Austintown elementary gifted students place in regional contests; winners read poems at board meeting

Donna Schilling, a gifted intervention teacher at Austintown Elementary, told the board her students earned recognition in regional and national writing contests and presented several student winners.

"My second‑grade students recently earned the top three places in the Right Where You Are poetry contest, sponsored by the National Writing Project at Kent State University," Schilling said. She also reported that 10 first graders and 11 second graders won the Creative Communication Poetry Contest and are now published authors. Schilling advocated for creative writing as an instructional tool, saying it "fosters a well‑rounded education" and helps students develop critical thinking, empathy and communication skills.

Three students read their poems to the board. Grady Piccarato introduced his first‑place poem, "Lovely Lake Erie," and read his piece describing family visits to the lake. Lucas Anderson read his second‑place poem, "Spectacular Strong Scrappers," about attending Mahoning Valley Scrappers games. The teacher and the board applauded the named student winners; Schilling called the students to the front and the meeting transcript lists first‑ and second‑grade winners by name.

The presentations were given during the public‑comments/presentations portion of the meeting as recognition of student achievement; no board action was required.