Fort Couch Duo Takes Bronze at Civics Bowl

The duo of Bennett Pries, grade 8, and Penn Pascarella, grade 7, brought home the bronze medal after competing against more than 20 middle school teams from across the Pittsburgh region.

The Civics Bowl challenges small teams of students in six rounds of trivia and short-answer questions designed to test knowledge of government, history and civic engagement. This year’s competition covered six categories: Constitutional Convention and Early Government, Roles of Courts in American Society, Structure and Powers of Government, Civics and Citizenship in the Modern Era, Road to Independence and Current Events.

Fort Couch students prepared for the competition with support from Thomas Yochum, gifted education coordinator. In the weeks leading up to the event, students participated in weekly trivia challenges modeled after the Civics Bowl format, sharpening their knowledge across all six categories.

“As with all competitions, our students benefited greatly from the rigor and engagement built into their daily classes,” Mr. Yochum said. “Credit to the social studies teachers and winning students for a great showing by USC!”

The strong finish highlights Fort Couch students’ dedication to learning about government, citizenship and current events – and their ability to apply that knowledge in a competitive setting.