An academic challenge on black history from Frederick Douglass to Oprah Winfrey will test some of the brightest students in Howard this weekend. The third annual Howard County Black Saga Competition will feature42 students from 13 elementary and middle school teams in a multi-round competition.
“The program works well for us, because it has ties to our social studies curriculum and lets students discover more about the African-American experience,” said Kim Reichardt, coordinator of the event and a gifted-and-talented resource teacher.
For the first time, the elementary social studies office is joining the secondary social studies office to host the event, according to a news release.
Schools had their own contests in which winning teams emerged to compete in the countywide competition, said Corinne Gorzo, coordinator of the school system?s Office of Elementary Social Studies.
“Questions will highlight African-American leaders, quotes and landmark Supreme Court cases dealing with civil rights,” she said.
The students have been honing their trivia skills since the fall, when volunteer teachers began helping them prepare before or after school, Reichardt said.
“Students have been quizzing each other, making flash cards and playing games,” she said.
“What?s really nice is that the staff and community has really gotten involved.”
The winning teams have the option of moving forward to the state competition in March, where they will compete against students from other school systems.
The program founder, Dr. Charles Christian, a distinguished professor at Coppin State University, will greet the audience before the competition.
Participating schools include: Hammond, Harper?s Choice, Murray Hill, Oakland Mills and Wilde Lake middle schools; Atholton, Hammond, Ilchester, Longfellow, Phelps Luck and Talbott Springs elementary schools; and Cradlerock School, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school.
BLACK SAGA
What: Third annual Howard County Black Saga Competition
When: 9 to 11:30 a.m. today
Where: Wilde Lake Middle School, 10481 Cross Fox Lane, Columbia
