It has been such a rewarding experience to partner with both the City of Surprise and the City of El Mirage to honor our scholars and writers.”

Danielle Edgerton | Contest coordinator

The cities of Surprise and El Mirage partnered with Dysart Unified School District to invite students in grades three through 12 to participate in the annual My El Mirage and My Surprise Essay Contests in November.

For Surprise, this year’s prompt focused on how citizens could work together to provide a “clean, safe, and friendly community.”

City of El Mirage students in grades three through eight were asked to respond to the prompt, “I love El Mirage! What is it about El Mirage, AZ that makes it a place that you love?” El Mirage high school students were asked how citizens of El Mirage work together to “embrace progress while respecting its grand heritage.” Essays were limited to 500 words and were evaluated based on creativity, clarity, sincerity of thought, and, of course, proper grammar.

Winners from the city of Surprise were selected in specific grade bands and were honored at the Surprise City Council Meeting on March 5. The city of Surprise winners were Kaylee Garcia from Surprise Elementary School in the Grades 3-4 category, Connor Kemnitz from Asante Preparatory Academy in the Grades 5-8 category and Morgan Goates from Shadow Ridge High School in the Grades 9-12 category.

Winners from El Mirage were also selected in grade bands, and additionally recognized second- and third-place winners. These students were recognized at the El Mirage City Council Meeting on April 2.

For grades 3-4, Caleb Figueroa of Surprise Elementary School took first place. Carlie Scholl of El Mirage Elementary School placed second and Noel Cervantes Landaverde of El Mirage Elementary placed third.

For grades 5-6, first place was awarded to Alexa Cervantes Reyna, Adam Campbell took second Place, and Daisha Jones took third Place. All three students are from Dysart Middle School.

For grades 9-12, first place was awarded to Oscar Delgado from Valley Vista High School. Second place went to Caden Braun Schreuer, also from Valley Vista High School, and third place went to Landon Navarro-Heaps from Dysart High School.

In addition to being recognized at their respective city council meetings, all first-place winners received $50 gift cards provided by the Dysart Educational Foundation.

Danielle Edgerton coordinated the dual city essay contest with support from teachers, administrators, and city leadership.

“It has been such a rewarding experience to partner with both the City of Surprise and the City of El Mirage to honor our scholars and writers,” Edgerton said. “The essays submitted by all of the students were sincere celebrations of their schools and communities.”