DES MOINES, IOWA (May 27, 2020) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has announced 18 schools have qualified for the Carrie Chapman Catt Award for the 2019-20 school year, including Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. The award is given to schools that register at least 90 percent of their eligible students to vote.
Sec Pate created the award last September to encourage voter registration in high schools and to promote the new state law that allows 17-year-olds to register and to participate in primary elections.
“I want to congratulate the 18 schools that stepped up and got at least 90% of their eligible students to register to vote during this school year,” Sec Pate said. “That is a remarkable achievement and shows true dedication on behalf of principals, teachers, and most importantly, the students.”
Rivermont Collegiate registered one hundred percent of its eligible students.
“Rivermont Collegiate was proud to participate in the statewide youth straw-polls and voter-registration drive. Though we are a small and international school, we believe in the importance of participatory democracy and were happy that the state of Iowa provided an opportunity for our young people to experience the voting and voter-registration process,” said Collin Lawrence, director of student and residential life at Rivermont Collegiate.
Here is a list of the schools that qualified for the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. Each school will be honored during a formal trophy presentation at a later time.
Carrie Chapman Catt Award winners
Isaac Newton Christian Academy (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Rivermont Collegiate (Bettendorf, IA)
South Page High School (College Springs, IA)
St Mary's High School (Storm Lake, IA)
Valley Lutheran School (Cedar Falls, IA)
Lone Tree High School (Lone Tree, IA)
Pella Christian High School (Pella, IA)
Ballard High School (Huxley, IA)
Walnut Creek Campus (West Des Moines, IA)
Notre Dame Catholic High School (Burlington, IA)
Fort Madison High School (Fort Madison, IA)
Norwalk High School (Norwalk, IA)
Woodward-Granger High School (Woodward, IA)
Newman Catholic High School (Mason City, IA)
Baxter High School (Baxter, IA)
Nashua-Plainfield High School (Nashua, IA)
Prairie High School (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Urbandale High School (Urbandale, IA)
Along with those 18 schools, 10 more registered at least 70 percent of eligible students and will receive a commemorative banner recognizing their achievement. Nine more schools registered at least 50 percent of eligible students and will receive a personalized certificate from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.
Schools that registered at least 70% of eligible students
Ottumwa High School (Ottumwa, IA)
Charles City High School (Charles City, IA)
Central Lyon High School (Rock Rapids, IA)
Lynnville-Sully High School (Sully, IA)
Riceville High School (Riceville, IA)
Murray Community High School (Murray, IA)
Clear Lake High School (Clear Lake, IA)
East Mills High School (Hastings, IA)
Martensdale-St Marys High School (Martensdale, IA)
Logan-Magnolia High School (Logan, IA)
Schools that registered at least 50% of eligible students
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura High School (Garner, IA)
Cardinal High School (Eldon, IA)
Clear Creek-Amana High School (Tiffin, IA)
Davis County Community High School (Bloomfield, IA)
Tri-Center High School (Neola, IA)
Dike-New Hartford High School (Dike, IA)
Pleasant Valley High School (Bettendorf, IA)
Mid-Prairie High School (Wellman, IA)
Dallas Center-Grimes High School (Grimes, IA)
The Carrie Chapman Catt Award is named after the famous Iowan who successfully fought for passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the ability to vote throughout the U.S.
Secretary Pate extends his thanks and praise to the YMCA Youth and Government and Inspire2Vote for their assistance with this initiative. They helped register nearly 4,000 Iowa students to vote during the 2019-20 school year.