Plymouth-Canton Middle School Students Awarded First Place in Annual Website Design Competition

CANTON, Mich., Feb. 6, 2019 — Students from Achieve Charter Academy and Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy took home first place in the Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) Foundation’s 13th annual website design competition, the longest-running website design competition for girls in the state.
 
Sanjana Madapa, eighth-grader at Plymouth Scholars, and Shruti Balla, seventh-grader at Achieve Charter, were awarded first place in the competition’s Middle School category. They were selected from the more than 160 female students who entered the competition after participating in free coding and design training courses that took place from October to December 2018. These courses taught the students to build websites focusing on this year’s competition theme: “my week without digital technology.”
 
“We are all so proud of Shruti and this incredible accomplishment in winning the Middle School division of the website design competition. Her website design is creative and thoughtful, as we consider life without digital technology,” said Jennifer Conley, principal at Achieve Charter Academy. “Shruti is a committed and motivated student and will continue to inspire us with her creativity.”
 
Seventy teams of middle and high school girls from across the state submitted websites, leading to Finals Day in January, which allowed 40 teams to compete and demonstrate their websites to a panel of subject-matter judges. Experts from a variety of MCWT’s partner companies examined the entries and selected the finalists.
 
“I am so proud of Sanjana and her partner from our sister NHA-school, Achieve, on this amazing accomplishment,” said Walter Reese, principal at Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy. “It is important that young girls know early that participating in STEM-centered events like this not only unlocks their creativity and potential, but it sets them on the path to science, technology, and engineering careers later on in life.”
 
Photos of Madapa and Balla are available here. On the left, Sanjana Madapa, eighth-grader at Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy and on the right, Shruti Balla, seventh-grader at Achieve Charter Academy. Madapa and Balla’s website can be viewed here.
 
About Achieve Charter Academy:
Achieve Charter Academy, managed by National Heritage Academies, is a free, public charter school serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the Canton area. For more information, visit achieveacademy.org.
 
About Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy:
 Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy, managed by National Heritage Academies, is a free, public charter school serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the Plymouth area. For more information, visit plymouthscholars.org