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Twenty local middle school students will compete in the first Metrocrest National Civics Bee on April 5.
Applications opened in the fall, and about a hundred students from Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, Coppell Independent School District and private schools within the Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce service area wrote essays that earned them a place on the stage at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus’s Performing Hall. All 20 of the students who made it to the live competition will receive tablets, and the top three winners will receive cash prizes.
Michael Gallops, president and CEO of the Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce, said students wrote on a wide range of topics, including school food waste, a new lake and fentanyl.
“I don’t see any duplicated topics either,” he said.
He said this is a great opportunity “to see some of the best and brightest students in the Metrocrest region putting their civics knowledge on display.”
The audience will also be able to participate. “There will also be the opportunity for the audience to play around and see if they are smarter than a middle schooler,” Gallops said. “I think it’s going to be a blast.”
The Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to participate in National Civics Bee.
The inaugural National Civics Bee Championship brought finalists from 27 states to Washington, D.C., in November 2024, to test their civics knowledge and compete for big prizes.
Participating sixth, seventh and eighth graders at the live local contest will also compete an opportunity to compete at in the Texas competition for the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., to compete at the national championship in the fall.
The chamber would welcome more sponsors. For information about available corporate sponsorships, contact Gallops at michael@metrocrestchamber.com.
