Good evening, I'm Ashley Michaels.

From the Western Slope to the Front Range, one competition has been inspiring Colorado students to think critically about their communities, their government, and their country.

Over the past several months, we have traveled the state to cover seve local civic speed competitions, capturing the excitement, the challenges and the incredible young people who are stepping up to become tomorrow's leaders.

Along the way, we met middle school students with big ideas, thoughtful solutions, and a really impressive understanding of how our government actually works and how they can make a difference too.

Tonight we're sharing the best moments from those competitions and celebrating the next generation of engaged citizens.

Welcome to PBS Twelve's Colorado Civics special.

So what does it tak to prepare the next generation for the responsibilities of citizenship?

It's a question that's becoming increasingly important as America celebrates its 250t anniversary, and Colorado marks its 150 years of statehood at a time when civic engagement and public trust are receiving renewed attention, and many organizations are now investing in helping young people better understand our nation's history, our founding principles, and the role each and every one of us plays in our country.

One of those organizations is the Daniels Fund, which has made civic education a key priority through initiatives like the National Civics Be Right Here in Colorado, PBS Twelve's president and general manager, Bobby Springer, sat down with Hannah Shandra Grady, president and CEO of the Daniels Fund, to find out more.

One of the things I, you and I you already started to talk about is obviously you're the president, the CEO of the Daniels Fund, bu I'm not sure Rubio understands what the Daniels fund is.

I think people probably know it's a they may take it for granted.

It's like a legacy name that probably everyone in Colorado has heard.

I mean, you know, over $1 billion in, in giving and between scholarships and programs.

But tell us about what is the Daniels Fund.

So first of all, I have the best job ever.

So the Daniels Fund was created by Bill Daniels, a cable pioneer, and he wanted to give back.

He loved this country.

He loved the communities and the states that he had lived in or started businesses in.

And, once he had accumulated wealth, he said, I'm going to set up a foundation.

30% of the funding I have is going to go to scholarships for kids going into college, and the other is going to go to grants.

Everything from investing in education to civics to youth, sports t aging, addiction, homelessness.

So pretty broad, all things that he cared deeply about.

As you mentioned, we've given away about $1 billion since 2000 and more, almost a $2 billion fund.

You've worked in the in th private sector, in a government.

You've been the secretary of education, New Mexico, under secretary for the California Governor Schwarzenegger deputy commissioner for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and the deputy chief of staff and senior policy adviser for the U.S.

Department of Education.

Got a pretty weighty I would sa your your CV is pretty strong.

You know, I mean, you are clearly an incredible subject matter expert.

What drew you to join the Daniels Fund?

So, I when I was the secretary.

Secretary for education for the state of New Mexico, I got to know the Daniels on because they were investing in New Mexico, and I had this great conversation.

In fact, the governor at the time, Governor Susana martinez, and I spoke with the board and said, we want to invest mor in education here in New Mexico.

And we made a case that there were some families that, didn't have choices.

They they were in their neighborhood schools, which often are amazing but often aren't now or they're just not the right fit, for families and the unique needs of different kids.

And the Daniels Fund came in and invested and created opportunities for kids to go to charter schools and schools that would better fit, kids needs.

And it was a powerful opportunity to get to know what the Daniels funded.

And, you know, one area.

But I got to know the vision of a man who wanted to, as I said earlier, invest in the next generation and give them opportunities like he had.

One of the reasons we're here today is that, obviously, that idea of civics and, you know, when you go to your website, one of the things that when you go to the your sections about, about your organization, there's a section called Big Bets and the idea, the plan, the big bets, you know, this idea of solving, complex issues, you ought to tell me about the big bet around civic big bets is this idea of one life at a time.

But we're going to make a big bet.

A big bet that has a goal.

We're going to be accountable.

We're going to stewar the resources that go in and see if we can actually move th needle in an area that we think, not only did Bill Daniels care about, so we're delivering on that, but that currently today is an area that maybe people are worried about.

There's some kind of crisis.

If you look at the data around civics education today, it's not good.

It's not good for kids.

We know that the majorit of kids, about only about 20%, are proficient in histor and in their civics knowledge.

So on grade level, if you will.

But adults are not that much better.

1 in 5 Americans cannot name a single branch of government that's adults too.

So to me, you could argue that we have a crisis in civics education, and I actually would take tha a step further and say we have an opportune city because crises create opportunities.

As a community, as a, as state and as a country to ask ourselves, 250 at our 250th birthday, 150 for Colorado coming up, we know we can look back and see what we have, what do we want to be?

And that requires being civically engaged.

It requires knowing the responsibility of being a citizen.

So big.

That is all about saying is, do we have something that Americans, Coloradans, Denver rights, are passionate about and probably worried about?

And I think the answer on civics is yes.

And so we created a big bat.

We said we want 1 million more middle schoolers to have real understanding of civics, by 2030.

And we're well on our way to hitting that goal.

So super exciting.

The Daniels fund, when you think about civics, what are you really talking about?

So when we think about civics particularly, we've decided to focus on young people and particularly often like families up through middle school because we think it's such a formative age.

And we think about it's not just knowledge, but it is knowledge.

I always say this I don't think you can love what you do.

Not now.

So knowing how did it how was our country birth?

How did it become a thing?

What does it mean to be a democratic republic?

What does it mea to be a citizen as an American?

What?

What comes with that?

So to to the Daniels Fund.

