Harrisburg – State Senator John DiSanto (R-Dauphin/Perry) is encouraging local middle and high school students to share their perspectives on improving school safety by participating in the second annual “Talk To Your State Senator” statewide video competition.
The contest, which is sponsored by the Senate of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, is open to Pennsylvania students in grades 6 through 12, including all public school, private school and home school students. Participants are encouraged to submit video entries of no longer than three minutes that highlight ways to make schools safer.
A total of $10,000 in prizes will be awarded through the PA 529 college savings program administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury. Prizes will be deposited into a college savings account in each winner’s name. Videos will be judged based on creativity, content and effectiveness of message delivery.
“The legislature dedicated an additional $60 million to school safety initiatives this year, and we are continuing to have a dialogue with school leaders, law enforcement and other stakeholders about additional steps that can be taken to improve school safety,” Senator DiSanto said. “This contest provides another opportunity for students to share the kind of issues they see in their hallways and classrooms every day and offer solutions to help make our schools a safer environment for learning.”
The contest will remain open through December 7, 2018. Winners will be announced in May 2019. More information on the contest is available online at www.legis.state.pa.us/talk-to-your-state-senator/.
The first “Talk To Your State Senator” video competition during the 2017-18 school year generated more than 100 entries discussing the impact of the heroin and opioid crisis.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is a nonprofit statewide association of public school boards, pledged to the highest ideals of local lay leadership for the public schools of the commonwealth. Pennsylvania’s 4,500 school directors become members by virtue of election to their local board — the board joins as a whole. Membership in PSBA is by school district or other eligible local education agency such as intermediate unit, vocational school or community college.
CONTACT: Chuck Erdman 717-787-6801 cerdman@pasen.gov