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CONTEST COORDINATORS' TIMELINE & CHECKLIST
Getting Started
Welcome Creative Writing Contest Coordinators! Each year, AILF's "Celebrate America" Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest gets bigger and better thanks to the hard work and dedication of coordinators like you.
The 2008-2009 Creative Writing Contest is underway and we need your help. Below you will find a general timeline and links to the necessary forms and material to help you in the process. In addition, you may download our Coordinator Handbook. These materials and form letters are designed for contests with dozens or hundreds of participating schools. However, it is very easy to organize a smaller-scale contest with just one classroom. Click here for ideas!
EARLY AUGUST
- Each chapter selects a Creative Writing Contest Coordinator and contacts AILF (teacher@ailf.org) to verify coordinator participation.
- The CWCC solicits other chapter members to serve on a Creative Writing Contest Committee, who then help the Contest Coordinator approach local schools for participation, recruit local judges, promote the contest, solicit prizes and plan the award ceremony.
- Suggestion: Solicit volunteers at chapter meetings or via the chapter newsletter.
- Contest Coordinators, Committee members and AILF Ambassadors approach local institutions, public service agencies and immigrant advocacy groups to co-sponsor the Creative Writing Contest.
- Suggestion: Look to minority bar associations, ethnic and religious organizations and immigration advocacy organizations in your community.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
- Target local public and private schools. Make initial contact with teachers, principals and administrators to introduce the contest. Use this Form Letter to Teachers and Board of Education for outreach ideas.
- Suggestions: Ask chapter members to approach their children's schools
- Coordinators approach local Board of Education to introduce the Contest.
- Suggestion: Poll chapter members to determine if anyone has a contact at the Board, or knows someone who is a teacher, to assist in identifying the appropriate Board contact.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
- Follow up with schools and Board of Education. Committee members and other chapter volunteers follow up with the schools they previously approached.
- Begin soliciting prizes. Use this Form Letter to Solicit Prizes as well as this follow-up Thank You Form Letter.
- Suggestion: Approach local businesses, clients of AILA members, etc.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
- Distribute Creative Writing Contest packets to those schools that have agreed to participate.
- Recruit panel of volunteers to do the initial screening of entries to select the top ten for submission to judges.
- Suggestion: For volunteers look to AILA members, law school students, members of co-sponsoring organizations, or Board of Education staff members.
- Solicit judges for selection of winner. Use this Judge Invitation Form Letter. Look to prominent members of your community.
- Suggestion: Mayor, Members of Congress or State Legislature, local INS officials, prominent immigrants, local business owners, local news reporters and radio and television personalities, entertainers, athletes.
- Start planning the awards ceremony. Choose the date and decide on the format. Look for and reserve an appropriate space.
- Suggestion: Schedule the awards ceremony in conjunction with an appropriate local event, for example an ethnic festival or a naturalization ceremony. Student can even be honored at a Chapter meeting.
- Recruit AILA Chapter volunteers to make presentations to participating classrooms. Use these helpful Classroom Presentation Tips to inform yourself and others.
JANUARY
- Participating teachers teach unit on immigration and introduce the Creative Writing Contest to students.
- Suggestion: Ask teachers to require students to write an essay, poem, story, etc. as a classroom assignment, rather than making it voluntary.
- AILA members speak to participating classes about immigration. If you're not sure what to present in the classroom, try using this Creative Writing Contest Powerpoint Presentation (converted to PDF) or any number of these Contest Lesson Plans to get students thinking about immigration.
- Suggestion: Encourage teachers to invite outside guests to hear the presentation (e.g. parents, students and teachers from other classrooms). This will help spread the message to an even broader audience.
EARLY FEBRUARY
- Finalize panel of initial screeners.
- Early February - Deadline for schools to submit entries to Contest Coordinators.
FEBRUARY/MARCH
- Panel of initial screeners reviews entries and selects top ten entries for submission to judges. Give these Committee Judging Instructions to the Initial Screening Committee.
- Early March: Top ten entries submitted to judges. Give judges the Judging Instruction Letter and Form.
- Judges select first, second and third place winners and return score sheet to Contest Coordinator.
APRIL
MAY/JUNE
- Early May: Winner of National Creative Writing Contest announced by AILF.
- Send out Creative Writing Contest Press Release to announce the winner(s) to your community and create buzz.
- Awards ceremony held to honor winners of local Creative Writing Contest.
- Suggestion: Invite local media, elected officials, school board members, and other members of the community to attend the awards ceremony.
- Contest Coordinators should take pictures of award ceremony and send all ceremony materials to AILF.
JUNE
- The student who authored the National Contest's winning entry will read his or her creative writing piece during the AILF Annual Benefit Dinner.
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