Civics is knowledge.

Absolutely.

But it's much more.

The knowledge allows you and it empowers you to then go forward and and participate to be active.

That's the great promise to me of America.

And that' why Bill Daniels loved America.

He fought in two wars for it because he knew you can be a part of this great story.

One of my favorite parts of the civics be is showing up when you first get there.

And we remember these are sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

And they're nervous.

They're nervous.

They're maybe a little shy.

They're not sure.

There might be a little insecurity.

And you know, they're going to have to are they going to know the answers to some of the questions?

They have to speak and share a problem they want to solve?

So I've got to present to judges and over the course of the civics, you watch these young people kind of com into their confidence like that.

You know, when I do know something and I do have some ideas and you can see it in living color and a few hours, I mean, it's there is something really powerful about watching a young person come into confidence.

Right.

And in the same time, second piece that I love is if you're a sixth grader, you're not driving it.

Guess who's in the audience?

You've got your teachers your parents, your grandparents and community is sitting in that audience, actually participating, experiencing some of the same things as they're watching.

They're young people.

And, there's something really powerfu about that generational dynamic that at the local level that, it's mom and apple pie, bu I think it's really significant.

So I love that, you know, one of the things that really brought us here, and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us But when we were going through.

So just, just to sort of sum this up for anybody who's catching this in the, in the full space.

We've been, working on a project this yea where we've covered civic space across the state, the civic space as a program that's now in all 50 states.

And the idea is it's it' very much like a spelling bee.

It's like it's got some phases and things like that, which we'll watch the documentary, you'll see it all unfold in real time.

It's very, very exciting.

But we really travel all over the state.

You travel to, you know, to sort of every part of it.

And in one of our locations, we stopped in, which was in Falcon, which kind of covers that Colorado Springs, that sort of the south, southern part of the state.

We ran into, John Suthers, who' also on your on your board.

Yes.

And also another another incredible CV, another incredible heavy hitter, former U.S.

attorney for the district, Colorado, former attorney general and former mayor of Colorado Springs.

I mean, someone who has lived a life of civics, he shared with us and he said, you know he shared a lot of statistics.

You just share with us.

So one of the things that in his big be was this idea of improving this, this knowledge base in the civic psyche is one of the tools for that.

That's why is the civics be such an important tool for that process?

Well, I have a background i education, I'll tell you that, when you think about the whole education process, what you want to see for kids is, yes, basic knowledge, which we've talked a little bit about that, but then you want them to apply their knowledge and be able to critically think about how to use that knowledge in a, in a meaningful way.

The civic speed does just that.

It's a it starts at the loca level in you, in your community.

So first of all, it' also personal and very tangible.

And these young people, yes, they memorize facts.

That is true.

But you know what they also do?

They have to present a problem they see in their community that they want to solve.

And then they present before judges the problem, their solution.

And those judges ask them questions about, have they talk to their city council person?

Have they talked to their state legislator?

Have they have they you know, what have they done to move the needle?

They're they're standing there on their feet in real time.

They don't know what the questions are going to be asked of them.

And they have to be solutions.

They have to create those solutions.

I should say.

And so it's not just that knowledge, it's it's this ability to say, and now how do you apply that in a meaningful way about something you care about?

Personally, I think of our our Colorado State champ, who his dad was in the fires at a couple years ago and like Lewisville area, etc.

and his dad didn't ge a notification about the fires and was still in their home no knowing that fires were coming.

And this young man, his solution was an app that would let people know that the fire is coming because he had personally experienced something with his family that was scary.

Could have been devastating.

And it compelled him to think of a solution that would make a difference in his community.

And so that's a his name is Cameron, and he's amazing.

And he was our Colorado State champ.

But what that wha the civic speed does is not just can you memorize facts?

I think one of the key partners here is these chambers of commerce.

Right.

So so why why is a chamber of commerce that partner that's picking up and running with this?

Yeah.

So, early on we started talking to the U.S.

chamber about civics.

And by the way, an NBC poll just came out and said that.

Aiden, there's so many things that we see American don't agree on right now.

Right?

And we worry about it.

There's an NBC poll that just came out that said, 8 in 10 Americans believe that we need more civic education.

So this is a space we can agree on.

And that across the board, it doesn't matter what party you're part of, how old you are.

Folks think this is important.

And and to me, that's encouraging.

And we see that because as the U.S.

chamber, as we started having these conversations.

So what could we do and how do we create almost whatever call a grassroots opportunity?

Because guess what?

There's a chamber in lots of towns across this country, and so is this opportunit to allow local chambers to host, which are going to feature some of these, civic speakers at the local level.

And then it bubbles up an you get to your state chamber, and then if you make it to the state chamber you can go to the national civic competition, the U.S.

Chamber hosts in DC.

These kids get flown to to DC, they get to CDC and all all the things.

And it was this idea tha we could start local and small, but it could bubble up.

And I think that is so American.

Right?

It's hey, our communities are our lifeblood.

And, yes, big change happens in DC.

But often if you take it back to its roots, it started somewhere really small.

Now, I love the fact we're also talking about all these different towns and that things start small, because we did see that we when we travel across the state, and it is it's a lot different when you go to a community like Lamar or you go to a community like Alamosa versus being in Arvada or Denver, and they're all wonderful, I would say, how does this project sort of bridge those things together?

I mean, how does that how does those universes, I imagine, you know, living in Lamar is a lot different than living in Denver.

