STLP Get Recognized Week 2025 Recap

What a week! STLP Get Recognized Week 2025 brought energy, updates, and opportunities to kick off a new year of student technology leadership across Kentucky. From fresh resources to live celebrations, here’s a look back at everything we unveiled together.

Recognizing Schools Across Kentucky

The heart of the week was simple: making sure every school officially claimed its spot on the STLP map. By completing the Get Recognized form, schools unlocked access to coordinator resources, earned the official badge, and became part of a growing statewide community. By Friday morning, more than 520 schools had already joined in.

 

Updated STLP Project Toolkit

We launched the redesigned STLP Project Toolkit, an easy-to-navigate site supporting projects from Level I through Level 3. The toolkit now includes:

  • Scoring guides for every stage of the Project Cycle
  • Coach and student checklists
  • Brainstorming prompt cards
  • Pro tips for Regionals and beyond

This refreshed site ensures coaches and students have everything they need to grow strong projects throughout the year.

 

Creative Digital Arts Refresh

One of the biggest announcements was the CDA program update. Thanks to 30+ educators, rubrics were rewritten in student-friendly language and categories were refreshed. Highlights include:

  • New categories such as Motion Graphics, Photo Journalism, and Scratch Coding
  • Rotating animation focus (Stop Motion in 2026, Cartoon Animation in 2027)
  • Simplified judging with clear checkboxes for Digital Citizenship and Category Fit
  • 2026 themes like Minecraft: Hometown of the Future, Shop Local Kentucky, and The Case of the Twisted Truth

All CDA entries are due January 14, 2026.

 

Challenges at STLP26 State

We previewed exciting updates for the STLP State Championship on April 24, 2026, at Rupp Arena:

  • A brand-new Shoutcasting Challenge for middle school students
  • Multi-Stage State Challenges, requiring a first-round digital submission in January, with finalists competing live at State. Challenges include Newscast, Data for Action, Website Design, Sphero Hero, and more.

 

Service Teams Open Applications

Students can now apply to join STLP Engineers/Ambassadors, who gain hands-on IT and leadership experience by helping run STLP State. The deadline is November 1, 2025. Later this year, applications will open for the Block Code Crew, where students lead coding activities at the Robot World Playground.

 

Gold Status Recognition

We also highlighted the Gold Status program, which rewards schools for compiling evidence of their STLP journey. Gold Status schools earn recognition and an extra entry at Regionals (five total instead of four). State Champions can take that to six.

 

Celebrating with the Live Drawing

The week wrapped up with a live-streamed drawing on Friday, September 19. Recognized schools had the chance to win special STLP prizes, including:

  • The Golden Ticket, allowing a project to advance directly to Level 2 even if it didn’t move on from Regionals.
  • The Special Ticket, granting one additional entry in any STLP competition category beyond the normal limit.

This year’s winners were:

For the STLP Golden Ticket prize drawing:

    • Athens-Chilesburg Elementary, Fayette Co.
    • Cardinal Valley Elementary School, Fayette Co.
    • St. Patrick Catholic School, St. Patrick of Louisville
    • Woodford County High School, Woodford Co.

For the Get Recognized Week Special Ticket prize drawing:

    • Niagara Elementary School, Henderson Co.
    • Brenda Cowan Elementary, Fayette Co.
    • Metcalfe County Middle School, Metcalfe Co.
    • Butler County High School, Butler Co.

Looking Ahead

Get Recognized Week 2025 was all about setting the stage for a powerful year. With new resources, refreshed competitions, and hundreds of schools already recognized, STLP is ready to shine in 2025–2026.

Thanks to every coach, student, and volunteer who took part. Let’s keep the momentum going all the way to Rupp in April!