Please do not include anyone else in your video. For the most part, we recommend filming only yourself, inanimate objects, animals, or your Times piece. You may film crowds of people in public places, but, to protect people’s privacy, try to avoid any close-ups.

A few additional rules

These rules apply to both written and video responses:

You can participate as often as every week, but we allow only ONE submission per person per week.

Any teenager 13 to 19 years old anywhere in the world is invited to join us , as long as you are in middle or high school, or have graduated from high school in 2024 and haven’t started college yet. See below, How to Submit , for more details.

The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Teenagers who live in the same household as a Times employee are also ineligible.

The work you submit should be fundamentally your own — it should not be plagiarized, created by someone else or generated by artificial intelligence.

Your work must be original for this contest. That means it should not already have been published at the time of submission, whether in your school newspaper, for another contest, or anywhere else.

Keep in mind that the work you send in should be appropriate for a Times audience — that is, something that could be published in a family newspaper (so, please, no curse words).

For this contest, you must work alone , not in pairs or a group.

Entries must be received by the deadline at 9 a.m. Eastern time each Friday to be considered.

We have created many resources to help students practice for and participate in this contest over the years. Although they were written with the goal of helping students create written responses, many of them can work for video, too.

Writing Resources and Lesson Plans: Our full unit on independent reading and writing has lesson plans, writing prompts and mentor texts that can support students in the kind of thinking we’re asking them to do for this contest.

But, to see how easy this contest is, you might start with “ A Simple Exercise for Encouraging Independent Reading .” We invited four teachers across the country to try a short experiment in which they challenged their students to read a Times article on a topic within their comfort zone, and one article on a topic outside it. In this piece, they and their students reflect on the successful results.

We also have a Student Opinion question that challenges any student to do the same.

Student Mentors: “ Writing Rich Reading Responses: Participating in Our Summer Contest ” showcases a series of student-written mentor texts that demonstrate the four key elements that can make a short response — whether in a written or video format — sing.

You can also read all of the winning student entries from 2017 to the present , including reflections from many participants and judges.

And, check out a video version of our “Annotated by the Author” series (embedded above) in which two student winners of our 2020 contest discuss the “writer’s moves” they made.

Webinars: Teachers, to learn more about this contest and how you can teach with it, watch this free on-demand webinar from 2020 . And, to get ideas for supporting your students’ independent reading and writing, watch this on-demand webinar from 2021 .

Our Rubric: This is the rubric our judges will use to judge this contest. We’re looking for written and video responses that include personal connections, critical thinking, references to the source material, and voice and style.

Q. What kinds of responses are you looking for?

A. The subject matter isn’t important; neither is whether you loved or hated it. What we care about is what you have to say about why you picked it.

If you don’t believe us, scroll through the work of previous winners . They have written on weighty topics like abortion , racism , the war in Ukraine , Alzheimer’s disease , climate change and the dangers of vaping , but they have also covered handbags , hummingbirds , the Minions , text messaging , staycations , power naps, junk food , Wordle , Disney shows, running and bagels.

Whatever the subject, you’ll see that the best responses year after year make personal connections to the news and discuss the broader questions and ideas that the topic raises. We have even created a guide that outlines four simple things you can do to make your responses more powerful. We will use this rubric to judge entries.

So whether you were moved by an article , irked by an essay , bowled over by a photo , or inspired by a video , simply find something in The Times that genuinely interests you and tell us why, as honestly and originally as you can.

Q. Since you now offer the option to respond in video, are you looking for something different in that format?

Short answer: No. Longer answer: We’re excited to see what you come up with! We’ve purposely not put a lot of guidelines around what you can create since a) it’s summer, and we want this to be casual and b) we hope you’ll surprise us and show us what’s possible.

Though at the beginning all our contests focused on writing, in recent years we’ve been trying to encourage other forms of composition and expression. We hope you’ll take a risk and submit in video at least once this summer.

Q. Who will be judging my work?

A. The Learning Network staff, a team of New York Times journalists, along with educators from across the country.

Q. What is the “prize”?

A. The prize for winning any of our contests is having your work published on The Learning Network.

Q. When should I check to see if my submission won?

A. Every Tuesday from June 25 until Aug. 27, we will publish the previous week’s winner or winners in a separate article that you can find here . We will also celebrate the winners on Facebook.