You know, living in Alamosa or Colorado Springs or your mountain community, like Carbondale is very different.

And but yet they'r but they're also similar.

Yeah.

I think 2 or 3 things come to mind.

Number one, what they're learning about, isn't that different, right.

When you're learning the basics, then, but what you're getting is that's different is the local ideas for problem solving.

So Lamar might bring something very different than a Denver student might bring.

But they're what's empowering them to bring solutions.

Same thing.

Hey, how do I make a difference in my community?

What are the is it a city council issue?

Is it is it a local police department issue?

Is it so you get the localized dynamic, problem solving, bu your tools are the same, right?

We are all Americans.

The tools that we have to be engaged citizens are all the same.

What are the one of the joyful things about that, too is this idea that you're seeing all these young peopl from these different backgrounds are you get to spend some time together?

Yep.

And, you know, you see that I think we have the, the statewide, championships coming up here, but then that you say going to D.C.

and the National, you're watching those interactions, up close.

I mean, what's your take away from, Well, one of the things that.

So, yes they compete in their knowledge, then they compete in kind of their problem solving and their speaking, etc., but they also they're there for a few days.

And what's incredible is they have this experience.

They get to see all the amazing things in D.C., all our monuments, and they do all the visit to Congress and all that.

But they also have, different activities that they actually contribute to, whether or not they win the ultimate national civic scheme, how they work together, they they're given problem solving opportunities and they form teams amongst all these, you know, now 50 kids right from different states and they say, here's a problem.

Can you solve it together.

So they also they literally get to work together, know each other and figure out how to solve problems in real time when they're in DC.

But a lot of these things actually start with parents and grandparents.

Where's their role in this civics education?

So well said.

You know, I think, I just want to punctuate something.

You said we do we expect our school to do an awful lot these days.

And, which is part of something we should be proud of on the one hand.

But on the other hand, our communities matter a lot.

Our the dinner table matters a lot.

And what we see with civics is I've said it earlier, these kids can't drive yet.

That means when they're going to their local civic be or the statewide civics be, their parents are taking them there.

And most of the time we see this on the regular.

Their parents are helping them study to get ready for the civics AP.

And so what we're seeing is it' an opportunity we, by the way, we have, Johns Hopkins Universit is kind of following these kids.

We do a pre and a post survey.

We learn about their families.

And one of the the noteworthy early discoveries that Johns Hopkins has found is that it is absolutely a generational impact, not a singular generation, meaning, yes, parents are engaged in their learning and when they com and bring their kids to a civics P, we also have an audience participation opportunity.

And they get to they literally are answering the questions on their phones the same times their kids are up there on stage.

I'll speak for myself.

There are moments where I'm like, you're looking for something to be hopeful about and believe in.

And I love this country, and I worry about it.

And I go to a civics be and say, there's the next generation of Americans, and they're getting equipped and they're learning how to make that difference.

And their parents, I think, are getting renewed, hope their grandparents are getting renewed.

Hope.

And hope's a big deal if you don't if you don't believe something's possible, the likelihood of it happening is a lot less excellent.

And thank you so much.

Thanks, everyone at the Daniels Fund for supporting these efforts.

You really do see it.

And I'm excited for orange.

See it to, Well, thanks for having us.

And, thank you for featuring these these young people.

We're super excited to watch it.

Our civics B journey begins in Alamosa, Colorado, which is in the San Luis Valley Middle School.

Students learned first hand how civics and government can be filled with curiosity, meaning and purpose.

Today's competition will include three rounds when students get a chance to actively get involved in their community.

By participating in civic activities, they learn how to have dialog.

They learn how to listen.

They learn how to have conversations.

I'm hoping these, young students learn that elected officials are approachable and that they can get involved in the process.

A lot of the had some very good, suggestions about things that can improve their communities.

I love that this event is for middle school students because it's showing them how to get involved early, how to participate in civic engagement, just be activ participants in their community.

I think the skills that are learned throughout this competition can help students for years to come, because it's helping students feel comfortable on stage and to be able to answer questions and to talk about the issues and the value that they are passionate about.

I'm really hoping that our participants learn to get involved at local government, especially in Alamosa because it is important to know that you do make a difference at every level.

Working for a credit union, community involvemen and advocacy is a pillar for us.

And so to be able to be a part of this, it's just really important to provide that platform for students.

I think it gives them a better look on some of the community issues.

You know, maybe the Valley is experiencing.

And so I think it brings out awareness of and really empowers them and really excited about how we have our kids.

And every year it's so impressive and it's really great to get to know them.

It triggers and ignites the ideas in the students of what's possible in their community.

I would highly encourage it next year, not only to get those ideas going of how they can help their communities but also to have the opportunity to speak in front of a group of judges is really beneficial as well.

Thank you to Alamosa Chamber for putting this together and bringing this to the Valley.

Competition site.

Civic spirit, pla an important role and inspiring students to engage in government and community action.

Their skills and knowledge, they've learned through engaging in this civic spirit will help them be more productive.

You know, employees, family members and community member because the the ideas of like, equality, respect, humility, those things are the things we want for every student.

The advice I'd give to those students who are considering participating in, civic speak is absolutely do it.

You're learn a lot.

It's fun, it's exciting.

And my other advice would be really?

Throw yourself into it, take it serious, study, think carefully, and really prepare yourselves to compete well, I would give the student the advice when they're thinking about competing to study and be prepared.

