'Civic leaders of tomorrow': Greater Johnstown students submit posters for statewide fair-funding contest
Jun. 12—After studying funding sources for school districts, the students in Dan Thomas' seventh-grade geography class at Greater Johnstown Middle School agreed that their district needs more money to provide a better learning environment.
Thomas said he went off curriculum in the last month of the year to introduce his learners to the Pennsylvanians for Fair Funding Student Art Contest — brought to his attention by former middle school principal Dino Scarton.
Thomas had the students study equity versus equality, then create posters to enter in the competition.
"The students were able to glean information about the different sources of funding for school districts and synthesize that information into an understanding of the 'whole pie,' " the educator said.
For 13-year-old Julian Shupe, the experience was enjoyable.
"We got to express our creativity," he said.
After studying the material, Shupe would like to see additional dollars spent on books.
"The library doesn't have a lot to choose from," he said.
Thomas added that this request was consistent throughout the students' posters — where the learners drew, colored and shared messages about their thoughts on fair funding.
The entries will be compared to others from across the commonwealth in age brackets ranging from third through fifth, sixth through eighth and ninth through 12th grades.
A panel of judges, made up of artists from around Pennsylvania, will review the work Aug. 15-22 and all of the posters will be displayed online.
Each age bracket will have a $500 first- and $300 second-place prize along with a $300 "Voters Choice Award," determined by an online poll, also taking place Aug. 15-22.
Winners will be announced by Aug. 27.
"I think it's important to show support for something that will better our future," Isabella Dull said.
Dull agreed with her classmate about the library books, but also mentioned that new textbooks would help as well.
Dull said she believes more funding for schools such as Greater Johnstown would benefit the students there.
Another student who weighed in on the subject was Amya Hall, who requested more funding for science classes.
Hall said she enjoys the subject and would like to see more in-depth lessons made available.
Thomas expressed pride over his students' efforts, and the high number who participated in the contest.
"Ultimately, I think they gained the awareness that school districts directly reflect the fiscal health of their communities and that many need to rely on state and federal funding," the teacher said.
"They built that knowledge up to culminate with the debate of equal versus equitable funding, combining that knowledge with their personal experience and expectations.
"Most importantly, they can have informed conversations and advocate for themselves and their community as they become civic leaders of tomorrow."
Another benefit, Thomas noted, was that the contest provided an introduction to economics, which the students will be studying next year during civics class.
"Applying this knowledge to that curriculum will allow them to learn with empathy what state and local officials face when dealing with the issue of school funding," he said.