Q. How do I participate in this contest if I don’t have a digital subscription to The Times?

A. All Learning Network posts for students, as well as all Times articles linked from them, are accessible without a digital subscription . So if you use any of the articles we have linked to on our site, they will not be blocked.

Each time we pose our question — “What got your attention in The Times this week?” — we will link to dozens of recent, teen-friendly pieces that you can choose from if you don’t have your own subscription.

You can also find copies of The New York Times at most public libraries, and some even allow you to access NYTimes.com with your library card.

And remember: You can use anything published anytime in 2024.

Q. How do I prove to my teacher that I participated?

A. If you are 13 to 19 in the United States and Britain — or 16 to 19 elsewhere in the world — and are submitting your written response by posting a comment, make sure to check the box that asks if you would like to be emailed when your comment is published. If you do so, the system will send you a link to your comment, which you can use to show your teacher, your parents, your friends or anyone else you’d like to impress. (Please note that you will not get an email until the comment has been approved, which may take longer over weekends.)

If you are submitting a video response or an adult is submitting a written response on behalf of an eligible student via the embedded form at the bottom of the post, please take a screenshot if a student needs proof that they are participating in the contest. You will not receive a confirmation email.

Another method? Some teachers ask students to keep a Google Doc of all their submissions, while others instruct students to take screenshots of their responses before they hit “submit.”

Q. How can teachers, librarians and parents use this challenge?

A. Our goals for this contest include some that appear on many educators’ lists. We want to help students become more aware of the world and their place in it; learn how to navigate sophisticated nonfiction; and create for a real audience, beyond the classroom. But more than anything else, we just want students to realize that reading the newspaper can be fun.

Through the years, adults have told us over and over that participating in this contest has made their students both more aware of and more interested in what’s going on in the world. Many see it as a low-stakes way to help teenagers start building a news-reading habit.

And, too, at a time when some educators are alarmed by the ability of chatbots to do students’ work for them, this is a contest that rewards the human touch. As our step-by-step guide to participating shows, what we’re looking for are genuine personal connections to the news, explored with voice, style and personality — something A.I. can’t (yet?) do with anywhere near the verve of the teenagers we hear from.

Another reason? For some teachers, assigning the contest over the summer helps them to quickly get to know their new students when school starts. In our related webinar , Karen Gold, English department chair at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Mass., details how she uses the contest in this way.

But maybe the most compelling reason to assign this contest is what students themselves say about it. In 2017, Emma Weber, a student from London, posted that, thanks to the contest, “I feel grounded in my views and understand what’s going on in the world. It’s amazing what a change 1,500 characters a week make.” In 2020 we invited Emma to help judge the entries, and here is what she had to say after Week 10:

I know firsthand that the Summer Reading Contest has the ability to change the way one engages in the news — I went from passively reading to actively thinking and questioning. The more you reflect on what is going on in the world and what interests you about it, the more you will understand your place within it. I urge all those who enjoyed participating this summer to continue reading, reflecting and writing.

Thank you for making this contest a hit year after year, and please spread the word that it’s back for its 15th season.

Any 13- to 19-year-old anywhere in the world is invited to join us, if you are in middle or high school, or if you graduated from high school and haven’t yet started college.

Every Friday starting on June 7, we’ll post a fresh version of this question: “What got your attention in The Times this week?” We will link to each week’s version at the top of this post. Here is an example from last summer. How you respond to this question will depend on your age and whether you are choosing to respond via writing or video, but all responses will be judged together.

For written responses:

Students ages 13 to 19 in the United States and Britain — and ages 16 to 19 elsewhere in the world — can submit by posting a comment on the post itself. See the GIF below to see how to do that.

If you are a teacher, parent or guardian of a student or child who is ages 13 to 15 anywhere in the world besides the United States and Britain, then you should submit an entry on the student’s behalf using the form embedded at the bottom of each week’s post.

For video responses:

All students should use the form at the bottom of each week’s post to submit video responses. Students ages 13 to 19 in the United States and Britain — and ages 16 to 19 elsewhere in the world — can submit their own entries. Students ages 13 to 15 anywhere else in the world must have a parent, teacher or guardian submit on their behalf.

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Events See all →

Investigating homelessness.

Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk

Earth Week 2024

This is a campuswide week of events, lectures, and volunteer opportunities designed to educate and inspire action related to environmental justice, climate, and nature-based solutions. This year’s theme is Restore & Regenerate.

