Students at Bode Middle School and Central and Benton high schools won 41 awards at the recent Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

20 writing students received 25 awards in writing, and 13 art students received 15 awards in ceramics, digital art, drawing and illustration, sculpture, photography and painting.

“Our students should be proud of what they have achieved,” said Kevin Griffin, Secondary Fine Arts Coordinator. “Every year SJSD students make an excellent showing at the Scholastic Awards. It’s a credit to our educators and their excellent instruction that we can consistently bring home awards in a variety of categories.”

Founded in 1923, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the most prestigious recognition and scholarship program for creative teens with tens of thousands of students in grades 7 through 12 submitting original work each year.

More than 1,800 students receive national recognition for their work, which is blindly adjudicated by expert professionals from the field and educators. Each year, 16 graduating seniors win a Portfolio Gold Medal and a $10,000 scholarship.

The non-profit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers presents The Scholastic Awards and partners with more than 60 art institutes, college and universities to make an additional $10 million in scholarships available to graduating seniors annually.

In partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Alliance also presents the National Student Poets Program. Five teens are selected to serve one year as literary ambassadors—the nation’s highest honor for youth poets.