Shadow Hills High School student secures national achievement award in writing

Shadow Hills High School student Savannah Vela was awarded the 2024 Achievement Award in Writing, provided by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

According to NCTE, Vela is an Advanced Placement student with an interest in journalism. She was recently named the 2024-25 editor-in-chief of Shadow Hill's student newspaper, the Knight Times.

"When I read Savannah's personal narrative essay, I was moved to tears," says journalism teacher, Amelia Hadley. "She has a natural writing voice, a powerful perspective, and a beautiful story. I'm not surprised she won a first place title." 

Vela was one of 633 U.S. students nominated for the prestigious award. Internationally, teachers nominated students from six other countries. The decision process consisted of two to three judges who "evaluated each submission holistically on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style," NCTE's statement claims.

The NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program that was established in 1957. The program encourages junior-year students to write and possibly get recognized.

For more information about the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing, including past winners, see http://www.ncte.org/awards/achievement-awards-in-writing/.