• Lower Shore students claims five state level awards

Hunt Valley, MD – The State of Maryland International Reading Council (SoMIRAC) is proud to announce its state level winners for the Young Authors’ Contest. The two-tier contest asked students in grades 2-12 submit original short stories or poems to the Eastern Shore Reading Council (ESRC), which is comprised of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties. Upon judging writing artifacts from the local level, overall winners in each category were submitted into the statewide contest.

At SoMIRAC’s recent state convention, five students from the ESRC delegation were designated as state level winners. Those student winners included:

• Raekiya Beckett, Pocomoke High School, Grade 9, Poetry, 2^nd Place
• Sophia Smith, James M. Bennett High School, Grade 9, Short Story, 1^st Place
• Eunice Huesca, Stephen Decatur High School, Grade 11, Poetry, 2^nd Place
• Rachel Walker, Wicomico High School, Grade 12, Poetry, 1^st Place
• Jaidan Davis, Pocomoke Middle School, Grade 5 Poetry, 1^st Place

“This many state level winners from our Eastern Shore Reading Council delegation is a true testament of the emphasis toward writing instruction in the classrooms all across the lower shore,” Brian Cook, co-chair of the local Young Authors’ Contest, articulated following the state level presentation. “At the local level, our contest saw the biggest increase in entries than in recent years, and it was very difficult to even name some of local winners. It comes as no surprise as the quality of entries improve so will our showing at the state level. I am very proud of the work our students are doing as well as our teachers with their writing instruction.”

— Literacy Matters–