MONTICELLO — Local middle school students will soon test their knowledge of government and civic engagement when Monticello hosts a regional competition in the National Civics Bee program later this month.
The Monticello Chamber of Commerce & Industry, in collaboration with the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce, is organizing the event Saturday, March 21 in the auditorium at Monticello Middle School.
Twenty students in sixth through eighth grade will compete after being selected from a regional pool of essay submissions.
Students will compete in two rounds of civics questions — similar in format to a spelling bee quiz — covering topics such as the structure of government, civic responsibility and the ways citizens participate in democracy.
As part of the program, nearly 900 Monticello Middle School students were assigned a civic engagement essay through their social studies classes this year.
From those assignments, more than 125 Monticello students chose to submit their essays to the National Civics Bee for consideration, along with more than 25 students from Elk River Middle School — participation that ultimately led to strong representation from Monticello among the finalists.
The competition begins with the essay contest, which asks students to identify a problem in their community and propose a potential solution using civic engagement or government processes. Essays are evaluated on students’ understanding of civics, their ability to consider different perspectives and the strength of their proposed ideas.
Those submissions were reviewed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which administers the National Civics Bee program through its Civic Trust initiative.
The foundation selected the top 20 students in the region to advance to the live regional competition. Currently, 17 of the 20 finalists are Monticello Middle School students, though organizers said participation is still being confirmed with families.
The highest-scoring students will advance to a final round, where they will present a brief summary of their essay and answer questions from judges about their ideas.
The top three finishers will receive trophies and cash prizes and advance to the Minnesota state competition scheduled for June 14 in St. Paul.
The state champion will then advance to the National Civics Bee championship in Washington, D.C., this fall, where students from across the country compete for national recognition and scholarship prizes.
Monticello Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Deb Meyer said she first learned about the program at a conference in 2025, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation was working to expand the National Civics Bee to additional states, including Minnesota.
Meyer later worked with the chamber board and local school leaders to bring the program to the Monticello area.
“This event has really become a community-wide collaboration, with schools, veterans organizations, businesses and volunteers all supporting civic engagement among young people,” Meyer said.
Meyer said the goal of the program is to encourage students to think critically about how government works and how citizens can take part in solving problems within their communities.
The March 21 competition is expected to run about three hours and will be open to the public.
