Westport Students Win 2021 NCTE Achievement Award In Writing

Information via Westport Public Schools

WESTPORT, CT — Staples High School juniors Caroline Coffey, Matthew Genser, Maya Markus-Malone and Talia Perkins have been selected for a 2021 Certificate of Superior Achievement Award in Writing, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

According to a news release, the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students to write and to recognize some of the best student writers in the nation. Only students who are juniors may participate.

Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, American schools abroad and the Virgin Islands are eligible to nominate students for the writing program.

In addition to submitting a piece of "best writing," students were asked to craft a piece in any genre that took readers inside a community that is important to them and to convey the beauty they see within that community.

The English department received submissions from 26 students and identified Coffey, Genser, Markus-Malone and Perkins as the four finalists to represent Staples High School at the national level. This year, schools nominated 284 students; of that number, 136 received Certificates of Superior Writing.

Two independent judges scored each submission on expression of ideas, language use and unique perspective and voice.

“We were thrilled to have 26 students submit writing for the Achievement Awards and to have Caroline, Matthew, Maya and Talia move forward to represent the department and the school community," Secondary English Coordinator Holly Sulzycki said in a news release. "To have them receive this honor in response to the authentic voice and experiences captured in their submissions speaks volumes to their perseverance in honing their craft. While I know the entire school community is happy for them, the English department is especially proud to see them celebrated in an area to which we dedicate so much time."

More information about the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing, including past winners, can be found here.