Members of Mr. Shaftic ‘s Advance Placement (AP) U.S. History class have flourished at the local level of a nationwide “Voice of Democracy” competition, which is sponsored by the Lawrence County VFW.  The Voice of Democracy Program is open to all the students in grades 9-12 who are enrolled in a public or high school in the United States.  The competition includes a three to five minute oral recording of a written essay from the contest.  The essay topic this year was “American History”  Our Hope for the Future.”

The AP U.S History class responded to the question with a specific essay. The students were instructed to write a speech on what they, as citizens of America, have a duty to do, to ensure America’s future and provide specific details to support their theory. Students then, made a voice recording of their essay, which had to meet several requirements including time limit parameters, and submitted it ti VFW Post 315 for the contest where they were judged by distinguished members of the community .

Three members of Mr. Shaftic’s  AP class have been chosen to advance to the district level of the contest from the 259 entries submitted county wide into the Voices of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen sponsored by the VFW. The 2017 Voices of Democracy winners this year are Abby Schaubroek, Victoria Kobbe, and Brayden Cartwright. These students finishes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in Lawrence county. Their essays, if selected at the district level, will continue to the state level, and eventually the national level. Over two million dollars worth of scholarships are available with a top prize of thirty thousand dollars!!