As you can tell, we had a lot of talented students here today, and, they were prepared.

Looks like they did their homework.

I think challenging yourself and getting yourself out of your comfort zone is, how you make progress and how you make changes.

And so, you know, just go for it.

It might feel uncomfortable and it might feel, you know, like a challenge, but, that's how you're going to make things happen.

So just get out there and do it the first place winner is.

And please join me and give it a round of applause to ease into the.

Definitely proud of Zeke and Avery.

For placing first, first and second today.

They took their own time to complete their essays.

They were given the the prompt and everything in class, and they took advantage of the opportunity and just, took the initiative on their own time to get it done.

I care about civics because it's how you you should think o your government is based off of, and it's just a big part in your community.

And you should know how to do civics, right?

My name is Ezekiel Poli, and I am today Civic Si regional champion.

I didn't really know if I was going to win or not.

I really saw it.

There was no chance I'm going to win that I did.

I'm incredibly excited and proud of Ezekiel for staying the course and working on the essay on his own time.

He put in all this effort for studying flashcards and really thought it through, and I. I really feel proud of him for doing that.

I think the biggest thing my child has taken away from this experience is understanding how important it i to be involved in our community.

When we bind together as a community we can really accomplish a lot to help everybody and lift each other up.

I'm just so proud of them.

I think that they did an amazing job, and we were so happy to se the support from our community.

We had sponsors that came forward to help us cover the costs, and that really shows that everyone at all levels in the Valley understand how important this really is.

I'm just super excited.

I'm excited, and I thank you.

And PBS for being here covering this.

I think we need to share this with more communitie around the whole United States, especially during these times that we're experiencing right now.

This is so crucial and is needed.

So I'm excited for.

The next part of our story takes us to Lamar, Colorado, in the southeastern corner of our state.

Civics competitions allo rural communities like this one to help support young peopl in their future leadership roles in local government and beyond.

Well, I was aske to be a judge here today at the the first inaugural civic speech for Lamar, Colorado.

So I'm very excited to do that.

All right.

And welcome, to the National Civic be here in Lamar, Colorado.

One of the biggest challenges that we've seen in rural America, especially, is getting that next generation to step into civic leadership roles in our communities.

So to see a program like this happen in our community, in our region, it really helps bolster and train these students to to look at that other side of what the leadership roles will be in the future.

Well, I was asked to volunteer to be a judge today.

I'm excited about it.

We read the entries.

The kids had scary, interesting, and especially looking at the age bracket they ar and their perspective on things.

A lot of it is community, things in their community that they feel like could be improved upon for their community.

Some of it's ideas just for kids, some of those ideas for the whole community.

So it's it's interesting to see how they perceive it.

Thank you all for submitting your responses to our round.

Great question.

Knowing our country's history and what our like principles are, I like that's important.

Knowing what our country is built on and knowing what people wen through to get us where we are today, it just makes me think about like how to help, like all these other people, to have such good ideas.

And I think it's really eye opening, like to see how I don't know how I can help my community and the needs we have in our communities.

It's important to understand that Baca County is really, really rural and our place, an it needs to get more attention.

It's important that people understand what our Founding Fathers brought and thought about in the Constitution and today's role.

Not all of their ideas have been brought forth in our thought up in the, High Courts as we reached the end of the round two.

As we get ready to transition in round three, if you'll take a look at the leaderboard up here, there are some really great ideas.

They're very involved in their community.

You know, you wouldn't imagine that as middle schoolers but I was very impressed with, how ingraine they are with their community.

And how important it is.

They take it very personally.

I had like a few idea I was thinking about doing, like our network of community gardens, because we already have a community garden and we're making a new one over by the high school, and middle school doesn't have one.

Buy it.

And our grocery store is just closing down.

So that's we need another like food source on the other side of town.

The biggest takeaway that I found reading those essay was that, man, these kids really are involve in their communities, even if, you know, they we might judge them for being really young or, you know they might not be in the know, but it seems like they're really understanding of what problem there are in their communities.

I think young people get a bad rap sometimes, but I think the kids are growing up to be really intelligent, and I think our future is pretty bright with them.

Can we just all give them awards because they're all so good and our first place winner?

And you can hear how close these scores were is Carson check.

Congratulations.

How are you feeling right now?

I'm kind of shocked, but, I'm happy as well.

It's just it's a lot.

We all thought it'd be someone else from our school, but I. I really thought, I want to try and prove them all wrong.

And I want to try my hardest, even if I don't get first.

That's all right.

That's part of why I'm shocked.

It originally started as an assignment in social studies class, and then we learned it was through the National Civics Bee and we thought, okay, well, I'm just going to apply and see what happens.

I ha no clue what I was getting into because I like, googled a bunch of stuff and I didn't know what I was getting into, really.

And I showed up and it was like a lot easier than I thought it would be.

My his social studies teache in the Sabra really contributed.

She I didn't even want to go.

And she's like you have a shot at this thing.

Might as well try.

It's really important because if you don't kno what civics is and how it works, then you don't really understand how to benefit your country and what good you can do for your country.

What are you going to be doing to get ready as yo now move on to the next level?

Definitely a bunch of Khan Academy.

I'm just going to study more about civics and prepare for state in the best way I can.

I know I think it's important so that they understand how things work, not only in their community, but in government also.

And this gives them a view, a start to see if that's something they would like to pursue.

