After months of studying the federal government and the U.S. legal system, Garden Grove student Arlo Fravien has been named California’s champion of the 2025 National Civics Bee, and this fall, he will compete against the top civics students from across the country.
The Walton Intermediate School eighth grader earned first place — and a $1,000 prize — at the June 21 statewide competition hosted at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where he tested his knowledge across multiple rounds. The Orange County Register reported that for the final portion of the bee, Arlo impressed judges with a community improvement idea to clean up Orange County parks by forming a “trash force” of local volunteers.
In addition to their community initiatives, the five student finalists answered questions on founding principles, constitutional law and the branches of government. This marks the first year California has participated in the National Civics Bee, a program organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to increase youth civic knowledge and engagement.
In the months leading up to the competition, Arlo spent each day studying a civics guidebook, watching educational videos on YouTube and reviewing past civics bees from other states.
Arlo’s history teacher, Ashley Stevens, encouraged him to enter the competition due to his strong presentation skills and creative responses.
“He’s always willing to share unique ideas and answer questions in ways that seem very insightful,” Stevens told the Register. “He’s always thinking of the bigger picture, so I think that gave him an edge for the Civics Bee because he’s able to think outside the box.”
In November, Arlo will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Civics Bee finals. The winner will earn a $100,000 scholarship toward their college education.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- The Santa Ana Unified School District will rename Fremont Elementary School in honor William and Virginia Guzman, who played a crucial role in the landmark Mendez v. Westminster case that successfully ended school segregation in California.
- Teachers, coaches and specialists will take part in hands-on writing instruction workshops, collaborate with fellow educators and learn actionable strategies for creating instructional equity at the Write to Joy: K-12 Writing Conference hosted by OCDE’s Literacy and Language Services team on Oct. 11.
- In less than two weeks, educators statewide will explore strategies for supporting students’ academic and behavioral growth at the California MTSS Professional Learning Institute. The OCDE Newsroom has compiled a quick guide with key details for education professionals attending the eighth annual MTSS event.
- This fall, OCDE will assist K-12 educators in teaching the history, cultures and experiences of Vietnamese Americans through the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum Conference hosted in Garden Grove.
- Amid catering large educational events and preparing meals for staff, the Orange County Department of Education’s Kalmus Café is transitioning to offer fresh, daily meals to students at more than 29 sites, all prepared the same day by Kalmus kitchen staff.
- Huntington Beach Union High School District student Cameron Rauch is training to become a certified welder at Urban Workshop, thanks to a financial assistance plan provided by the Pathways to Success program led by the U.S. Department of Rehabilitation.
- Newly appointed Orange Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Rachel Monárrez recently held a Q&A session with local media outlets to share her priorities for the district’s 26,000 students.
- Educator Daniel Morris will return to his principal post at Huntington Beach High School after leading another campus in the Huntington Beach Union High School District for the past two years.
- Los Alamitos Unified School District board trustees have approved a new comprehensive cellphone policy requiring all students across its nine campuses to keep mobile devices turned off and stored out of sight during instructional time.
- On Wednesday, the current administration filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation for allowing transgender athletes to compete on school sports teams that align their gender identity, according to the Los Angeles Times.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will reclassify community-level programs like HeadStart as federal public benefits — no longer allowing undocumented students to enroll in the federally funded preschool program, according to the Associated Press.
- The California PTA has elected Heather Ippolito, a former teacher and active organization member, as its new president.
- R.H. Dana Elementary School in the Capistrano Unified School District recently received a campus makeover including a new sensory garden and an outdoor classroom, thanks to volunteers at Harbor Point Church in Dana Point.
- About 1,000 new electric school buses are expected to hit the road in the coming years as California allocates $500 million to replace aging diesel-powered vehicles at more than 130 school districts in need.
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