Seven CCSD students will be representing the district and the State of Georgia this summer in the U.S. National History Day (NHD) contest at the University of Maryland after winning gold and silver medals in their categories in the state competition last weekend at LaGrange College.
Hilsman Middle School students Caitlin Davis, Nora Cooper, Aurelia Dewald, and Gabby Farnham won a Gold Medal for their play, “The Flame That Sparked a Revolution: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911,” while the Clarke Middle School duo of Lia Balde and Breyl Martin won Gold for their exhibit, “2, 4, 6, Hate, We Don’t Want to Integrate: The Desegregation of Clarke County Schools.” Those students will be joined at the national competition this June by Ari Harper of Hilsman Middle, who won a state Silver Medal for her documentary, “The Revolution of Black Hair Products and Tools.”
CCSD also had five Bronze Medalists in the state competition who have been designated as alternates for the national contest. Hilsman’s John Ashley Reese won Bronze for his website, “The Steroid Revolution: How Steroids Took Sports by Storm,” while Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School’s Laila Taylor, Karim Lumpkin, Nivea Hood, and Mary Jane Okoli won Bronze for their exhibit, “The Easter Rising.”
Clarke Middle students Mariam Ahmed, Arohi Singh, and Clyde Smart also received a special award — Best Use of the Digital Library of Georgia — for their documentary, “The Linnentown Resolution.”
Hilsman Middle teacher Dr. Katie Baker Johnson was also recognized as the 2026 National History Day Georgia Teacher of the Year, an award that recognizes a middle and high school teacher who demonstrate a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the NHD Contest.
National History Day is a nationwide non-profit organization that operates an annual contest designed to engage students in college-level research and enhance their critical thinking skills through a better understanding of history and the world they live in. Using a working theme — the 2026 theme was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History” — students select a topic and decide whether to work individually or in a group. They conduct research, analyze their findings, develop a thesis, and submit an entry in one of five categories — historical paper, website, documentary, exhibit, or performance — in either the junior (middle school) or senior (high school) division. Students then present their project and defend their thesis before a panel of judges.
Congratulations to these students, all 48 who qualified for the state competition, as well as Dr. Baker Johnson and all the teachers who supported our students on their projects this year!