St. Paul Catholic School in Riverside was named third-place winner of the Family Engagement Contest held recently by the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) of Duval. ELC of Duval President and CEO Denise Marzullo and Director of Family Engagement Charlene Gross visited the school to award the certificate on Dec. 14.

The contest was held in November as part of the Family Engagement in Education Month, an annual celebration that highlights the crucial role of schools and families throughout a child’s educational journey. Contest participants submitted photos of bulletin boards, banners, signs or any activity that celebrated or engaged families. It was open to all voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) and early childcare program providers in Duval county.

St. Paul’s entry was a class art project with a large turkey as the centerpiece. VPK students and their families contributed to the piece by creating the turkey feathers and expressing words of gratitude on leaf cutouts.

“Every family decorated a large feather to represent their traditions and heritage. We then added those feathers to one large turkey display, representing the diversity in our class family,” said St. Paul’s VPK Director and lead teacher Quana Register. She added that the art project was installed on the VPK classroom’s door by full-time room aide Gabrielle Stoddard Dean.

“This award signifies our deep-rooted commitment to building family engagement from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. It further distinguishes our early learning program as one committed to celebrating our students, their families, and how their unique and diverse backgrounds enrich the culture of our school and faith community,” said Register.