Dalton Public Schools Hosts Annual Young Georgia Authors Celebration

Dalton, GA — Dalton Public Schools held its annual Young Georgia Authors celebration on Wednesday, March 25, at Hammond Creek Middle School. Students from across the district were recognized for their outstanding writing achievements during the event, which honored winners at the school, district, and Northwest Georgia RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) levels.

The Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition encourages students from kindergarten through 12th grade to develop their writing skills and express their creativity. School-level winners were recognized first, followed by district winners, and finally the Northwest Georgia RESA winners. Students who earned RESA honors will advance to the state-level competition, which will take place next month.

School-Level Winners

Kindergarten

  • Blue Ridge – Riley Flood – My Favorite Thing to do at Recess

  • Brookwood – Asa Anderson – The Most Magical Trip!

  • City Park – Luis Contreras – Magwaey

  • Park Creek – Elizabeth Parker – What My Dog Dus

  • Roan School – Daniela Gomez – Lukas

  • Westwood – Brooks Palmer – My Favorite Animals

First Grade

  • Blue Ridge – Rocio Zavala – My Favorite Animal

  • Brookwood – Manuel Navarro Jr. – My Trip to Mexico

  • City Park – Darcy Coronado Marroquin – Cats

  • Park Creek – Lilian Ibanez Bautista – Information About Jellyfish

  • Roan School – Gael Hernandez – Take a Trip to the North Pole

  • Westwood – Charley Cate Haynes – Virginia

Second Grade

  • Blue Ridge – Dania Sanchez-Redo – The Princess and the Prince

  • Brookwood – Trey Causby – Water Sports

  • City Park – Aiden Sheppard – The Play Room Disaster!

  • Park Creek – Camila Maldonado – The Story of Rex

  • Roan School – Alexa Rowland – The Elf Story

  • Westwood – Charlotte Cagle – Harry and Tod's Problem

Third Grade

  • Blue Ridge – Vina Ortiz – Ruby Bridges

  • Brookwood – Ella Tanner – Twin Tower Trouble

  • City Park – Luna Flores – Little Artist Miya

  • Park Creek – Leila Ambrocio De Leon – How Penguins Survive

  • Roan School – Robert Morales Ramos – The Day it Changed Dark!

  • Westwood – Nicholas Bender – Become a Pro Fisherman

Fourth Grade

  • Blue Ridge – Esteban Moreno – Dragons of the Missing Kingdom

  • Brookwood – Callie Cantrell – Nutcracker: Total Disaster

  • City Park – Lyrical Bombita – How I Chipped My Tooth

  • Park Creek – Juan Cervantes Zarate – The Evil Computer

  • Roan School – Mariana Burbano Suarez – Colombia

  • Westwood – Marissa Hester – Sherman

Fifth Grade

  • Blue Ridge – Keiyli Ambrocio Mendez – Pablo Gets Karma

  • Brookwood – Lynnlee Ellison – The Artist

  • City Park – Shamorie Broome – How Breaking My Arm Changed My Life

  • Park Creek – Lisbeth Ambrocio De Leon – There is No Time

  • Roan School – Adriana Castillo – El Salvador

  • Westwood – Penelope Velasquez – Best Friends

Sixth Grade (Hammond Creek Middle)

  • Kimberly Adame – Misogyny in Pink

  • Daniela Favela – My Victory

  • Oliver Gonzalez – That One Friend

  • Ella Gray Pennington – The Superheroes

  • Sadie McKeehan – A Path to Forever

  • Brenner Thornton – My Baseball Experience

Seventh Grade (Hammond Creek Middle)

  • Allison Acuna – Numbers

  • Rodrigo Castillo – Broken Promises

  • Catalina Garcia – Change

  • Emmett Gray – Music is So Powerful

  • Daniela Martinez – My Invisible Scar

  • Callie Ward – Will History Be Kind to Me

Eighth Grade (Dalton Junior High)

  • Adriana Vance – The Garden Wall

  • Linzy Odiy Gracia – The Tale of Jake: A Story of Mysteries & Betrayal

  • Eshal Ahmed – A Sweet Little Lie

  • Andrea Avila Martinez – Memories Beneath the Old Tree

  • Landon Lewis – Home

  • Evelyn Navarro – The Bittersweet Taste of You

The Dalton Academy

9th Grade

  • Alexandra Hernandez – Witch

  • Juan Salazar-Trejo – Should Homework Be Banned

  • Guadalupe Herrera – Better Education

  • Jacob Linley – Ocean Conservation and Why it Has the Biggest Impact on the Environment

