Arnall Middle 8th grader Ella Hummel won first place in the Georgia State National Civics Bee Competition, held Thursday at the Carter Center in Atlanta.
Hummel – who won Coweta’s regional Civics Bee in March – will now represent Georgia at the National Civics Bee Championship in Washington, D.C., this November. The rising Coweta freshman will compete against state champions from across the country for a $100,000 grand prize scholarship at the national meet.
“I am beyond proud of Ella and the work she put into representing the Coweta County School System,” said Coweta County Social Studies Content Specialist Dr. Phil Sykes. “Her dedication and determination helped her win the state championship and will carry her far in the national contest. Ella’s accomplishment says a ton about our district’s dedication to civics and social studies education.”
Sykes also extended thanks to the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce for organizing and hosting the regional National Civics Bee competition each year. The event provides students with the opportunity to showcase civic knowledge and leadership skills, and involved competing students this year from Arnall, Lee, Blake Bass, East Coweta, Evans Madras and Smokey Road middle schools and the Heritage School.
It was only the 2nd year for the state National Civics Bee. This year’s event on June 25 involved regional winners from around the state of Georgia, and was held at the Carter Center and Presidential Library.
Hummel was this year’s 1st Place winner of Coweta’s regional bee held March 31 at the Nixon Center for Performing and Visual Arts. Carys Kuhr (Lee Middle School) and Rilynne Hand (Blake Bass Middle) were runners up in that event. The Bee was sponsored by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. The 19 competitors for the county bee were the top students drawn from participating local student essayists from each of Coweta County School System’s 7 middle schools and the Heritage School.
To participate, students across the country submitted essays on issues in their communities, which were then reviewed by a panel of outside judges. Nationally, the U.S. Chamber received 10,000 student essays submitted from across the nation. 1,600 judges, including local essay readers, were assigned various regions from around the country and dedicated their time to reading and rating the submitted essays.
Students from Coweta County submitted 141 essays to compete in the event. The State of Georgia ranked number two in the entire nation for most submissions.
Top students were selected to compete in The Newnan Coweta Chamber’s regional competition – a live event featuring two rounds of civics quiz questions followed by a Q&A in which students discussed their proposals for improving their communities. The top three finalists at the March 31st event impressed the judges with their presentations of their essay topics “Food Insecurity”, “Protection of Private Property”, and “Bullying Prevention”.
Annual Bees —sponsored locally by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber and nationally the U.S. Chamber and The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation—are aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities, to become better informed about American democracy, engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and building greater trust in others and institutions.
The National Civics Bee, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Civic Trust, is an annual nonpartisan competition aimed at improving civics education and literacy among middle school students, their families and communities. The competition helps elevate civics as a national priority through a network of state and local chambers across the country.
For more information about the National Civics Bee in Georgia, visit nationalcivicsbee.org or https://www.newnancowetachamber.org/the-national-civics-bee.
