Imagine Schools National Character Essay Contest
Students in grades 3-12 on all 73 Imagine Schools’ campuses are encouraged to participate in the “National Character Essay Contest”. The structure of the contest is based on the John Templeton Foundation, “Laws of Life Contest”. The “Imagine Schools National Character” team oversees the contest, as students first submit essays on a character maxim chosen from a list of possible maxims to their school-level contests. School level winners in each grade are submitted to the national, Imagine-wide contest. This practice gives students an opportunity to thoughtfully consider character values and share their thinking with an audience outside of their own school community and provides a forum to celebrate students who have a love and talent for writing. It also teaches the skills of peer revision and editing while providing a hands-on, interactive learning experience for students.