Westwood Middle School won the Ninth Annual Civics Challenge on Wednesday, ending Lincoln Middle School’s two-year run as champion of the competition.  

Nearly 50 students from seven middle schools in the Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) district took part in the competition, which “is designed to showcase students’ knowledge of civics,” according to an event press release. Fort Clarke, Hawthorne, Howard Bishop, Kanapaha and Oak View were the other schools that participated.  

“I have a great bunch of kids, and they really prepped, got ready for it, and they did a great job today. They excelled,” Westwood coach and civics teacher Leo Booth said in an interview with Mainstreet following the awards ceremony for the competition, which was held at the Alachua County Administration Building. 

Styled after Family Feud, the fast-paced, seven-round competition saw seventh-grade students go head-to-head, as they raced to answer questions ranging from naming the current Supreme Court Justices to determining which article of the U.S. Constitution outlines the powers of the legislature.  

In an interview with Mainstreet, Dr. Jon Rehm, K-12 social studies curriculum specialist for ACPS, said he models the questions “as much as possible” after the state standards and benchmarks that are in place for civics.  

“There are a few extra questions thrown in there for some general civics knowledge…that just sort of try to bring it home on a more personal note as well,” he added.  

This year’s competition also featured a few more history questions than normal, as the U.S. celebrates the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In addition to the added questions, students wore special “250” T-Shirts to mark the occasion. 

“It’s a big deal. It’s really special. And so, I wanted the kids to know and feel that specialness of the 250^th anniversary,” Rehm said of why it was important to incorporate the 250^th anniversary of America’s independence into the competition.  

In addition to the head-to-head competition, students also had the chance to hear from guest speakers during the six-hour event, including Stacy Scott, public defender for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida, and Alachua County Tax Collector John Power. 

All participants received a Civics Challenge T-Shirt and medal, and the first- and second-place teams received trophies. In addition to the trophy, the first-place team will have the name of its school engraved on the Civics Challenge Perpetual Plaque. The plaque will hang in Westwood for the next year.  

Three students on the Westwood team – Abner Vihlen, Jack McDonald and Lindsay Little – spoke to Mainstreet following the awards ceremony, sharing what it meant to finish in first place. 

Vihlen noted the feeling of fulfillment, given all the work they put into the competition. McDonald noted the feeling of accomplishment and said the event was “really fun.” 

Little added to McDonald’s comment.  

“Like, all the work we put in – [it] finally paid off,” she said.  

The competition is presented by ACPS and the League of Women Voters of Alachua County. Rehm noted that the League of Women Voters initially approached the district about helping with a civics event. 

“We started the first year with just two schools,” he said, adding that these were schools they felt needed the most help, civic-wise. 

With the first competition being a success, Rehm noted that they decided to expand the event and offer it to every middle school.  

“And so, for the last eight years, we’ve offered it to every middle school, and we’ve usually had between seven and all nine of the [ACPS’s] middle schools competing.” 

The competition has also expanded to include virtual competitions for all seventh graders and 11^th–grade U.S. history students in ACPS. Last year, roughly 2,000 students competed in the seventh-grade competition, while approximately 900 students took part in the high school competition, according to the release. 

Rehm said he is thankful to the League of Women Voters for helping make the Civics Challenge happen each year. 

“Without them, I couldn’t do it,” he said. “They’re volunteers, and their support has made it so that we’re at nine and that we’ll have a 10^th one next year.”  

2026 Civic Challenge competitors  

Westwood (first place) 

• William Porter Shellbrook 

• Abner Vilhen  

• Ivan Valverde 

• Jack McDonald  

• Lindsay Little  

• Kennedy Cato 

• Mason Waldrop 

Lincoln (second place) 

• Nora Baiser  

• Ryan Deas  

• Aarna Sharma 

• Eira Verma  

• Aiden Shin  

• Zoe Leontiades  

• Sid Patel 

Fort Clarke  

• Ramisha Mou  

• Alondra Rios 

• Erin Gwaltney 

• Isaebla Valdes Montesino  

• Nathan Lingis  

• Divanshi Pal  

• Kaiden Armstrong  

• Hyatt Patrick 

Hawthorne  

• Za’kanyia Jackson  

• Kaylin Jones  

• Traliyah Epps  

• Bailey Carden  

• Quinnay Arthur  

• Xia Williams 

Howard Bishop  

• Jordan Decker  

• Jack Clugston  

• Logan Morris  

• Amirali Solhpour  

• Auston Howell  

• Isabella Armand  

• Damiyah Parker 

Kanapaha  

• Majayla Eagle  

• Preston Prince  

• Yousif Al Zarjawi  

• Sienna Massey  

• Calan Zielinski  

• Jacob Jones 

Oak View  

• Ava Starling  

• Alexa Stern  

• Vander Crawford  

• Jasmine Armstrong  

• Lucas Kopinke  

• Jake Brothers  

• Noah Hall 

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.