Middle school students compete in the district's first Civics Fair

December 14, 2023

On December 12, the Outdoor Learning Center was full of middle school students speaking up and speaking out.

Earlier this semester, students in GT Explorations identified an issue in their community to research. Teams of students researched a range of issues confronting their communities, including air pollution, bullying, homelessness, school safety and productive learning environments. After identifying an innovative solution, students created and implemented their action plan. The semester of research and data collection culminated in the district’s first Civics Fair.

Teams of students had the opportunity to present their findings to a panel of judges who scored them on the issue, research, solution and overall presentation. The top six scoring teams will participate in the DFW Regional Speak Up Speak Out Competition on January 12 at UT Arlington. These students are competing for the chance to take their solution to the State Civics Fair at UT Austin in March. Winners at the state level will receive funding to support their solution.

These teams are going to the DFW Regional Speak Up Speak Out Competition in January:

Campus	Topic	Teacher	Students
Worthington	Awareness Around Us	Andrea Folse	Mason Edwards Noah Acevedo Ethan Herndon Cadhla Kachur Elijah Alijos Ava Holland
Medlin	Care for the Air	Tracy Gallagher	Alyssa Crofoot Kaitlyn Hua Madi Price Olivia Ulrich
Adams	Providing Necessities for Underprivileged Students	Gabe Berumen	Ronin Fresh Cohen Maples Lottie LeMasters Myles Jernigan Rodner Reyes Rivera
Adams	Minimizing Pollution	Gabe Berumen	Kaden Steen Madden Andrews Easton Jansen Christian Montelongo Mason Josephson
Wilson	School Safety, Protecting our Future	Cindy Trimble	Ethan Nowell Elijah Alexander Kamani McGowan Harris Carson
Tidwell	Project H.E.L.P.	Brandy Downe	Livia Virmani Emma Nix Lexie Butley Lucas Dale

students watching a presentation at the Outdoor Learning Center

Additionally, two teams were awarded special recognitions. The Awareness Around Us team from Worthington earned the Creative Expression Designation for a successful implementation of their solution. They included data and statistics, as well as teacher testimonials and cultural references. The team School Drools Hybrid Rules from Wilson earned an award for outstanding research and data usage. They initially surveyed students to gather data, but they also incorporated district and national data which led to their solution.

The NISD Civics Fair is based on Speak Up Speak Out, an innovative civic education program designed to teach students about their communities and equip them with the tools to make a difference. Speak Up Speak Out is a part of the curriculum for GT Explorations, an elective for gifted learners in middle school.

Additional photos from the Civics Fair can be found on the district's Flickr page.