Eight CCSD Students Claim Regional Social Studies Fair Titles, Head to State Competition

Students from Woodstock Middle School, Cherokee High School, Bascomb Elementary, and Hasty Elementary will represent Cherokee County at the state level next month

Eight Cherokee County School District students earned first-place finishes at the regional Social Studies Fair and will advance to the state competition next month, the district announced March 17. Representing four schools and spanning grades 5 through 11, the winners tackled subjects ranging from World War II propaganda to the legacy of Sept. 11 — the kind of original, humanities-driven research that rarely gets a spotlight in an era dominated by science fairs and standardized testing.

Woodstock Middle School led all schools with three individual first-place finishers, each guided by teacher sponsor Jessica Schlegel. Eighth-grader Avy Arun took top honors in economics for his project asking whether global trade has made the United States too interdependent on other countries — a question with obvious relevance in a county whose own economy has grown increasingly tied to metro Atlanta's international business corridor. Fellow eighth-graders Josie Peck and Greta Vasarella also claimed first place: Peck for her history project examining what historical themes artists explored during the Renaissance period, and Vasarella for her project titled "Echoes of 9/11."

Cherokee High School's entry was a collaborative one. Eleventh-graders Madeline Flournoy, Evelyn Frady and Myles Lavender won first place in history for their team project "Mobilizing Memory — The Role of Historical Narratives in World War II Propaganda," working under teacher sponsor Michelle Blankenship. The three students will represent one of Cherokee County's largest high schools when they compete at the state level next month.

Two elementary school students rounded out CCSD's regional haul. Fifth-grader Harper Franklin of Bascomb Elementary earned first place in history for her project on the contributions of women scientists, sponsored by teacher Suzy Gebhardt. Brady Meredith, a fifth-grader at Hasty Elementary School's Fine Arts Academy, won the sociology and social psychology category with a project asking whether Taekwondo builds mental strength and discipline — a fitting question from a student who showed up to the competition in a black belt uniform. His sponsor was teacher Cristin Bell.

The CCSD Social Studies Fair is an annual program open to students in grades 5 through 12, who research and present projects individually or in teams across categories including anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology and social psychology. Unlike science fairs, which reward lab-based experimentation, the Social Studies Fair challenges students to frame original research questions in the humanities and defend their findings — a skill set that translates directly to college coursework and civic life.

Reaching the state competition is no small feat. The regional round pits students against peers from across their geographic region, meaning each of these eight students already outperformed a broad field before earning a state berth. For families in Cherokee County, where academic achievement has long been a point of community pride, the results reflect something beyond individual effort — they reflect teachers who push students to ask hard questions and schools that make room for that kind of work.

Cherokee County School District serves more than 42,000 students, making it one of the largest districts in Georgia. The state Social Studies Fair is scheduled for next month.