For Schools
School-Based Competitions: Conducting Contests
1. Identify potential partner schools and organizations.
- Coordinate and meet with local organizations such as school boards and PTAs that will help advertise the competition.
- Send a letter to school principals and teachers to explain the competition and request cooperation from teachers in English, Social Studies, Art, or Photography (depending upon the contest).
- For photo and poster contests, send a letter to local art schools and art teachers.
- Meet with teachers and encourage them to incorporate the contest into their lesson plans. Many more submissions will be received if the contest is integrated in the classroom curriculum and entries develop from classroom initiatives. In addition, a Law Day representative can visit school classes to explain the concept of your chosen theme and the contest to students.
- Notify local organizations that may be interested.
2. Advertise the contest.
- Once partner schools have been identified, circulate announcements about the competition. This should be done as far in advance of the deadline for submission as possible, preferably four months. Clearly state the deadline date for entries and whether students are limited to submitting one entry each.
- The announcements should include the guidelines that judges will use to score their entries and other necessary information such as whether each submission should include contact information about the contestant and his or her school.
3. Receive submissions and award prizes.
- Select judges for the contest who represent the diversity of the community. Appoint a contest coordinator who will collect and distribute copies of the entries to each judge.
- Plan to give awards to at least the top three winners. These can include a cash prize, a gift certificate, or a savings bond. The first prize winner may also receive a recognition award such as a certificate or a plaque presented at a Law Day function. Consider giving certificates to all participants.
- Publish the student's winning essay, photo or poster in the local Law Day publication and ask a local newspaper to publish it.
- Display winning entries and additional "Honorable Mentions" at courthouses, public libraries, schools, or the sites where Law Day luncheons or other ceremonies are held. Compile the twelve favored entries to create a calendar.
>>Promoting Contests
>>Conducting Contests
>>Essay Contest Ideas
>>Art Contest Ideas
>>Mock Trial Competition
