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St. Mary’s Dominican High School Junior Shanlee Raimer is recipient of a 2026 Achievement Award in Writing, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). She received a Superior rating on the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing: The Joy and Power of Reading. Shanlee is the daughter of Mrs. Trang Raimer and Mr. Shane Raimer of New Orleans. She is Captain of the Speech and Debate Team, and a member of  National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and National Latin Honor Society.

​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. Sophomores and juniors may participate. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate students for the writing program. Judges across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and Taiwan evaluated each piece of writing for expression of ideas, language use, and unique perspective and voice.

​This year, schools nominated 689 students to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. From the United States, students were nominated from 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. Internationally, teachers nominated students from Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and Taiwan. Two to three 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 and the language arts since 1911.