10th Grade

  • Brandon Navas – When Silver Ruled the World

  • Zaniya McKenzie – The Disturbance

  • Alexa Perez-Rios – A Deep-Strong Connection

  • Sharon Chen – Not Too Sweet

  • Ricardo Hernandez – The Today I Was Accepted

  • Tomas Gonzalez Jr. – Ars Mortis (The Art of Death)

11th Grade

  • Cheyanne E. Garcia – Don't Take It For Granted

  • David Linares – The Process of Life

  • Nathalie Andrews – Prayer

  • Jeiry Gonsales – Long Walk to the City

12th Grade

  • Gabriela Ruelas – Letting Go

  • Lizeth Avila Martinez – Moving

  • Ella Austin Fries – House

  • Lesley Morales – Late Never Came

  • Fredy Reynoso – The Last Tail Wag

  • Geovany Aguirre – Carpet Appreciation

Dalton High School

9th Grade

  • Brianna Vidana – Leave Now

  • Briona Markwardt – Lost Innocence

  • Nataly Gutierrez – You

  • Nataly Gutierrez – Luck

  • Salma El Mtouni – The Hunter is Hunted

  • Yosselin Tzib Ambrocio – A Red Rose's Secret

10th Grade

  • Elijah Ordonez – She Thrives

  • Anslie Wright – A Kiss Can't Heal My Scars

  • Mayra Villalobos – Lolita and Nino: A Story of Perseverance

11th Grade

  • Sydney Brown – Held Here

  • Mary Sharp – Footsteps

  • Isabel Perez – Inharmonious Love

  • Jason Hennon – Glass Child

  • Natalia Villalobos – What Comes Next

  • Noelia Guerrero – The Jacaranda Tree Collection

12th Grade

  • Valeria A. Ferreira-Ponce – Echoes of My Mommy

  • Victoria Amaro – Why Me?

  • Alexander Queen – Driftwood

  • Asa Alexander – Forward and Backward

  • Leslie Orellana – Soft Whispers of Hope

  • Matthew Pittman – The Mind Reader's Dilemma

District-Level Winners

Kindergarten

  • Brookwood – Asa Anderson – The Most Magical Trip!

First Grade

  • Park Creek – Lilian Ibanez Bautista – Information About Jellyfish

Second Grade

  • Park Creek – Camila Maldonado – The Story of Rex

Third Grade

  • Park Creek – Leila Ambrocio De Leon – How Penguins Survive

Fourth Grade

  • City Park – Lyrical Bombita – How I Chipped My Tooth

Fifth Grade

  • Brookwood – Lynnlee Ellison – The Artist

Sixth Grade

  • Hammond Creek Middle – Kimberly Adame – Misogyny in Pink

Seventh Grade

  • Hammond Creek Middle – Daniela Martinez – My Invisible Scar

Eighth Grade

  • Dalton Junior High – Linzy Odiy Gracia – The Tale of Jake: A Story of Mysteries & Betrayal

Ninth Grade

  • Dalton High School – Briona Markwardt – Lost Innocence

Tenth Grade

  • The Dalton Academy – Tomas Gonzalez Jr. – Ars Mortis (The Art of Death)

Eleventh Grade

  • Dalton High School – Mary Sharp – Footsteps

Twelfth Grade

  • The Dalton Academy – Fredy Reynoso – The Last Tail Wag

Northwest Georgia RESA Winners

Two Dalton Public Schools students placed first in their grade levels at the Northwest Georgia RESA Young Georgia Authors competition. Their writing will advance to the state competition on April 17, 2026.

Kindergarten

  • Brookwood Elementary – Asa Anderson – The Most Magical Trip!

Eleventh Grade

  • Dalton High School – Mary Sharp – Footsteps

Dalton Public Schools is proud of all students who participated in this year’s Young Georgia Authors competition. Their hard work, creativity, and commitment to writing were on full display throughout the event. The district looks forward to cheering on our RESA winners as they represent Dalton Public Schools at the state level.

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