2024 National Civics Bee- Middle School Students

A regional competition of the 2024 National Civics Bee, an initiative by The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will be held in Western Kentucky on April 20, 2024.  The National Civics Bee is aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. All 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in public, private and home schools in Kentucky are invited to apply by submitting a 500-word essay.

The Western Kentucky regional competition will be held at The Carson Center in Paducah on April 20, 2024. It is open to students in the following Western Kentucky counties: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Union and Webster.

The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce was selected by the U.S. Chamber to host the regional competition.

“This is a unique opportunity to work with our students and schools to enhance civics education. We encourage students from all counties in Western Kentucky to apply,” said Sandra Wilson, Paducah Chamber President. “We hope to inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy and engage respectfully and constructively in the community.”

Students can submit their essays online at https://bit.ly/3MLa5PN. The deadline for student essay submissions is January 9, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. CST.

After the application portal closes, the essays will be reviewed by a panel of judges and the top 20 students in Western Kentucky will be selected to test their civics knowledge and compete in the regional, live quiz competition in Paducah.

The finalists and top winners will receive various prizes, including $500 cash for the first-place student. The top three winners at the Western Kentucky competition will then have a chance to compete against other middle school students from across the state at the state level competition in Louisville.

Schools have received information and have been encouraged to distribute information about the essay application process to their students.

For more information on the essay topic, competition rules and prizes, and for students to submit essays, visit paducahchamber.org/ncb.