Governor Livingston Student Wins 2021 NJCIE Poster Contest
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Liam Oakes, Communications Manager
Phone: (732) 613-0400
Email: liam@njcie.org
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. (July 16, 2020)—A Governor Livingston High School student was selected as the winner of the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education’s (NJCIE) 12th annual Inclusion Works Poster Contest this week for her unique portrayal of inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alyssa Zichichi, a rising junior from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, will receive a $250 prize for her digital illustration representing diversity and inclusion of students with disabilities.
“Alyssa’s poster conveys what inclusive education truly is and why it works,” Fred Buglione, President and CEO of NJCIE, said. “It welcomes students of all abilities through its messaging and representations of various identities and communities. Her portrayal of inclusion during a pandemic shows that all of us can still continue to be inclusive no matter what the circumstances are.”
Zichichi’s poster will be printed and distributed to schools across the state throughout the next school year.
Annually, NJCIE holds a poster contest for New Jersey public, charter and vocational school students in grades one through 12.
Students were asked this year to create posters on how everyone can continue being inclusive during the pandemic. They had five months to illustrate a poster that highlights why inclusion is important, what it means to them, what it looks like in their communities or how it can be done.
This year’s submissions can be viewed at the inaugural poster exhibition at www.njcie.org/exhibit.
According to the contest instructions, inclusive education is when all individuals are valued members of their community and have equal opportunities to reach their maximum potential. An inclusive school is one in which inclusion works and refers to a local public school where everyone feels accepted regardless of their learning challenges, differences or disabilities.
