The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is pleased to announce its first Statewide Historic Preservation Essay Contest for West Virginia eighth grade students. This is the first historic preservation contest of its kind for West Virginia.

I’m writing in hopes that you can forward my message to your social studies teachers, gifted programs, and other staff as you deem appropriate to help us in our goal.  I’ve attempted to disseminate information via district superintendents but feel like it gets held up in bureaucracy.  If you could pass this along via your blog and/or offer any advice to get the notice out there I’d greatly appreciate your help.  As of now we’ve only received a couple entries.

All 8^th grade students are invited to submit an essay with photos identifying a historic endangered property in their community or county.  Properties must be at least 50 years of age or older (age requirement to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places).  Properties can include houses, commercial buildings, downtown buildings, churches, courthouses, schools, farms, cemeteries, bridges, monuments, and landscapes. Students are asked not only to identify an endangered historic property but are also required to develop their civic engagement through the use of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.  They must research the historic significance of the property, describe current preservation efforts, devise a plan for adaptive re-use of the property, and submit their essay to a local decision-maker in their community. Submissions are due via mail or email to Preservation Alliance of West Virginia by May 15, 2014.