Also, get them to start to understand that the steps you have to go throug to get something accomplished.

It isn't just I have an idea and do it.

It's I have an idea now, what steps do I take to make that idea reality?

And then from there, moving out in the community and actually making some of this work and realizing that, hey, I was involved in that.

I have a lion in the community.

I'm part of the community because this is my idea, and hopefully someone will get involved in opening businesses or, you know, being on council, mayor, Commissioner, I wish something like this existed when I was growing up.

I've had some background in local government, so I think I just would have, you know, enhanced my skills going into those jobs.

So yeah, definitely wish that was around.

But I'm happy that I'm able to be a part of this now.

From Lamar, we travel nex to Falcon, Colorado in El Paso County for the Eastern Plain Area Civic Speech competition.

Here are students from both public and private schools competed together on stage.

It's great to see kids getting involve with with government and civics.

And, I don't know if you guys tried to answer some of those questions, but they were they were a little difficult.

It's just great to see kids that want to be involved in thinking originally and having to answer questions live, you know, from us just we're listening to the clarity, of the ideas and how it's presented from the kids, which we're always very impressed with.

They've got great ideas and they're supporting them very well.

And they're citing, very good information.

And then they're also elaborating on how they're going to, construct those ideas, how they're going to, you know, communicate within the community.

It's just a great way to get the kids involved in school.

A lot of the teachers are, promoting it for extra credit or actually making it part of their curriculum.

And it's a way for them to learn about how government works and how ideas get brought up, and how ideas also get challenged.

I think it's important that we participate in grassroots because it kind of pushes you to learn more.

And so when you learn more it'll help you in life later on because you understand things better and deeply.

It's fun because you get to meet new people.

And then there's also prizes.

I you end for a second or third.

And then you can also go to DC.

If you make it really far.

I'm nervous, but I also am extremel impressed by the knowledge base.

This is students and these children selected.

They know so much and they studied very hard.

And so as a parent, just watching, there's not much I can do, but just, you know, encourage and support them afterwards.

I'm as proud as can be.

It allows them to engage more in their community and really see that civics is like something just historical in that, you know, book information that you can learn and apply it in real life.

Good morning everyone.

We're about to begin our program and as we do, we're going to start with a video production that was produced by the Daniels Fund.

Civics is in all 50 states this year.

So although our chambe is the Eastern Plains, primarily Falcon, we reach all districts in our county and try to reach out to ever single private and public school that has six seventh or eighth graders.

The Daniels Fund had this idea to put money into hosting civics education with the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce, the State Chamber of Commerce, and individual chambers.

The Daniels Fund comes in as a partner and a sponsor to help design curriculum and promote the event.

We're just excited abou anything that gets kids engaged.

I want to welcome all of you to the third annual El Paso County Civic SB.

The Daniels Fund is extremely interested in civics education.

Here's why.

Sadly enough, only about 30% of our, adults in America over the age of 2 can pass our citizenship test.

That's not good.

Our goal in this ambitious one is to hav a million participants by 2030.

I think it's achievable.

Our objective is to incite greater civic understanding, by our citizens.

We've chosen middle school because we think it's really the best place to start.

And I would encourage parent to talk to the schools and say, why aren't you, involved in the civics be.

Because this is something that our country desperately, desperately needs.

But before we start the final round, round three, can we give all our finalists a huge round of applause?

Thank you guys so much.

I'm feeling really nervous, but I'm also feeling kind of confident since, my sister and my mom helped me prepare, I make sure I know the content that the, judges are going to ask that I know a lot about the subject that I'm going to be, questioned on.

So we just need to be actually engaged citizens in our community and to make our community better.

So by doing this and by being, like, actively engaged in civics, we can kind of make our country better.

I'm very proud of him, and I'm also very grateful for his teachers that helped him.

That was very excited for him to compete.

I was nervous for him.

But I think it's really important that he represents San Gabriel as well.

It's, it's a new school.

It's only been open for years.

It's good for young students to feel that little bit of nervousnes and keep going anyways.

Right.

It's importan for them to have opportunities to feel nervous, to feel challenged and to still keep going forward.

It helps him to understand, some a little bit about local politics, about voting, about how important it is to vote, participate in democracy, and participate in whatever he can do to help his local community improve.

I didn't know if Mike or my essay would be like enough to get to the regional level, but I'm surprised, like I didn't know I could get here.

What makes you so interested in wanting to compete and is different like this today?

Like my voice is heard.

Like everyone can hear.

Like what I have to say.

Kids are the future and they can change it.

It doesn't matter how young they are.

And in first place, Sidney Zane.

I studied a lot, especially with the study guide they gave us.

Me and my mom rehearsed our answers in the car on our way down here.

I think seeing all the talented peopl here was really nerve wracking, but I eventually was like, you know what?

If I win, I win.

If I don't, I don't, and it's going to be great either way.

There's so many good people and they're good essays.

And I was surprised that I won, and I'm just super excited because I love, like helping my communit and learning about our country.

And I was so excited.

I think it shows that kids in public schools can actually win things.

And if they put their mind to it, they can do stuff that private school kids, they can be smart.

Yeah, but you can also be smart.

If you go to a public school.

The next leg of our civic spee journey takes us now to Denver.

Students share how they studied and prepared for competition on the issues that matter to them the most.

The National Civics Bee promotes civic knowledge and participation across the country by encouraging middle schooler to engage in their communities and follow their civic passions.

