Contact: Esther B. Coleman, 919-545-8393

PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Office of Human Relations and the Chatham County Human Relations Commission (CCHRC), in partnership with Chatham County Schools, announced the winners of the 2010 Uplifting a Diverse World: Make Our Space a Better Place Student Essay Competition. 

The student essay competition was designed for elementary, middle, and high school students and was intended to:

• promote discussion among students about environmental and social justice;
• strengthen students’ problem-solving and writing skills while emphasizing empathy and compassion; and
• increase the students’ understanding of cultural diversity.

Competition packets were distributed to all Chatham County schools and included resources to help faculty teach important lessons related to diversity and tolerance.  The first year’s competition had 234 student entries and ten winners.

“Each entry was read and scored by three different readers, who were trained by the Human Relations Office.  We are very grateful for the nearly 60 people – from the community and county government – who volunteered to read essays,” said Esther Coleman, human relations director.  “It is so wonderful to live and work in a county like Chatham where people show their support for our youth in this way.”

This year’s first annual student essay competition winners are:

• Grade 3 – Savannah Dowdy, J.S. Waters Elementary School
• Grade 4 – Arden Tally, Bonlee School
• Grade 5 – Bailey Brewer, Bennett School
• Grade 6 – Ronald Fox, J.S. Waters Elementary School
• Grade 7 – Cailin Evensen, Perry Harrison School
• Grade 8 – Torie Gray, Bennett School
• Grade 9 – Aysia Evans, Northwood High School (tie)
• Grade 9 – Victoria Brooke Smith, Northwood High School (tie)
• Grade 10 – Dominique Chevelle Dukes, Northwood High School
• Grade 11 – Anastasia Hilton, Woods Charter School

The Chatham County competition was modeled on the Youth Speak Out! Essay Contest sponsored by the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Ohio.  The competition was designed to support the National Council for Social Studies standards, the National Council of Teachers of English standards, and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Social Studies standards. 

Heather Rodin, who chairs the CCHRC, said, “The Human Relations Commission deeply appreciates this collaboration with the schools and Newland Communities.  And we applaud the parents, the teachers, the volunteers, and, most of all, the students who participated.” 

Norman Clark, CCHRC vice chair said, “The competition afforded our local youth a way to express their feelings and understanding about social and environmental justice issues.  Their essays are shining examples of how young people can become engaged in making positive social change.”

The winners received a $100 cash prize sponsored by Newland Communities.  “Newland Communities is proud to honor these students for their outstanding essays and work highlighting the need for environmental and social justice,” said Kristy Yule, Vice President of Marketing, Newland Communities North Carolina. 

“We want to thank the Chatham County Office of Human Relations, the Human Relations Commission, and Chatham County Schools for this opportunity to participate in a competition that has such an impact on our county’s youth, to spread ideas, and to help our community.”

Robin McCoy, assistant superintendent for instructional services for Chatham County Schools, commented, “The students’ essays were thoughtful and insightful.  I was struck by the passion with which the students wrote about acts of injustice they had witnessed and their ideas on how we might improve our world.  Reading the essays reinforced my faith in our youth and their ability to ‘make our space a better place’.” 

McCoy added her thanks to “the Chatham County Human Relations Commission and Newland Communities for the opportunity for our students to participate in this essay contest.”

The winners read their essays to a large crowd of proud parents, teachers, Principals, and Chatham County leaders at the awards ceremony at Joy Baptist Church in Siler City, on May 27^th

For more information about Chatham County Human Relations programs, visit www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx page=902.