DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – A contest aimed to increase attendance and overall report cards for two Dothan schools dished out scholarships on Thursday.
Over a thousand students from Dothan High School and Carver 9th Grade Academy qualified to compete in Mike Schmitz Automotive Group Cornhole Contest for a chance to win $25,000 in cash scholarships.
After multiple rounds of competition, 130 students gathered in Dothan High School’s convocation center to crown some winners.
“Honestly, I was pretty shocked,” said Pari Patel, the first-place winner of this year’s event. “I did not expect to win today. I competed last night, but I didn’t expect to make it this far.”
The qualification period began on August 1 and ended on April 30. Students qualified for the contest under a variety of conditions:
Students who have earned three points will have one toss per round. A student with four points gets two tosses per round. Five points provide a student with three tosses per round.
“We know public school is a priority in Dothan, and we need to help our students prepare to succeed,” said Mike Schmitz, founder of Mike Schmitz Automotive Group, Dothan businessman, and former Dothan Mayor and Dothan City Board of Education chairman. “That’s what businesspeople like me need to do: step up and help our educators, and we win at the end because our students succeed, our businesses will succeed, and our city will succeed.”
After six rounds, the finalists were chosen.
The following students placed in the top 10 of this year’s event:
1st place ($10,000 Cash Scholarship) – Pari Patel
2nd place ($5,000 Cash Scholarship) – Evan Dunn
3rd place ($3,000 Cash Scholarship) – Addison Hendrix
4th-10th place ($1,000 Cash Scholarships)- Johnathan Castillo, Jayla Gordon, Hayley Chavez, Davis Langford, Brynn Resspress, Rah’kyeriah Ash, and Taharie Myhand
“Our kids are some of the most capable and best kids in the Wiregrass. If we can get them here, then we can perform and compete with anybody,” said Todd Mitchell, Principal of Carver 9th Grade Academy. “Mike saw our purpose and vision in that and incentivized our kids to come. The report score is going to show all that, so I’m super excited for our kids to realize what we put into practice over the last two years.”
After last year’s challenge, chronic absenteeism rates fell by over 300% on Carver’s campus while report card scores went up seven points. At Dothan High School, chronic absenteeism is down by nearly 14%, with increasing signs to exceed that level this school year.
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