Jan. 25, 2018 - Teen awardees for the 2018 Harris County Department of Education Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are announced as a record 6,225 Harris County entries are judged in the prestigious competition. Recipients join the ranks with iconic writers and artists Sylvia Plath, Robert Redford, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, who all earned awards as Scholastic Art & Writing awards as teens.

View the awards: https://goo.gl/1eDk9f

Twenty-one school districts, two charter schools and 16 private schools are represented as students earn Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention awards. Gold Key recipients advance to national judging to be considered for Gold and Silver Medals which are announced in March and awarded in June through a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, founded in 1923, provides young artists and writers in grades 7-12 with the opportunity to showcase their work as it identifies and documents their outstanding achievements. The competition’s mission is to bring outstanding visual art and writing created by teens to a national audience by showcasing the work and encouraging creative and career development.

Students submitted their work through the 531 teachers who support and participate in HCDE’s regional competition. Several hundred volunteer art and writing professionals judge the submittals.

“We are grateful for the supporters of Scholastic Art & Writing in Harris County—from the community supporters who offer space to showcase art and writing to the companies who offer student scholarships to the hundreds of judges who volunteer their time,” said HCDE Superintendent James Colbert, Jr. “There is a deep well of artistic talent represented, and we are proud to host, showcase and support this iconic program.”

The following area school districts are represented: Aldine, Alief, Alvin, Clear Creek, Crosby, Cy-Fair, Deer Park, Friendswood, Galena Park, Goose Creek, Houston, Huffman, Humble, Katy, Klein, New Caney, Pasadena, Pearland, Spring Branch, Spring and Tomball. Charter schools include KIPP Academy and YES Prep.

Private school students with awards include: Calvin Nelms, Annunciation Orthodox, Concordia Lutheran, Duchesne Academy, Emery Weiner, Episcopal High, Houston Christian High, Incarnate Word, Kinkaid School, Presbyterian School, River Oaks Baptist, St. Agnes Academy, St. Thomas High, St. John’s, Tenney School and the Village School. Several private art school and home school students are also represented.

Harris County students earned 1,696 Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention awards. Through the art categories, students gain 321 Gold Keys, 423 Silver Keys, and 374 honorable mentions. In the writing categories, students earn 95 Gold Keys, 143 Silver Keys, and 340 honorable mentions.

Ten students earned recognition through the American Voices and American Vision awards. These 10 awards are judged nationally through Scholastic Art & Writing in New York City for American Voices/American Visions Medals. One in each art and writing category will be selected and announced in March.

American Visions (art) awardees: Kara Alker, Cypress Woods High School, Cy-Fair ISD; Lillian Hogan, Kingwood Park High School, Humble ISD; Amy Vaclavik, Taylor High School, Katy ISD; Christina Zhou, Tompkins High School, Katy ISD; and Emilio Recio, Rayburn High School, Pasadena ISD

American Voices (writing) awardees: Emma Bennett, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston ISD; Cora Wen, Carnegie Vanguard High School, Houston ISD; William Sharpe, Krimmel Intermediate School, Klein ISD; Noah Rubinson, Kinkaid School; and Sophia Sutter, St. Agnes Academy

For more information about HCDE’s regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and opportunities to sponsor, judge and enter the competition, go to www.hcde-texas.org/scholastic .