DeKalb Middle Students Awarded at Tennessee History Day

Students from DeKalb Middle School won a third place award at the recent Tennessee History Day competition.
In the category of “Junior Group Performance” a third place award went to Lauren Craig, Josh Davidson, Laura Reed, and Ashley Barnes of DeKalb Middle School in Smithville for their project on “Advancements in Telecommunication.” Teacher: Tonya Sullivan.
First place winners are eligible to represent Tennessee at the National History Day competition, which will be held in College Park, Maryland June 13-17.
Tennessee History Day, which was held at the Legislative Plaza, the Tennessee State Museum and the Nashville Public Library, attracted more than 200 students from across the state. The participants were all award winners from district competitions held in Memphis, Murfreesboro, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
The competition was coordinated by the Tennessee Historical Society with sponsorship provided by Humanities Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of State. Additional support is provided by The Memorial Foundation, National History Day, the History Channel and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation.
“Congratulations to all of our winners and their fellow competitors,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “I know Tennesseans will join me in applauding their accomplishments and cheering the winners to even greater success in the National History Day contest.”
In the competition, students in grades six through 12 presented history-themed projects in a variety of formats – including museum-style exhibits, research papers, web sites, documentaries and even live performances. This year’s theme was Innovation in History: Impact and Change. Students were asked to examine how different innovations have shaped the course of history.
The judges – who included university professors, graduate students, high school teachers, archivists and other public historians – picked the winners from the 118 projects submitted.
Nationwide, more than half a million students participated in some level of History Day competition this year, including about 6,000 from Tennessee.
Since 1974, National History Day has grown from a Cleveland, Ohio competition with about 100 students to a national academic program that engages 2 million people annually.