Marlee Thrasher, a first grade student at the East Somerville Community School, was selected as the Grand Prize winner for the 2016 “My Ideal School” contest held by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Marlee and 9 other regional contest winners from throughout the Commonwealth were recognized by State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Chair of the MSBA and Maureen Valente, MSBA Chief Executive Officer, at a special ceremony held at the Massachusetts State House. As the Grand Prize winner of the 10th annual “My Ideal School” contest, Marlee also received a $200 Savings Bond from Santander Bank. Her winning entry will appear on the cover of the 2016 MSBA Annual Report.

The “My Ideal School” contest was open to all Massachusetts first grade students. Students were asked to create an image of what their ideal school would look like and to submit it along with a short description of what they love about their school. The contest is designed to encourage discussion between students and teachers about thoughtful school design to best support student learning. Ten regional winners were selected from more than 2,500 submissions this year. To learn more about this contest, visit http://www.massschoolbuildings.org/programs/ideal_school.