Penn Valley Student Honored for School Safety Proposal

Ah, the wisdom of children.

David Lu, a fifth grader at Penn Valley Elementary, recently won Rep. Tim Briggs' annual "There Ought to be a Law" essay contest with a proposal on school safety.

Lu suggested a law that would secure all school entrances, install fences along school property, and mandate all students and staff participate in regular safety drills. Lu's essay was selected from over 400 submissions.

Briggs, who attended a recent Lower Merion School Board of Directors meeting to present David and the other finalists with an official citation from the state house celebrating their accomplishment, said the annual contest provides him with a valuable reminder: his constituents include children, as well as grownups.

“I represent 62,000 constituents and it’s important to remember that not all of them are adults,” Briggs said. “I’m always looking for new ways to work with students and introduce them to public service and government—either through contests like this, hosting student art shows in my district office, or speaking with their classes.”

The young finalists in the fourth annual "There Ought to be a Law" essay contest were:

• Maya Ackerman from Mrs. Melissa McGuire’s class at Cynwyd Elementary School
• Samantha Anderer from Ms. Lisa Bair’s class at Penn Wynne Elementary School
• Alexis Wojtelwicz from Mrs. Nicole Clancy’s class at The Shipley School
• Yehuda Biberfeld from Miss Kathy Marshall’s class at Torah Academy
• Matt Mignucci from Ms. Maya Jones’ class at Waldron Mercy Academy