Various locations

Take Our Children to Work Day

Excellence in Graduate Teaching Reception

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Penn Graduate Student Center, 3615 Locust Walk

Campus & Community

Class of 2024 President’s Engagement, Innovation Prize winners announced

Three prize-winning teams will design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world..

University of Pennsylvania Interim President J. Larry Jameson today announced the recipients of the 2024 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes. Awarded annually, the Prizes empower Penn undergraduate students to design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world. Each Prize-winning project will receive $100,000, as well as a $50,000 living stipend per team member. The Prizes are the largest of their kind in higher education. All Prize recipients collaborate with a Penn faculty mentor.

Five fourth-year students were named recipients of the 2024 President’s Engagement Prize. They are Simran Rajpal and Gauthami Moorkanat for Educate to Empower and Anooshey Ikhlas, Brianna Aguilar, and Catherine Hood for Presby Addiction Care Program. Fourth-year students Yash Dhir and Rahul Nambiar have received the President’s Innovation Prize for their project, Jochi .

“The 2024 recipients of the President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize all combine the highest levels of academic excellence with strong service-minded missions,” said Jameson. “Educate to Empower, Presby Addiction Care Program, and Jochi exemplify Penn’s founding ethos: to pursue knowledge for knowledge’s sake and to use it to do good in the world. I congratulate each of our Prize winners and look forward to seeing their ventures thrive.”

The 2024 prize recipients—selected from an applicant pool of 68—will spend the next year implementing the following projects:

• Simran Rajpal and Gauthami Moorkanat for Educate to Empower: Rajpal, a biology and health and societies double major in the   College of Arts and Sciences from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, and Moorkanat, a biochemistry major in the College from Stirling, New Jersey, will work to identify and dismantle barriers to breast cancer screenings in marginalized communities through education and resources at community centers in Philadelphia. They are mentored by Leisha Elmore , an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and chief of breast surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center .    
• Anooshey Ikhlas, Brianna Aguilar, and Catherine Hood for Presby Addiction Care Program: Ikhlas, a neuroscience major in the College of Art and Sciences from Raynham, Massachusetts; Aguilar, a medical sociology major in the College from West Haven, Connecticut; and Hood, a health and societies major in the College from West Greenwich, Rhode Island, will focus on implementing a volunteer program at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center aimed at addressing challenges encountered by individuals with substance use disorders during hospitalization. The Presby Addiction Care Program team is mentored by Jeanmarie Perrone, professor of emergency medicine in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and founding director of the Penn Medicine Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy.   
• Yash Dhir and Rahul Nambiar for Jochi: Dhir, a systems science and engineering major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science from London, and Nambiar, an applied science in computer science major in Penn Engineering from Dubai, will grow an online ed-tech management platform that improves the educational experience of students with learning differences, such as ADHD, dyslexia, and executive functioning deficits, and that helps foster greater efficiency and engagement by teachers and administrators in supporting these students. They are mentored by Amanda Antico, capstone director of the Education Entrepreneurship Program in the Graduate School of Education .

This year’s finalists also included fourth-years Sindhuja Uppuluri for Project StreetGuard; Himanshi Verma and Nikita Patel for Refugee Health Empowerment Initiative; Kiln Chen, Caroline Li, and Angela Shen for The Jendela Project; Julianna Cimillo, Turner Halle, Melissa Nong, and Ethan Markwalter for Panbo; and Chiadika Eleh, Liam Pharr, Joey Wei, Isaac Kim, and Venkatesh Shenoy for See-Rynge.

“These prize-winning projects exemplify the enterprising spirit of our Penn students,” said Provost John L. Jackson Jr. “They are all addressing critical challenges in inventive new ways, from ensuring equity and access in health care to improving treatments for substance use disorders to expanding educational resources for those with learning differences. We are indebted to their outstanding faculty advisors and to the staff of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships , who worked closely with them to develop their ideas into these inspiring initiatives.”

The Prizes are supported by Trustee Emerita Judith Bollinger and William G. Bollinger, in honor of Ed Resovsky; Trustee Emerita Lee Spelman Doty and George E. Doty Jr.; Trustee Emeritus James S. Riepe and Gail Petty Riepe; Trustee David Ertel and Beth Seidenberg Ertel; Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation; and an anonymous donor.