Inside the Jones Theater at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, middle schoo students are thinking critically about government, community, and the issues impacting everyday life.

But before the questions begin comes the challenge of battling the nerves.

I'm nervous because I kind of don't like public speaking, but I'm really excited to do this.

Yes, I am very nervous.

Yeah, I do, mostly getting through the test questions and then having to be asked questions like in front of a panel.

That's just sound kind of really scary right now.

And for many of the students here, the work started long before competition day.

I made a bunch of kahoots based on my articles, and then just played those over and over again.

Got this like really big study guide, and I printed it out and there was like a ton of, key ideas, primary sources and activities that you could look at in that study guide.

Also like Quizlet I sources like just generate me like some quizzes on it, like prepare me for this.

So students researched real problems facing their communities, then proposed solutions through essays and live competition rounds.

Student Sydney focused her project on fentanyl overdoses in public schools.

It was just something that I was interested in.

I really wanted to do something that was about students and like kids, my age lines about road safety.

So like intersections where the visual was low, mine was on teen suicide, and I wanted to start bullying assemblies and suicide assemblies, raising awareness for this, because I think it's a major problem that our country faces.

For these students, civics is more than memorizing facts about government.

It's about learning how to make change.

The competition is organized nationally through the Daniels Fun and local chambers of commerce, including the Denver Metro Chamber.

The Denver Metro Chamber is honored to b part of the National Civics Day.

Organizers say civic education helps strengthen communities far beyond the classroom.

Getting students involve at an early age is critical to, you know, our functioning, our functioning societies and functioning democracy.

Leaders at the Denve Metro Chamber say understanding how government and communities work together also impacts the future workforce and economy.

Having a more engaged community from a young age will help, help fuel their knowledge and fuel our community for decades to come.

Considering these students age, organizers say the level of thought and preparation is already impressive early in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

How they're able to think about the big picture and then narrow down their community and work together.

It's really inspirin and I think we're in good hands.

That preparation showed up everywhere, from study guides and mock questions to late night spent reviewing history, policy and current events.

I'm very proud of my daughter Lottie, and I'm amazed at how confident she i in herself already at this age, students also brought deeply personal passions into the competition.

Eighth grader Harrison focused his essay on protecting America's national parks, inspired by years spent visiting them with his family.

The main point of my essay was that national parks are underfunded and that they're underfunded.

It means that they have to cut many essential services, and that we are not able to protect it for the next couple or generations.

For organizers, that passion an curiosity is exactly the goal, not just teaching students how government works, but helping them believe tha they can shape what comes next.

Citizens should always understand what's going on, and I think that always being a lifelong learner puts you in the driver's seat to be by example, and to inspire others to do the same.

After multiple rounds o competition, we have a winner.

Harrison, the eighth grader from Kent Denver, took home first place and a $2,500 prize.

It's a pretty great I feel quite nervous up there, but I did it and I thought I'd bring your job.

But every student who stepped on the stage still walked away with something valuable a deeper understanding that their voices can make a difference.

My advice would be care.

Care.

Be involved.

Feel the connection.

Feel that you have something to offer and offer it.

From Denver, we head to our Fat Our Colorado for their fourt annual Civic Speed competition.

Middle school students prove they're a worthy investment when it comes to civics and having their voices be heard.

Welcome to our fourth Civic Si here in Arvada.

We're really proud to host you all.

I think one of the things that' really special about our civic is we really focus on building community.

So out in the lobby, parents are making signs.

Right no with our partner with Arts Park.

We have pompoms on the chairs.

So we're expecting a 100 plus people here today Cheering these kids on.

Toda I get to judge a civic speech.

20 students, metal school students, were selected from 100 and some essays.

I think the civic spirit is incredible.

And so it's encouragin to see people for young people interested in it and some of the solutions, issues that come up with their solutions are fascinating.

And I think it's important because life is happening.

So they're seeing everything i the news and, and in the world.

And I think this is jus a small park where they can get, more opportunity to learn, and have their own opinions and understand, how the world works.

So it's really exciting t see them a challenge themselves.

And, have some success.

I don't think we ever expect that a middle schooler would be as impressive as these kids are.

The amount of knowledge that they have and their commitment to the community as they share their story and what they're passionate about is something really, really special.

This evening we have, three rounds that we will be doing two question rounds.

Each round has ten questions.

The biggest thing I learned is that civics is awesome.

So this is really fun and I can't wait to see where that takes me in my life, because it's really important in our da to day lives in our government.

And it's things that we don' realize that goes on that does.

So it's important to recognize that, well, I've grown up in a very very civically oriented house, and it's something that I thought I could do.

I am a person who feels prett confident in my writing ability.

That's one of the things I feel good about.

And I thought, let's do this.

So that is the end of round one.

Let's give a big applause.

When we presented civics to the kids, we said, this is a first starting point for you.

Take your idea, research it so that you can develop your speaking and your communication.

And then we're going to put these ideas in action.

So our next steps with all of our kids was to have them enter and share their ideas.

But now we're actually putting them in action over the next six months.

So it's really special.

They need to be able to say, I believe this and have somebody listen, and whether they get a yes or no on their idea, that's okay.

But they understand the process.

And because of our Constitution and the way the civics and be operates, they understan how their national constitution allows them to have that voice.

Civics i really important to understand.

Building our Constitution and understanding how we as citizen can like and serve our community and improve our society as a whole.

