Three Orange County middle school students earned the top three spots at the California National Civics Bee on June 27, displaying their civic knowledge and leadership initiatives at the statewide competition held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Logan Thielen of Falcon Academy in the Brea Olinda Unified School District captured first place and will represent California at the National Civics Bee Championship. Fellow BOUSD student Aryan Goya of Olinda Elementary School secured second place, while Deon Witte of Corona del Mar Middle School in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District earned third place.
The National Civics Bee competition challenges students from sixth through eighth grade to demonstrate their knowledge of government, civic engagement and American democracy while presenting ideas to improve their communities through a series of multiple-choice quizzes and research proposals.
The trio moved on to the state finals after emerging as the top three competitors at the National Civics Bee Yorba Linda Regional Competition in April. The second annual California National Civics Bee continues a strong showing for Orange County students — last year’s state title was won by Garden Grove Unified School District student Arlo Fravien.
Logan will put his civic knowledge to the ultimate test at the National Civics Bee Championship in Washington, D.C. this fall and have the opportunity to earn a $100,000 scholarship toward his college education.
Here are the stories we’ve been following this week:
- As the new school year approaches, three new California laws went into effect July 1 and will reshape school policies on student cellphone use, campus facilities and student identification cards.
- Graduation ceremonies across Orange County honored the Class of 2026 in OCDE’s ACCESS and Connections programs, celebrating students in alternative education and special education programs as they persevered to reach key academic milestones.
- The Orange County Department of Education named Dr. Amita Cloke as its new assistant superintendent of special education, where she will oversee programs and services supporting students with disabilities across Orange County, including the department’s Connections program.
- Orange County schools are expanding efforts to connect families with CalKIDS scholarships, helping eligible students claim state-funded college savings accounts for future college or career training expenses.
- Administrators, youth service workers, police officers and more will share best practices to improve student well-being and school safety at the three-day National Safe Schools Conference — hosted by former California Secretary of Education Dave Long in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education and the OC Sheriff’s Department.
- Two campuses from the Fullerton School District were named Schools of Excellence at the 2026 National Speech & Debate Association Championship for their success in categories including storytelling, poetry and informative speaking — marking the seventh straight year the district has earned a national title at the tournament.
- Recent Edison High School graduate Kevin McGowan published his first novel — utilizing themes of community involvement and historic events — to inspire greater civic awareness among his peers.
- The Los Alamitos Unified School District is accepting applications through July 7 to fill its newly vacant principal position following the departure of Principal Christiana Kraus.
- New federal student loan changes will take effect this week, impacting millions of borrowers via shifts in repayment plans and updates to how borrowers manage monthly payments.
- Under California’s recently signed budget, oversight of the state’s public school system will largely shift from the elected state superintendent to a governor-appointed education commissioner beginning next year according to the Los Angeles Times.
- State lawmakers will expand access to affordable child care, creating nearly 23,000 new subsidized spaces for families across the state.
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