In a small ballroom just blocks from the White House, a group of 27 middle school students showed an impressive command of civics and the ins and outs of the constitutional process at a time when those very things are being hijacked and rejected by political movements keen on bending education to their will.

The event was the first-ever National Civics Bee Championship, and it was hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The event was sponsored by the Daniels Fund, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that has helped fund the new initiative over the past several years and build Civics Bee programs in cities across the country. The competition was open to students regardless of where they attended school.