Here's why (we know you're not complaining about 11 extra days, but transparency is one of our things):
Some high school teachers who teach Advanced Placement classes told us the earlier deadline conflicted with the schedule of AP exams in May.
The teachers said they are always looking for interesting projects to hold the attention of their students (often seniors) in the period between AP tests and commencements. And they think a Draw the Lines mapathon could be just the thing.
But with the AP tests wrapping up May 17, the earlier deadline didn't allow enough time to map.
Life, just like sports strategy, is all about adjustments. So, we adjusted.
How do you enter? Once you complete your map on Draw a map, hit the Submit key. You'll then fill out a form with some needed information about yourself, so that we can place you in the right region and age group for judging - and notify you if you win something.
Then (and this is important) you'll pick from a list of nine possible goals the ones that were most meaningful to you in drawing your map. You'll submit a personal statement (an essay, or a video, or a slide deck, or a song, or a poem) about why and how you did your map.
We'll evaluate all the maps and pick regional winners in June.
Those regional honorees will be invited to a September event in the State Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, where we'll announce our statewide champions in three age groups (youth, college and adult), each of whom will win $5,000. We'll also announce three runners-up, who'll get $2,500. We'll also honor the schools and colleges that produced the most maps.
So, that's it. You've got 11 extra days in May to dazzle our judges (who are civic, educational and business leaders from all over Pennsylvania). Use them wisely.
