The National Civics Bee is an annual competition that is led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. that provides an opportunity for middle school students to showcase their civic knowledge and become more engaged in their communities.

The civic bee is very important to the Pennsylvania Chamber according to Elizabeth Bolden, Executive Director, of the PA Chamber Foundation. A survey in 2022 showed that less than half of Americans could name all three branches of government.  Another survey in 2023 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that only 25 percent of Americans were confident that they could explain how our government worked to other people.

“It makes for a more effective and efficient government, which makes for a better place for businesses to operate and grow and entrepreneurs to come to the Commonwealth. We know that stability is important for businesses. And so, as the civics fee increases, civic engagement, just not among middle schoolers, but among their family members, we're building a stronger commonwealth where we can have a more competitive economy and businesses can flourish and grow, “said Bolden.

The PA Chamber Foundation, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, and Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC are working to get participation from middle school students in the state. Kat DeSantis, Public Policy Coordinator of the Lancaster Chamber says the deadline for applications for the local competition is February 5, 2025. The first step is responding to a three-question essay prompt with no more than 750 words by submitting their application online through a portal.

“So, we've distributed that to teachers and educators and students themselves to kind of help them develop their essay, Know what the judges are looking for. They'll get the rubric because we do have essay judges that we've solicited from across the state who will then be scoring the essays. And then, like I said, the top 20 essays will then go on to compete in the local competition, which then includes a couple of rounds of multiple-choice questions via tablet. And then as they kind of go through that, they’ll get down to the kind of third round where students will defend their essays and they'll be asked questions about how they would implement it. And to explain a little bit more about their solutions for their community. And then that is how they then the judge, the live event judges, then select the finalists who then move on to the state competition, “said DeSantis.

Kevin DiGuiseppe, Business Policy & Advocacy Manager, Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC is really hoping to see growth of civics knowledge and engagement in our region’s youth during the competition.

“One of the most fulfilling and rewarding parts of this experience, at least for myself, is seeing the kids who come in as competitors, as sixth grade students, as seventh grade students. And then to see them coming back the next year or two as seventh graders or as eighth graders, and really watching that knowledge and understanding of foundational civics principles really growing, taking root and flourishing in these kids. It's really rewarding to see. It reminds me of myself at that age when I was first taking an interest in civics, “said DiGuiseppe.

The first prize of the National Civic bee is $100,000 529 account towards their college education.