Just before Wednesday's Presidential Inauguration, we learned that seventh-grader Gabby Marshall won third place in the 2021 Inaugural Poem Contest sponsored by The Academy of American Poets! Her poem "The Power of Hope Today" was one of three selected from almost a thousand student entries. Poet Richard Blanco, who judged the contest, wrote that Gabby's poem "reaffirms the enduring and unwavering power of our nation’s hopes, which never abandons us, even during these trying times." We may be a little biased, but we couldn't agree more. Congratulations, Gabby!

Read more about Gabby's poem in WRIC Channel 8 and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. And make time to read this excellent profile on Gabby and Middle School English teacher Mary Hopkins from the Association for Middle Level Education!