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When Brian McKnight began his first year as principal at National Trails High School in New Paris, he made it his mission to create a positive environment for everyone. He didn’t want to build student pride just for the basketball and football teams, nor was he focused on only increasing the number students that signed up for the marching band. As he puts it, “I wanted to really build a sense of community, a sense that, if we do something together, we can be the best at whatever that is.”

Not long after his first day, McKnight’s athletic director received an email that he thought his principal should see.

"The AD came to me with this grant contest from McDonald's. The size of the grant definitely looked nice, and the fact that there was a division for large and small schools seemed fair, but what really caught my eye were the competition and voting aspects," said McKnight. "I knew right then that this could be the perfect opportunity to build community and to accomplish something together.

“Just participating in each round really got the kids and the teachers excited, and working toward something together.”

At least twice a day during each round of the McDonald's High School Grant Challenge, McKnight would make get on the school-wide intercom and announce how they were doing in the voting.

“From the first round, I knew this competition was something that had hooked us all as an entire school,” he said. “On a voting day, I couldn’t go anywhere -- the lunchroom, into the hallway after a meeting -- without someone wanting to check on the scores, so I would have to run back to my desk, check, then report back.”

Teamwork pays off

McKnight’s desire for his school to come together and collectively achieve something paid off. Not only did their efforts earn them the $10,000 grant for the small school division, but what his school did with the money was equally as group-minded. Every student in the entire district, from the kindergartner to the senior, received a reduction in fees. For some students, this meant a significant reduction in athletic and extracurricular fees; for others it meant new art supplies for the advanced art course, or a much-needed reduction for the cost of lunch.

The point is, McKnight said, “When you win together, everybody wins, not just athletes or the marching band, or the student council, but everybody -- because it was a team effort and a team victory.”

“Last year, the Grant Challenge program was a huge success and became something that Miami Valley high schools embraced,” said Al Herzog, president, McDonald’s of the Miami Valley CoOp. “The local McDonald’s owners, including myself, live and work in these neighborhoods. We are committed to supporting our communities, especially the schools in our area.”

Like McKnight, the McDonald's High School Grant Challenge is now in its second year. It offers up $10,000 to one large and one small school in the Miami Valley, purely through voting, and every school in the region, public or private, is eligible.

Voting for round one of the competition has begun and will run through Sunday, Oct. 8. The top nine schools in both divisions will move on to round two, for which voting will run from Monday, Oct. 9, to Sunday, Oct. 22. Voting for the final, championship round will be held from Monday, Oct. 23, to Friday, Oct. 27. More information on the grant and how to vote is available at www.HighSchoolGrantChallenge.com.

While, on paper, the contest does want to make a financial difference in school districts throughout the Miami Valley, the means are just as important as the end. Like McKnight, the potential for fostering community through this contest is as much of a reward as the cash prize.

"Participating in the McDonald's High School Grant Challenge is a no-brainer," McKnight said. "It's a contest that, aside from the money, allows you to really build spirit and a positive atmosphere for students and staff. If that's not a good enough reason to do something, then I'm in the wrong job."

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