Picturing artistic pursuits

Penn celebrates operation and benefits of largest solar power project in Pennsylvania

Solar production has begun at the Great Cove I and II facilities in central Pennsylvania, the equivalent of powering 70% of the electricity demand from Penn’s academic campus and health system in the Philadelphia area.

Education, Business, & Law

Investing in future teachers and educational leaders

The Empowerment Through Education Scholarship Program at Penn’s Graduate School of Education is helping to prepare and retain teachers and educational leaders.

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

‘The Illuminated Body’ fuses color, light, and sound

A new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of work by artist Barbara Earl Thomas features cut-paper portraits reminiscent of stained glass and an immersive installation constructed with intricately cut material lit from behind.

25 years of ‘LOVE’

The iconic sculpture by pop artist Robert Indiana arrived on campus in 1999 and soon became a natural place to come together.

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The 2024 “MIT in 3:00” Playlist and Prize Winners

Thank you to the great crowd that attended this year’s screening of the MIT in 3:00 video competition, featuring ten submissions from the MIT community of videos under three minutes! Congratulations too to the winners of the two MIT in 3:00 prizes: “Ceilings at MIT” by Erin Hovendon won this year’s Audience Award, voted on during the screening, and “Doug³” by Adric Giles won the the Jury Award, also known as the Chris Pomiecko Award, which was determined by the event organizers.

Enjoy the playlist below of all ten videos!

MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing offers an innovative academic program that applies critical analysis, collaborative research, and design across a variety of media arts, forms, and practices.

Related articles

Online Annotation and the Future of Reading

Video, Robert Darnton and Susan Flannery: “Digitizing the Culture of Print: The Digital Public Library of America and Other Urgent Projects”

Video: Jorge Caraballo, “How to Use Audio Storytelling to Cultivate a Community and Keep it Engaged”

Video: Futures of Entertainment 2006: “Not the Real World Anymore”

An Award-Winning Rookie Teacher Talks About Her First Year

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It’s not easy being a rookie teacher.

Some end up leaving. One recent nationwide analysis finds that teacher attrition rates start at 10 percent after the first year and steadily increase to 17 percent by the end of the fifth year. But some new teachers not only survive their first year; they thrive.

In an effort to reward the stayers and persuade more newbies to stick around, the Los Angeles Unified School District nine years ago began to formally recognize and celebrate their rookies.

LAUSD partnered with the California Credit Union to create the LAUSD Rookie of the Year Program . District principals nominate first-year teachers who demonstrate “effective teaching practices and classroom management in preparing all students to be successful 21st Century learners,” according to the district website. In baseball parlance, they recognize beginner teachers who “knock it out of the park.”

This year’s 17 rookies receive a (baseball) trophy, a jersey with the number “23” emblazoned on it, and special recognition at an event at Dodgers Stadium. Before these celebrated rookie LAUSD teachers scattered for the summer, Education Week caught up with one of them.

Twenty-five-year-old Lauryn Merriweather, who spent her entire K-12 education in LAUSD, returned to the district in 2022-2023 to begin her career as a 1st grade teacher at 54th Street Elementary School. In an interview, she shared her experiences as a rookie teacher, from first-day jitters to how to keep 20 1st graders engaged on a daily basis.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How surprised were you to learn that you’d won this award?

I was taken by surprise, because the first year is tough. There’s a lot of learning going on. You’re so fresh, right out of graduate school into your own classroom. It’s a big transition. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Just to know that I’m doing some things right, and to get that honor, was pretty big.

Talk about your journey to becoming a teacher.

When I was little, my mom had this big box with flowers on it. I would put a whole bunch of markers and papers and toys in there, set up my dolls in my room, and “teach” them stuff. My first job during high school was as a tutor and mentor at the elementary school next door. Then I went off to college and studied speech pathology. When the pandemic hit, I was graduating from college. I had to pack up everything and go home. I applied to some [graduate level] speech programs and didn’t get in that round. It was a lull period, I was trying to figure out what’s next. I became a virtual TA [teaching assistant] at an elementary school, where I saw an opportunity for a teaching program. I thought: I have to do this. It was like going back to my first love.

Tell me about your first day of teaching, and your first impression of your students.

I remember it as clear as day. I was in my classroom about to go outside and greet the students with a sign to let parents know where their children’s classrooms are. I remember grabbing that sign, going outside. I was really excited but a little nervous. I got a little emotional; my eyes were kind of watery. I took a deep breath. It was a wave of excitement.

