WASHINGTON D.C. — A freshman at Richmond High School represented Indiana at the National Civics Bee on Monday and Tuesday.
Ellie Fost, who was an eighth-grader at Richmond Friends School when she entered and won the county competition, can claim what no other Hoosier can.
She was the first representative for Indiana in the 3-year-old competition, although this is the first year that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a national championship.
Launched in 2022 by The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition, open to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, was created as a way to promote civics education and literacy and was initially held as a series of local competitions across several states.
This year, 28 states took part.
The first round of the national competition in D.C., held on Monday, featured a team activity where students were grouped together to solve a problem using their knowledge of civics and how best to approach it, according to Ellie’s mother, Ann.