Eleven Winners honored At State House Ceremony
BOSTON - State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts School Building Authority ("MSBA"), and John K. McCarthy, MSBA Executive Director/Deputy CEO, today announced the 11 winners of the 12th Annual "My Ideal School" Contest. The contest was open to all 1st grade students throughout the Commonwealth and was designed to promote a discussion between students and teachers about how to build "ideal" schools.
Students were asked to create images of what their ideal school would look like and to describe what they love about their school. Eleven regional winners were chosen from over 2,500 submittals across the Commonwealth to receive a special prize generously donated by People's United Bank. Regional winners were honored today at a special ceremony at the Massachusetts State House. The drawing submitted by one lucky grand prize winner will also appear on the cover of the MSBA’s next Annual Report.
"The 'My Ideal School' contest is one of my favorite events each year," said Treasurer Deb Goldberg. "It is so wonderful to see the imaginative ways Massachusetts students envision our public schools across the Commonwealth."
"Treasurer Goldberg and I are excited to celebrate the work of these students," said Executive Director/ Deputy CEO McCarthy. "It was a difficult task narrowing down the 2,500 submittals and we appreciate all of the creativity, hard work and effort from the students with the contest."
"People’s United Bank is pleased to partner with Treasurer Goldberg and the MSBA in the 12th Annual "My Ideal School" Contest. This is an exciting opportunity for our youth to engage with educators and develop a thoughtful school design for 21st century learning," said Grace Lee, SVP Regional Director of Government Banking. "This project provides an opportunity for students to think differently about their learning experience and I believe inspires them to learn and do their best."
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally-appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,750 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $13.1 billion in reimbursements for education capital improvement projects.