How many Supreme Court justices are there? What happens if no candidate wins a majority in the Electoral College, according to the Twelfth Amendment? These are the kinds of questions contestants answer in the Civics Bee, an annual competition for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Lau nched in 2022 by the Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the bee aims to improve civic education and literacy in middle schoolers. It has now spread to all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and American Samoa, just in time for the country’s 250th anniversary. Students compete at the regional, state and national level and vie for substantial cash prizes; the winner of the national bee walks away with a $100,000 contribution to their 529 college savings account. Sterling Rich heard about the Civics Bee in his sixth-grade humanities class at Barstow Memorial School. “I thought it would be a good way to spend my time and see if I could learn something new,” the rising seventh grader said. Not only did he learn some things, but he also bested 19 other competitors to win $1,000 in the Vermont Civics Bee on June 8 at Stowe Middle High School. Sterling won a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent the state in the National Civics Bee in October. “It’s kind of scary doing this competition,” said Sterling, 12, who lives in Chittenden, “but I’m kind of excited because I’m going to D.C., which seems pretty cool.” In addition to showing their grasp of civics trivia, contestants write an essay on a topic related to improving their communities and answer questions about it during the bee. The experience tests their knowledge of American government, as well as writing and public speaking skills. Sterling won with an essay on a very Vermonty idea: creating a volunteer system to help community members get their driveways shoveled in the winter. “There’s a lot of people, actually, who need to pay people, like, insane amounts of money to shovel driveways, and some people can’t afford that,” he said. “The toughest question I probably got was ‘How would you be able to get the funding for this?’” he said of the state bee. Sterling suggested that the town administration and a local general store could donate snow shovels and other supplies. Denise Smith, executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, who emceed the statewide competition and served as a judge for the regional Northeast Kingdom Civics Bee, was impressed with the participants. “Their creativity and their curiosity, and also their engagement, was really something that I took away,” she said. Of the competition, she said, “It really creates citizens of our democracy.” Encouraging civic engagement promotes “strong communities and a strong economy,” said Jeff Wise, senior director of programming of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, which organized the state competition. “The chamber feels it’s really important to do this because it shapes Vermont’s future.” Next year, he hopes to expand the springtime regional competitions from two — organized by the Northeast Kingdom Chamber and the Addison County Chamber — to three. The 2027 Civics Bee will be Vermont’s third. To participate, students must first apply to the National Civics Bee through the U.S. Chamber’s online portal; applications for the 2027 competition will open September 7 and close February 2. There’s no fee to enter. Interested students write an essay describing a positive change they would make in their communities and how they would make it happen. Judges select some to advance to the regional competitions. Smith emphasized the value of the bee to students, particularly the essay presentation: “They have to present that to a room of people, and I think that’s a really important skill set to have.” Teachers or community members who want to bring the Civics Bee to their community can contact their local chamber. The U.S. Chamber provides resources for teachers who want to incorporate the Civics Bee into their curriculum on its website. For more information, visit civics.uschamberfoundation.org/ncb-how-it-works. Jasper McGibney is a senior at South Burlington High School, where he is the editor-in-chief of his school’s newspaper, the Howling Herald. A dedicated student journalist since his sophomore year, he is working to strengthen his school’s journalism program. This is his second story for Kids VT. The original print version of this article was headlined “Bee Civic-Minded | Middle schoolers put their best ideas forward for an annual competition” The post Middle Schoolers Put Their Best Ideas Forward for the Annual National Civics Bee appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less