Robbinsdale Cooper High School Earns Gold Medal at 2013 Jefferson Awards Regional Competition

Both Robbinsdale Armstrong and Robbinsdale Cooper High Schools competed at the 2013 Jefferson Awards Students in Action (SIA) Minnesota Region Competition on April 20, and both came away as banner winners.

Cooper High School earned a gold banner – meaning a top three finish in the state, barely missing out on representing the state in Washington, D.C. this summer.  The gold banner finish was a first for Cooper.  Armstrong High School, which just joined Students in Action this year, earned a bronze banner at their first competition.

Schools compete based upon how well students completed the Seven Goals of Students in Action:  engaging the school community; creating an effective leadership team; expanding volunteer capacity, assisting in expanding financial capacity for volunteers, telling their stories in the community; growth and expansion of Students in Action; and innovative improvements.  Teams must provide both a written and oral presentation of their accomplishments.
Kate Fuller, SIA advisor for the Robbinsdale Armstrong High School Students in Action program, loved the experience.  “I was so proud to hear sophomore Tashira Harris say, during the presentation, that ‘recognition is nice, but it’s not why you give back to your community.  You give back so you can have that warm feeling inside knowing that you made someone’s life better.’”

The Jefferson Awards are a national recognition system honoring community and public service in America, and are presented on two levels – national and local.  The Jefferson Awards Student in Action program works to increase volunteerism and to instill in youth the habit of service and volunteering.  Ten high schools in Minnesota competed in the Regional competition this year.For more information on the Jefferson Awards Students in Action Program, visit www.studentsinaction.org.