Mia DiGiovanni
Alivia Christiansen
The writings of St. Mary’s Dominican High School junior Mia DiGiovanni and 8th grader Alivia Christiansen have been recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). During this school year, DiGiovanni was in English IV-Advanced Placement class and Christiansen was in English I Honors class, taught by Dominican English teacher Ms. Casey Lefante.
Mia DiGiovanni is a 2021 Achievement Award in Writing Program recipient, awarded a Certificate of Superior Writing. National judges evaluated writing entries for expression of ideas, language use, and unique perspective and voice. 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.
This year, 285 students were nominated to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. Of those, 136 received Certificates for Superior Writing and 148 received Certificates of Nomination. Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by national judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
Alivia Christiansen received the 2021 Promising Young Writers Award. The Promising Young Writers Program represents NCTE’s commitment to early and continuing work in the development of writing. The school-based writing program was established in 1985 to stimulate and recognize writing talents and to emphasize the importance of writing skills among eighth-grade students. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, American schools abroad, and the Virgin Islands are eligible to nominate students.
This year, schools nominated 90 students. Of that number, 56 received the highest award, Certificates of Recognition, and 34 received Certificates of Participation. Each student submitted two pieces of writing. Two independent judges evaluated each submission holistically on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is the nation’s most comprehensive literacy organization, supporting more than 25,000 teachers across the PreK–college spectrum. Through the expertise of its members, NCTE has served at the forefront of every major improvement in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts since 1911.