Students from Springfield Public Schools excelled at a National History Day contest.
Central High students Kenzi Inman, Matthew Gibson, and Savannah Rush placed fifth nationally at the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day competition at the University of Maryland-College Park, June 12-16, according to a news release.
Competing in the senior group documentary category, for grades 9-12, their work was titled “Thomas Bayes: Probability for Success.” Ken Elkins, a teacher at Central, was their faculty sponsor.
The release said Inman, Gibson, and Rush were also recipients of the World War II History special prize, given by the National World War II Museum.
Participation in the national contest hit record levels with more than 2,800 students. About 60 were from Missouri.
National History Day in Missouri is an educational program of the State Historical Society of Missouri, in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council.
Missouri State University is the sponsor of the Springfield-area regional program.
Students were judged on the quality of their research and presentation. To compete nationally, they had success at local and state competitions.
All projects were based on this year’s theme, “Revolution, Reaction and Reform in History” and were entered in five categories: museum style exhibit, interpretive Web site, multimedia documentary, dramatic performance, and research paper.
Students competed in the junior division, for 6-8 grades, or the senior division, for 9-12 grades.
