PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council honored the 26 winners of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Race Equality Essay Contest last week.
Port Angeles Superintendent Jane Pryne and Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio presented certificates of “exemplary performance” to the contest winners during ceremonies at City Hall on Tuesday.
The annual contest, which is sponsored by the Community Multicultural Alliance, drew 891 essays from Port Angeles School District students.
Slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s message of racial equality, human dignity and respect is the focal point of the annual contest, with students given various topics ranging in difficulty for the different grade levels.
Kindergartners, for instance, were asked, “What is special about your friend?” and told to “draw a picture of your friend in any color that you would like to be, and write one sentence explaining why your friend is special.”
Seventh- and eighth-grade participants wrote “a persuasive essay on whether you think, or don’t think, this ideal of equality has been achieved in our country” given “our country was founded on the principle of equality for everyone.”
Pryne congratulated all the winners and thanked each teacher who involved students in the contest and the volunteers who spent hours reading and evaluating essays.
The winning essays will be displayed in the Central Services Board Room, 216 E. Fourth St., until after the March 14 School Board meeting.
The Community Multi-Cultural Alliance grew out of the Port Angeles Multicultural Task Force, a city advisory group created in the spring of 2002 to handle racism complaints from personnel at the Coast Guard station in Port Angeles.
In 2005, it was reorganized into a Clallam County-wide group focused on improving diversity, equality and cultural awareness.
This year’s essay winners, including their teachers and schools, are:
Kindergarten
■ First place — Kaitlyn Busch, teacher Roni Prince, Jefferson Elementary.
■ Second place — Danielle Schneider, teacher Jan VanRossen, Roosevelt Elementary.
■ Third place — Anthony Rueda, teacher VanRossen, Roosevelt Elementary.
First grade
■ First place — Jenna McGoff, teacher Suzanne Keegan, Franklin Elementary.
■ Second place — Cristien Bugge-Marcum, teacher Debbie Halsey, Franklin Elementary.
■ Third place — Kaiya Ochs, teacher Keegan, Franklin Elementary.
Second grade
■ First place — Conner Isam, teacher Jan Collins, Hamilton Elementary.
■ Second place — Benjamin Hollingsworth, teacher Collins, Hamilton Elementary.
■ Third place — Elijah Grenot, teacher Kathleen Schmidt, Hamilton Elementary.
Third grade
■ First place — Conner Blauser, teacher Jessica Baccus, Hamilton Elementary.
■ Second place — Martin Gutierrez Jr., teacher Baccus, Hamilton Elementary.
■ Third place — Amelie Atwater, teacher Cynthia Green, Franklin Elementary.
Fourth grade
■ First place — Rachel Hendry, teacher Sue-Ellen Kraft, Jefferson Elementary.
■ Second place — Isabella Schulz, teacher Mary O’Kief, Roosevelt Elementary.
■ Third place — Elizabeth Kossler, teacher Teresa Haller, Roosevelt Elementary.
Fifth grade
■ First place — Chloe Rockwell, teacher Theresa Schmid, Jefferson Elementary.
■ Second place — Mercedes Shimko, teacher Sandra Biasell, Jefferson Elementary.
■ Third place — Kyla Tagg, teacher Patricia Schromen, Dry Creek Elementary.
Sixth grade
■ First Place — Jesse Salgado, teacher Bill Prorok, Roosevelt Elementary.
■ Second Place — Maddie Fritschler, teacher Prorok, Roosevelt Elementary.
■ Third Place — Kylie Massman, teacher Maria Kays, Franklin Elementary.
Seventh grade
■ First Place — Elijah Baccus, teacher Melissa McBride, Stevens Middle School.
■ Second Place — Ashley Adamire, teacher McBride, Stevens Middle School.
Eighth grade
■ First place — Carlee Wilson, teacher Darren Mills, Stevens Middle School.
■ Second place — Ivy Ly, teacher Laurie Day, Stevens Middle School.
■ Third place — Charlotte Vingo, teacher Mills, Stevens Middle School.
Judges for the contest were teacher Biasell; Sarah Methner, School Board member; Corbin Brabant, Port Angeles High School student; and Brenda Lovik of the superintendent’s Multiethnic Committee.
Coast Guard representatives participating in judging essays were Yeoman 1st Class Rebecca Riden, Chief Operations Specialist Jennifer Loudin, Avionics Electrical Technician Tim Robinson, Avionics Machinery Technician Sam Allen, Lt. Mark Haines, Lt. Eric Perdue, Chief Avionics Electrical Technician Michael Vingo, Lt. Neil Penso, Chief House Specialist Dawn Weaver, Lt. Scott Barton and Educational Services Officer Larry Vellucci.
