We are excited to announce that Waterford students received seven National Medals in this year’s Scholastic Art Awards. Less than eight-tenths of one percent of entries received a National Gold or Silver Medal. Though Waterford students have regularly received these National recognitions over the years, it is unprecedented for us to receive seven National Medals.
Quoting from the award letter sent to our students: “More than 100,000 students entered nearly 340,000 original works of art and writing to the 2024 Scholastic Awards. Your work was selected by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Fewer than 2,500 works received a National Medal.”
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were established in 1923, and are the nation’s largest, longest-running, most prestigious visual and literary arts program recognizing the creative accomplishments of students in grades 7–12. Past winners have included many names you might recognize, including Stan Brakhage, Donald Barthelme, Sylvia Plath, Cy Twombly, John Updike, Andy Warhol, Kay Walkingstick, Truman Capote, Frances Farmer, Bernard Malamud, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Ken Burns, Richard Linklater, Lena Dunham, and Zac Posen. There are 28 award categories in which students can submit work (some examples: short story, fashion design, photography, memoir, printmaking, poetry, sculpture, painting).
You may already know that Waterford students did very well at the Regional level of judging this year—including a total of 15 regional Gold Key awards. Works that receive regional Gold Keys enter into the judging for national awards, where students can be recognized with even higher honors. The Awards serve as a launch pad for furthering students’ future success by providing them with access to scholarship programs and workshops, as well as the ability to have their work published and displayed in regional and national exhibitions.
Waterford is proud to celebrate these young photographers:
You can read more about the long history of the Scholastic Awards here: https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/history/
May 6, 2022
November 30, 2023
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