Then the students came inside the building. On my classroom wall, I had buttons showing what morning greetings they could choose. They each pressed a button, so I got to see a little bit of their personality. Some wanted to do a little air hug, some wanted to do an elbow bump. Some were super excited, some were a little bit nervous, some cried. It was an emotional experience, that first day.

LAUSD Rookies of the Year are recognized for preparing students to be 21st Century learners. What did that mean to you?

Twenty-first century learners mean having life skills: communication, collaboration, connection. I kept asking myself, even though my students are only 6 and 7 years old, how can what we learn in the classroom mirror the things they’ll experience outside the classroom? I exposed them to things that aren’t just “1 + 1” or “read the story and answer questions.” I looked for opportunities to do projects that are fun and also relate to real life. We researched different countries. During Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, we got to explore food, culture, and people from all around the world. I tried to be intentional about activities that provided opportunities for the students to collaborate and to interact with one another respectfully, and with kindness. I recognize that they come into the classroom with different experiences. We teach each other. Even though I’m the teacher, I’m not the sole source of information.

How did you approach classroom management?

If students are connected and engaged with the content, they’re less likely to exhibit behaviors that aren’t acceptable in the classroom. When they’re bored or not engaged, they’ll tend to act out. So I am very intentional with the lesson planning and what I’m presenting so that I can grab and hold their attention, so it’s something they want to do.

No one’s perfect, we all have our days where we’re a little tired, hungry, whatever it may be. I try to motivate them with our school store, by earning points. That’s something that gets them amped up and ready to go. I’ll say: OK, guys, how many points do you have, let’s get more points. I try to give them positive reminders, and I also try to remember how I felt when I got reprimanded as a kid. I try to be respectful of their feelings. But also be firm. It doesn’t mean I’m yelling at them or calling them out.

I also realize that we’re still coming out of the pandemic. Some of these kids haven’t been in school before. My class may be the first classroom they’ve ever been in. So I try to cater to their emotional needs while letting them learn: These are the things we can do, and these are the things that are not allowed.

Who or what did you lean on for support and advice as a first-year teacher?

After I was hired, I was immediately invited to participate in the school’s summer professional development. I got to meet and interact with the staff, and my co-workers. I was also paired up with a mentor teacher, who was also my grade-level partner. Throughout the summer, we planned together. I definitely asked my grade-level partner a lot of questions, trying to figure out: Why does she do it this way? Also, talking to my parents. Sometimes I’d bring my work home and ask my family members: Who’s going to help me with these arts and crafts tonight? Relying on family, and people from my [graduate school] cohort. Trying to make my support system as big as possible. I don’t have all the answers. There’s power in collaboration and learning from other people.

What about self-care? Did you do anything, routinely or as needed, to take care of yourself?

That’s a piece I’m still working on. I try not to leave school too late, or not to bring my work home. I did start setting an alarm for when I wanted to leave for the day. In the beginning, I was struggling to stop myself [from continuing after the alarm]. On the weekends, I try not to touch my schoolwork until Sunday at a certain time. Trying to set up those boundaries. Also, planning a facial here or there. And for me, spending time with my family is rejuvenating.

What was the biggest challenge you faced this first year?

Wearing many hats. Trying not to be everything to everybody. You’re a teacher, but sometimes you’ve got to be a nurse, a therapist, manage conflict. You’re all these things. Trying to figure out: How can I balance all this and reach out to my resources? Realizing that if I’m everything to everyone, there’s nothing left of me.

If you were to mentor a brand-new teacher next year, what would your advice be?

Stick to a routine. If you’re doing different things every day, students don’t know what to expect. There’s power in that routine and consistency. Also, allowing for students to take more responsibility in the classroom. Building student voice and choice–whether that’s through student jobs or recognizing a ‘student of the day’. Putting students at the center so they can practice their leadership skills. Also, finding balance with boundaries, with yourself, and with your colleagues. You might be asked to participate in a lot of extracurriculars at school. It’s OK to say no sometimes.

What impression did your students leave on you this year?

I’m in awe of their growth, the people they’re growing into—physically and mentally. I’m so grateful to know how much we’ve gotten to know each other, and the bonds they made amongst their peers. And I’m just very proud of them. Each of them is their own person. They’re not empty cups, empty minds. They bring so much to the table. We just have to find the right keys to unlock it.

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