Upper School Writers Earn Honors

Two Upper School writers recently received prestigious regional awards for their achievements in art and writing as part of The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers’ 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Senior Alexandra Ori’s work earned two Gold Key awards—one in the Short Story category and one in the Critical Essay category—as well as Honorable Mention for her writing portfolio. Junior Emerson Silverman also garnered praise for her talents in the form of two Silver Key awards and an Honorable Mention, all in the poetry category.

“I’m super-proud of Alex and Emme, and I’m glad that readers other than me, and their other teachers and maybe a few friends and relatives, can read their excellent work,” said English teacher Matt Laufer, who sponsored the student submissions. “It’s valuable to get outside of our bubble sometimes, for student writers to appreciate that what they do is meaningful even to readers who don't know them at all. The work is just that good.”

All Gold Key-winning work moves on for award consideration at the program’s national level. Both students will receive recognition for their outstanding work at the 2020 Awards Ceremony for the Chicago Writing Region of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in March.

A panel of Chicago educators and literacy professionals selected the winning submissions as some of the most exceptional work from throughout the city. The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has been presenting the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the past 94 years, making it the oldest and most prestigious award program for achievement in the visual arts and writing in the United States. Every year, more than 165,000 students submit work in 30 categories, from video game design to poetry.

Join us in congratulating each of these authors on these accomplishments!

For more information on this program, please visit artandwriting.org.