3 NE Ga. schools in the running for nat'l award

BOSTON, Mass. - Three northeast Georgia schools are finalists for A $5,000, no-strings-attached top prize in a national contest sponsored by Windsrtream.

There are 30 Spirit Awards finalists from around the country in Windstream's Classroom Connections program. They were chosen from among more than 120 online video entries, and an online vote will determine the top 10 schools to receive the award.

The northeast Georgia schools making the cut are: Commerce Middle School, Commerce; White County Ninth Grade Academy, Cleveland; and, Winder-Barrow Middle School, Winder. One other Georgia school is also a finalist, North Murray High School in Chatsworth.

The deadline for voting has been extended to September 7. Voting is online only at www.lifetimetour.com/topvideos.php where you can also view each school's video entry. Every visitor can vote once per day. Starting August 30, vote tallies will be visible on each school's video entry page, so supporters can track how their local school is doing.