Because I know a lot of kids, like especially at my school that summer with depression, we struggle with things like that, and knowing that you can mak a real change to your community is really like just the best feeling in the world.

I compliment the chamber.

They're one of the few chambers in the state that are doing this.

And having been a part of it I'm amazed at how well they do with what they have resources about.

As a chamber we believe healthy businesses, thriving community.

And we think this next generation of leaders is pivotal to that.

So from our view, this is a worthy investment because we're investing in our future.

We're investing in our community with the kids that care so much.

And it really is a bright spot in in a world that can be challenging.

And we're hearing a lot of things that aren't positive coming to a space like this and hearing all of these incredible ideas and seeing just how smar our middle school students are, is really a bright spot for our community.

In a worthy investment.

Thank you, Peter, and congratulations.

Thank you.

What do you think the bigges challenges are with your idea?

That's a very good question.

There's a lot of challenges that would be faced in this.

Otherwise, this wouldn't be a plight that some people face every day.

The toughest part was speaking in front of the audience, and also answering the questions within the time.

So I wanted to make sure I had the best educated guess I could possibly have.

This is an incredible opportunity for our students voices to be heard.

Our students have ideas, and often they don't believe that they can actually share those effectively in the community, particularly because they may not be of the age to vote.

But we know that students make a true difference in our communities, and we have know that the civic space allows them to understand the right and responsibilities they have, even as a young person in this country, whether they win or not, it is something that they put on their resume of their life and they're able to speak to it and say, I spoke for my democracy.

And this year, even more special.

It's the 150th birthday of Colorado and the 250th of our United States.

So speaking up today is pretty special.

If you don't mind, can you all give us a drum and get ready for the winner?

First place $500 is Peter.

It was this true, like amazement.

I was really, really excited and I was really happy to get this opportunity in the first place.

So to wi it was just a dream come true.

I felt like there were just some really incredible responses.

I was glad to get to hear from more of my fellow students too, because we can all learn from each other.

There's something I can learn from every person there.

It's not just hope that it gives me that these kids will be leaders.

I know they will becaus they are absolutely incredible.

And I leave with a sense of pride every single year.

I'm getting chills just talking about it now because it really is impressive what these kids do.

From Arvada, we traveled to Buena Vista, Colorado in Chaffee County.

Here, community support sponsors and local businesses are a big part of their civic space success.

Look at this 25 list up here tonight.

That's on record as well.

So we're going to have a pretty good afternoon.

We're going to hav a couple of rounds of questions.

I'm a very big history geek.

I'm really into history.

I really want to be a history professor when I grow up.

So I just came here today because I was inspired by several of my teachers and m parents, especially my family.

They helped me get through this.

It's just such a huge community turnout and the diversity of the community member and perspectives that show up to to support this.

My topic was about, fair and equitable competition between brick and mortar businesses an temporary vendors here in town.

How surprised is that?

Or maybe it's not the ideas, but the kids come up with.

Very surprising because, when you when you look at what the kids come up with and their answers, it gives you a certain amount of pride in not only the kids in this community, but just kids overall in general.

It's so important that a younger generation understand the Constitution and understand the government and have a loyalty and, and then excitement over it.

I think it is important for kid in this generation or adoption from past generations, to know about our present government.

I definitely think it's good to know at least about the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

I know they're going to go on to make a difference, not just hopes.

I know that these are the leaders.

These kids are, we're going to hear a lot, from them over the next 10 to 20 years.

Why do you think it's important for kids to be talking about ideas like this?

So then, like, overall the community can be better and, like, it's not just like adults, like being like, oh, do this, do that, but also, like, kids can also make a difference.

What do you think is your biggest takeaway from going through the whole thing last year?

Just knowing tha I can speak in front of people.

And I stepped out of my comfort zone and I did it.

And knowing that people will listen when I like, propose an ide for how to change our community.

For the first two before me, I was very nervous to come up and talk, but I was just thinking like, wow, those essays are really good.

I just think everybody did a really good job.

My topic was on road safety.

It inspired me because in fifth grade I did a whole, study on it with my class, and we presented it to the, I think the Buena Vista Board, and they actually made some changes.

So that was pretty cool.

I've had some of them come to our meetings, and speak at public comment, and hopefully they'll grow into the leaders of tomorrow because I know they will grow and we want the to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Well, we love kids getting involved and we're very strong advocate, you know, wanting to help the education system and kids and having kids to have a voice.

I mean, the league wants everyone to have a voice.

As a retired teacher, and I taught many years at the high school level, and that was, really one of my favorite subjects was American government, where kids had a voice and had a chance to get out and talk to people and lear about the system of government.

Some of the people in the audience can take this test, and I've taken it sometimes and it was just hard questions that these kids, you know, have to take.

So there is a multiple choice aspect of it.

And then the top kids after that, after they had their outstandin essays, their multiple choice, and then the top 3 or 5 get to give their verbal what they want and what the hell they feel.

The solution to an issue is.

Yeah, we've had great supporters.

The American Legion has been good, giving us a place to, host this, which is a delightful place.

The Chamber of Commerce, you know, tha we work in partnership with.

So.

But the community comes together for many issues, and this is just a really a good one for them, you know, so it's a great place.

Buena Vista or Buena Vista for people that don't know the history of the name, I can tell you the history of the name.

I would just say that the League of Women Voters has don just an awesome job with this.

