Over 300 youth, teachers, family members and friends were on hand at the downtown Visalia Fox Theater on Thursday, May 17th to celebrate the 7th annual Step Up Youth Challenge Red Carpet Awards program.
On May 30, 2024 we had the privilege to congratulate 17 Middle Schools and High Schools throughout the county at the annual Step Up Youth Challenge Red Carpet Awards which took place at the Tulare County Office of Education, Jim Vidak building.
A total of 17 schools were recognized for their hard work on various service-learning projects and each student team was acknowledged for their participation in the seven month long program, which begins in October and concluded in April.
The Youth Challenge program gives students an opportunity to address an issue or concern on their school campus or within their community, and each project was evaluated based on performance.
All teams who participate in the program receive training on leadership, networking, and help in brainstorming their project. Teams submitted their final project last month and winners were announced at the Step Up Red Carpet event.
The following top performing schools received the following awards:
Middle School Category
$2,500 Phil Cox Award - Kings River Middle School, Kingsburg
$1,000 Community Collaboration Award - Divisadero Middle School, Visalia
$1,000 Meeting the Need Award - Bartlett Middle School, Porterville
$1,000 Sustainability Award - Ridgeview Middle School, Visalia
$1,000 Impact Award - Reagan Middle School, Lindsay
High School Category
$2,500 Best Overall Project – Tech Prep, Tulare
$1,000 Community Collaboration Award – Mt. Whitney High School, Visalia
$1,000 Meeting the Need Award – University Prep, Visalia
$1,000 Sustainability Award – Golden West High School, Visalia
$1,000 Impact Award – Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center, Visalia
Other schools receiving recognition were: Summit Charter Collegiate Academy of Porterville, University Prep High School of Visalia, Valley Oak Middle School of Visalia, El Monte Middle School of Cutler-Orosi, Burton Middle School of Porterville, Strathmore Middle School of Strathmore, Woodlake Valley Middle School of Woodlake, Kennedy Middle School of Lindsay, Wilson Middle School or Exeter, La Joya Middle School of Visalia, Monson-Sultana Elementary School of Monson-Sultana, Valley Life Charter School of Visalia, Washington Middle School of Lindsay.
Thanks to all the students and advisors who have helped make this year's Step Up Youth Challenge a huge success!