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Bismarck students showcase civic learning and head to national competitions
Summary
Students from Century and Legacy high schools and Miller Elementary highlighted civic education and financial-literacy programs; two Legacy teams qualified for National History Day nationals and Century students won first place in their state We The People unit.
President Dan Eastgate opened the April 28 Bismarck Public School Board meeting and introduced a series of presentations showing how social studies extends beyond the classroom.
Kate Skubicki of the district’s Learning Design & Innovation team introduced teachers and students from Century High School, Legacy High School and Miller Elementary to describe competitions and curricular programs that aim to strengthen civic knowledge and practical skills.
Shannon Sorensen, Century High School social-studies teacher, introduced seniors who competed in We The People. Olivia Bridal, a senior, said the program helped her feel "very comfortable and confident in my ability to exercise my freedoms." Bridal and teammates described the simulated congressional-hearing format, 4-minute prepared statements and 6-minute follow-up questioning that push students to apply case law and current events rather than memorize facts.
Haley, another Century senior, told the board that the program helped her confirm academic and career interests; she said exposure to law clerks, attorneys and even a state supreme-court member strengthened her plans to study communications and political science.
From Legacy High School, Kalyn Craft and Ben Guthmiller described National History Day projects that qualified for nationals in June in College Park, Maryland. Craft, who serves in leadership roles at Legacy and has launched fundraising on the Bismarck Public Schools Foundation website, said the club combines research, public speaking and community outreach. Guthmiller described his team’s website project on the evolution of privacy rights in America.
Andrea Carson, a third-grade teacher at Miller Elementary, described Junior Achievement’s "Our City" financial-literacy unit, which the board heard aligns with six of the district’s 10 prioritized social-studies standards for third grade and reinforces math and collaboration skills.
Board members praised the student presentations as examples of civic learning and extracurricular excellence. President Eastgate and several board members urged continued public support for programs that take academic skills into real-world settings.
The board received the presentations and moved on to the balance of its agenda.
