Top photo: School Board Chair Diyonne McGraw (far left) with teacher/coach Patrick Penny and the Lincoln Middle School team.
By Sue Hatch
Lincoln Middle School won the 2024 Civics Challenge competition, besting five other middle school teams in the “Family Feud”-style competition that covers everything from citizens’ rights to foreign policy.
The April 17 competition was an all-day affair held at the Alachua County government building in downtown Gainesville, and the 49 seventh-grade competitors and their teachers were welcomed by Janice Garry, president of the League of Women Voters of Alachua County and Marihelen Wheeler, an Alachua County commissioner.
Students took written exams and competed in the quiz-style competition, racing to answer civics questions under challenging time constraints.
This was the seventh Civics Challenge, an event organized and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Alachua County Public Schools.
The contest helps students prepare for the state civics exam and shines a spotlight on those who excel in the study of government.
Later, on April 23, the school system hosted a virtual competition for all seventh-grade students, with about 2,000 students competing.
Jon Rehm, social studies curriculum specialist for Alachua County Public Schools, said the Civics Challenge has been so well-received that the school system launched a new, virtual competition for high school juniors taking U.S. History. About 600 students took part in the first U.S. History Challenge.
Rehm said he was “really happy” with the response to the history competition, teachers had given “fantastic feedback,” and he expects that event to grow next year.
The Civics Challenge students ended their day with commemorative T-shirts and medals. The winning teams received trophies, bestowed by Rehm and Diyonne McGraw, Chair of the Alachua County School Board.
LWVAC members help fund the competition through their League dues. If you would like to donate directly to this event, please info [at] lwv-alachua.org (contact us).
