Ashley Womack, social studies presenter, and Rick Reinberg, social studies presenter, told the Seaman USD 345 Board of Education on Feb. 10 that the department has increased student civic engagement and academic competition participation this school year.

The presentation summarized student activities, including voter-registration drives, trips to civic events, and contests. "We got kids registered to vote, and then we took kids to Villanville," Womack said. She described taking roughly 20 students to see Ruby Bridges speak at Washburn University and noted the district signed an official Ruby Bridges Walk-to-School Day in Kansas.

The nut graf: the department framed the work as experiential civics instruction and project-based learning that also produced external recognition and awards. The board heard that students won the Kansas Civics Games last year — a competition the presenters likened to an intensified quiz bowl — and each student on that winning team received a $1,000 cash prize. Reinberg described additional student successes at National History Day in Washington, D.C., including a special honorary award from the Lowell Milken Center.

Womack and Reinberg also highlighted the district’s museum studies class and a physical exhibit space that rotates displays during the school year. "We have different exhibits that do get switched out throughout the semester and throughout the year," Womack said, noting a recent veterans project that produced a wall listing more than 1,000 alumni who served in the military.

Board members thanked the presenters and recognized staff awards mentioned during the remarks. The board noted Womack was named Kansas History Teacher of the Year during the exchange and congratulated Reinberg on a citizenship-education honor described at the meeting.

The presentation concluded with practical details about access: the museum is open three times each semester during lunch and at selected athletic events; Womack said the program is also expanding a digital presence to complement physical exhibits.

Board members encouraged continued outreach and applauded students for the department’s emphasis on civic engagement and history projects.