Each year, art teachers and students submit artwork in grades 7-12 to the National Scholastic Art Competition. Students are judged by committee members and local professional artists in middle school and high school levels. Regionally, the Northeastern-Central Ohio (NECO) Scholastic Awards are comprised of schools from six counties, including Stark, Summit and Medina counties. Students are awarded Honorable Mentions, Silver Keys and Gold Keys. Students who win Gold and Silver Keys are invited to the Awards Ceremony on January 30, hosted at Kent State University at Stark, where all Gold and Silver Key work will be on display throughout the campus.
APS students from Kenmore High School, Akron Early College, Hyre CLC, Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and Firestone High School's Akron School for the Arts have received numerous awards this year.
Kenmore received one Silver Key and six Honorable Mentions under the direction of visual art instructor Kelley Waickman in the areas of Painting and Mixed-Media.
Akron Early College earned an Honorable Mention under the direction of visual art instructor Mona Kotran in Painting.
Hyre CLC received two Honorable Mentions under the direction of visual art instructor Thomas Duff in Drawing and Illustration.
Miller South received thirteen Gold Keys, twenty-two Silver Keys and fifty-two Honorable Mentions in seventh and eighth grade under the direction of visual art instructors Malia Tschantz and Alison Rich in the areas of Sculpture, Painting, Mixed-Media, Printmaking, Ceramics, Drawing and Illustration, Digital Art, and Photography.
Firestone High School was awarded forty-three Honorable Mentions, twenty-one Silver Keys, and twelve Gold Keys under the direction of visual art instructors Daniel Coffield and Patrick Dougherty in the areas of Sculpture, Painting, Mixed-Media, Printmaking, Ceramics, Drawing and Illustration, Digital Art, Photography and Editorial Cartooning.
All Gold Key winning pieces will go on to be judged at the national level in New York. In the past few years, students from Miller South and Firestone have received national level awards. All winning students will receive an award certificate and a Silver or Gold Key pin. These prestigious awards aid students in applying for Firestone's Akron School of the Arts in Visual Art and also enable high school students to receive scholarship opportunities. Congratulations to all of the APS winning artists!
Skulls, 18" x 24" mixed media, by Tyra Cotto-French, Kenmore, 11th grade, Silver Key
Trees by the Water, 10" x 15" acrylic paint, by Tyra Cotto-French, Kenmore, 11th grade, Honorable Mention