The Alhambra Source and the Alhambra Unified School District are teaming up to sponsor a 2020 Census Storytelling Contest and if you are a K-8 elementary school student in the AUSD, you are invited to participate. Some of you may be familiar with the Alhambra Source’s 2019 Storytelling Contest, which awarded six AUSD elementary school students with prizes and publication of their stories on the Alhambra Source home page.

This time AUSD elementary school students are invited to become census ambassadors and tell us stories that answer one of three prompts that invite them to share their experience observing their family fill out this year’s census and/or ask them come up with solutions to get under counted communities counted. Register for the 2020 Census Storytelling Contest here. The submission deadline is May 10, 2020.

 The census, as you know, is important for your family, schools and community as it helps determine how much federal funding goes to your cities.

And there is still lots to be done. Currently the California response rate to the census from households  is 53.2% but in Alhambra that percentage is 58.6%. In Monterey Park it is 59.5% and in Rosemead the percentage is 57.6%. In San Gabriel the percentage of responding households is 57.3%. So in the four cities that make up much of the AUSD enrollment, more than 40% of the households have not answered the census.

 But there is time. Due to the coronavirus the census deadline is being extended. And you can help by participating in the storytelling contest and spreading  the word out to your family and friends.

Alhambra Source and AUSD kicked off our census collaboration by posting the Census Challenge, a short quiz that tested students on the count and its importance. Over 360 AUSD students took up the challenge. Students who scored 80% or above in the quiz were then entered into a raffle for $25 and $15 Amazon gift cards. Meet two of the Census Challenger winners below.

Benjamin Alo, 8th Grade, Granada Elementary

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Upon receiving notice that he won the raffle, Benjamin shared his thoughts about this year’s count. “It’s important for students to know that the Census is when we, Americans, are counted. Census helps fund our community, hospitals, and schools. As it comes every 10 years, it’s not like a holiday that we remember on top of our heads. By knowing about the  Census, students can better prepare themselves for the upcoming Censuses,” he said in an email to Alhambra Source.

Albert James, 2nd Grade, Park Elementary

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With over 360 students participating in the census quiz, this Park Elementary 2nd grader was in the top percentile, scoring a 90% in his quiz. In an email by Albert and his father, also named Albert, to Alhambra Source, Albert said the 2020 Census is important “because it will help the government to keep the country organized.”

 

Register for the 2020 Census Storytelling Contest here. The submission deadline is May 10, 2020.