The Arvada Chamber of Commerce announced on Feb. 1 that it would be hosting the regional portion of the National Civics Bee for Jefferson County this spring, the first time the humanities competition has been held in Colorado.
The competition is open to any middle schooler (6th to 8th grade) in Jefferson County, including students from public, private and charter schools. The competition features two portions; an essay contest that will yield 20 finalists to compete in a live quiz competition. The top three finishers of the regional quiz competition will compete a statewide championship round.
The National Civics Bee is run by the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This year’s Colorado pilot program will be evaluated in order to plan future iterations of the competition in the Centennial State.
The Buena Vista, Craig, Denver Metro and Greater Pueblo Chambers of Commerce will all be hosting regional civic bee competitions similar to what the Arvada Chamber will organize for Jeffco. New Mexico, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas and Washington all host Civics Bees.
The deadline for submissions for the essay portion of the contest — the guidelines of which are posted on the Arvada Chamber’s website — is Feb. 23.
The regional winner will receive $500, while the state winner will receive $1,000. Arvada Chamber of Commerce President Kami Welch said that all 20 regional participants in Jefferson County will also get a digital device and gift bag to keep.
Welch said that her goal for the competition is to have students meaningfully learn about how their communities function.
“(Students) are going to identify a problem facing their community and explain how they’d solve it in their essay,” Welch said. “Really thinking about what ways you’d approach that issue, resources, members of the community helping."
The competition will be judged by local elected officials and retired teachers, according to Welch. One of the judges, Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp, said educating young people on civics is even more vital in today’s political discourse.
“I think this is really important,” Kraft-Tharp said. “In today’s world, we’re having a conversation about democracy and what democracy means. This can be a way for students to explore and discover what democracy is.”
Kraft-Tharp also said that hosting the competition with middle schoolers is ideal because they tend to be more academically curious than their older or younger peers.
“Middle school students are really at that age of curiosity, open to exploring new ideas,” Kraft-Tharp said. “They're not worried about what it says on social media; they’re not concerned with what’s cool or not cool. Young people also need to be able to hone (writing) skills — if you’re a good writer, you can go a long way.”
Welch said she hoped the program would help shape the next generation of local leaders.
“As a Chamber, we’re really invested in local policy, elected officials and how they engage with businesses and the community,” Welch said. “We hope to develop a pipeline of leaders who care about civic engagement and community.
“In today’s world, civility can be challenging,” Welch continued. “The more we can understand who the players are and how they work, the more effective we can be as a region at solving critical issues.”
