Community helps school claim BIG win in national competition
Students and staff at Hazel Grove Elementary School (HGES) have more than the start of spring break to celebrate today: They just found out that they’ve won a visit from well-known children’s author Jan Brett!
Hazel Grove received 21,047 votes. Its nearest competitor was Bluffsview Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio, which received 14,071 votes.
In all, people submitted 137,890 entries from 7,221 schools and libraries during the three-month long online contest, according to Brett’s website.
Anticipation
The contest ended today. HGES media specialist Jessica Herrin says she and other staff members eagerly checked Jan Brett’s Facebook page throughout the morning to see if they’d won. “Emily Herrin, art teacher at HGES, saw the results first and sent me a message!” says Jessica. “I immediately emailed our school staff and posted a Facebook update.”
Hazel Grove students weren’t in class to hear the good news; Habersham County schools are on spring break this week. HGES principal Fran Blackburn notified students and parents by phone.
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Brett is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of over 35 children’s books. She has over forty-one million books in print, according to her website.
“Winning this national contest is a dream come true for our school!” exclaims Herrin. “Being able to provide the opportunity for our students to meet Jan Brett truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Not only that, but winning and winning in such a big way – by nearly 7,000 votes – is a lesson about the importance of community and perseverance that these students likely won’t soon forget.
“I was speechless when I saw the total number of votes we entered in the contest over the last few months,” Jessica Herrin says. “We have received email addresses from parents, students, community members, and businesses in the area. It was truly a community effort!”
List of winners
