ALBANY, Ga. - Ten student projects from the Dougherty County School System will advance to the state Social Studies Fair after a strong showing in the Southwest Georgia Regional Social Studies Fair this past weekend.
Held on Saturday, March 22nd, at Merry Acres Middle School, the regional fair showcased student research and presentation skills. The fair, coordinated by Jasmine Dixon, the 6-12 social studies content coordinator for the DCSS, brought together students from Dougherty County, Muscogee County, and Seminole County.
Best in Fair went to Monroe Comprehensive High School’s Tabarri Mathis who took the project that launched him into the state fair last year and tweaked it based on commentary from the judges. That project, “The Psychological Effects of Iconoclasm on African Americans”, took home the top award for the fair.
Topics ranged from ones on fashion and culture to history and social issues.
Dixon said the range and caliber of the projects speaks to the Dougherty County School System’s emphasis on providing courses that are relevant to students while still meeting state standards. Providing a rigorous and relevant educational experience is part of the district’s strategic educational framework.
“Relevance is important. When students connect in meaningful ways to the subjects that are being taught, they’re more likely to really understand what’s being presented,” Dixon said. “I think when we have diverse courses that bring in a variety of topics – of course we have the core four (Government, World history American History and Economics) it allows our students to participate in courses that bring relevance to a wide variety of topics and issues for them.”
The fair recognized outstanding projects across various grade levels. Dorland Miller from Robert Cross Middle Magnet School earned the best-in-class award for class one (grades five and six) with his presentation on "How did Jacqueline Burns survive the Holocaust?". Leila Watson from Westover Comprehensive High School and Michaela Harden from Monroe shared the best-in-class award for class three for their respective presentations on "Fast fashion, the hidden cost of cheap clothes"and “Birth of a Culture: A Call for Healing.”
Of the 16 spots available to advance to the state fair, 10 were awarded to students from Dougherty County.
While maybe not best-in-class, several projects stood out to Dixon for their relevance. One of them was Kayn Williams’ presentation on "The Power of Personal Finance and its impact on Generation Z," emphasizing the value of taking personal finance courses early in high school – which is a direct response to her exposure to a finance course at Westover in 9th grade.
The complete list of projects and presentations that are headed to the state fair are below:
Tabarris Mathis- MCHS- The Psychological Effects of Iconoclasm on African Americans
Laila Watson- WCHS- Fast Fashion: The Hidden Cost of Cheap Clothes
Makayla Harder- MCHS- Birth of a Culture: A Call for Healing
Kaelyn Williams- WCHS- The Power of Personal Finance and Its Impact on Generation Z
De'Corlyn Miller- RCMMS- How Did Jacqueline Burns Survive the Holocaust?
Athena Garvey- RCMMS- Marcus Mosiah Garvey and His Profound Legacy
Alshon Butler-AMS- How Did the Attack on Pearl Harbor Affect WWII?
Loralei Tarleton- WCHS-Axe of Terror: The Villisca Murders and the Quest for Justice
Tanesha Jones, Nairobi Jones, Kamora Walker- DCHS- Is capital punishment a problem?
Daniella Okafor - RCMMS- What is Cyberbullying and How Does It Affect Middle and High School Adolescents?