And then when you look around at this, this location with the American Legion, it's because they've they've got a great, facility that they want to serve it with the community.

It also it's it's one of the four pillars, which is an outreach, a patriotic for the kids time.

Max molybdenum, the mine up in Leadville is our other play platinum sponsor.

And they, a large segment of their workforce lives in this community.

And they like to provide funding for these events.

So we had a few individuals like myself who just cared deeply.

The mayor is one of them.

There are a number of us that gave individually, but the rest of the sponsors are, community banks.

The electric co-op and things like that.

And this yea we were able to purchase amazing iPads that each of the 20 finalists get to keep.

I definitely think it's worth it.

I definitely think even if you lose, it's still worth it.

I definitely think the civic space is fun, and if you put in a good enough effort, you can win.

Have fun with it.

But it's really scary.

But once you sit down after you give your speech, or once you're done answering the questions, you can say, I did it.

And it's like, so amazing to be able to say that you did it and you can be proud of yourself for that.

In the civic space or the annual edition sponsored by the League of Women Voters, JP County, and the Municipal Chamber of Commerce.

I just want to look sharp and I want to look good for a competition.

I don't want to I don't want to come up in a t shirt and sweatpants.

They have a. Graduation.

Our final stop in our civics competition takes us to Carbondale, Colorado in Garfield County, where students in that part of the state came together from nearby communities to compete in civics for the first time.

Welcome, everybody.

I'm Ryan Harry I will be your MC this evening.

So in a moment we're going to bring out our finalists for the first ever grader, Roaring Fork Valley Civics b c whether they want to look at that as a career or also just be engaged down the road, maybe it's, you know, helping with, voter registration or things like that.

I think it just opens a door of opportunit and also showing that there is, you know, really fun activities such as this happening in their community that maybe they would not have known about before.

For us to be centrally located right here really provides that opportunity for more students to participate and be engaged.

The Civic Si is a powerful platform to amplify the voices of young people.

Getting young people engage in civics and civics education early is wonderful, because it gives them a taste of, opportunity and communit and engagement moving forward.

I also think it gives opportunity for young people to see that they are changemakers, and that they can have a positive and important impact in their communities, their schools, where they live and beyond being around middle school age, it's such a fundamental, age group where you are like a sponge and you're learnin and you're growing and maturing.

So yes, definitely, I think for the professional development, it's going to be a win for everybody, even you know, for for the community.

Okay.

That concludes round one.

Give it up for these kids.

This event gives them an opportunity to write for an audience that really is going to listen deeply.

And each year create an opportunity for their their voic to to actually, affect change.

The wa I propose this to students was we brainstormed a bunch of challenges and problems or opportunities in our town.

It was awesome to see what kids came up with, you know?

And, that's what this project is, is learning how to take actio in your community when you see, you know, being informed enough to see issues and being brave enough and creative enough to try to think of solutions.

Okay that concludes our second round.

Deep breath kids.

Good job.

Give em a round of applause, everybody.

I taught me how I can, be a part of make a bed instead of just staying back.

I was about helping teachers out and appreciating them because it is kind of expensive to live out here, and not a lot of new teachers from in the States come around to here, and they can't really afford to fish.

But like the goal here.

Okay, before we get to round three, you guys can just sit there for a minute because I want to thank the schools and the teachers who helped make, these help these students to get here.

Absolutely.

Do it.

Don't be afraid.

I have to say, I have been inspired by seeing young people take the microphone, take center stage, try something new, do something that might scare you and learn from it.

You don't have to be perfect.

Just do it.

Take the risk.

It is worth it.

Start talking to people in your community.

Talk to your parents.

Talk to your teachers.

Find out what the issues are that are important to people around you and find the issues.

That's that is really important to yourself.

Now, the way this works is the students will, offer three sentences to review the theme of their essay, the essay they wrote to particip It's definitely important.

I mean, government, it's, it's defines how we live in America.

So it's a we're in the week of, like, my mom and my dad definitely helped me, stay on schedule.

They're studying and, you know, they are over here and just encouraged me to enter.

No matter the results of this, eac one of these kids is a winner.

You guys can be hope for the future of America.

So please come back up on the stage.

Just try it.

It's.

It's not bad if you lose.

It's exciting if you win.

And even if you don't get in, there's always you have three years of it of trying.

So just keep trying.

And in first place, dude, congratulations.

I'm really, really happy.

I'm so excited.

I worked really hard for this.

We're so excited.

We're so proud of him.

He worked really hard and he's just a really inspiring young guy.

It was good to see, some of these things from Fresh Eyes as a parent and see the wonder and excitement in our kids in order to reexamine our interaction with our civic life.

It's a really good opportunity to learn things about the way our government works, which I think is just super important.

We want to send a big congratulations to all of our civics, be participants and winner from the regional competitions, and we would like to wish the finalist luck as they go on to compete at the state championship.

Knowledge build confidence, participation builds communities, and engage citizens build a stronger future to watch all of our civics be stories, make sure to check out our YouTube channel and to find out more information about civics competitions here in Colorado and how you can get involved, go to civics, U.S.

Chamber foundation.org.

Thank you for joining us here at PBS 12 for this civics Be special.

I'm Ashley Michaels and we'll see you next time.

For.

Support for the civic speeches.

Brought to you in part by the Daniels Fund.

In commemoration of America's 250th and Colorado's 150th anniversary.