It was officially announced today that our students won Best in Nation for the Verizon App Challenge for their app, “Diction Defender.”  There are a total of four middle school national winners across the country, one for each region.  Our region includes: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Our winning team earned Altona $20,000 to further develop and support STEM opportunities for students.  Also, each team member received a tablet.  Over the next few months, the team will receive in-person and virtual training support from professionals at M.I.T to develop and publish their app by June 1.  The team and a guardian will present their app at the 2016 National Technology Student Association Conference in Nashville, Tennessee (all expenses paid).   This a true testament to the vision our district has communicated and embarked on around providing innovative opportunities for our students.