Bakersfield.com

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            Seven Kern County students placed in the top 10 in scoring among those who competed at National History Day which concluded today (June 19) at the University of Maryland. Fruitvale Jr. High’s Junior (grades 6-8) Group Performance team of Aaliyah Beed, Dylan Gonzales, Joshua Gonzales, Brock Lynch and Alyssa Shannon placed fifth, the highest finish for those who competed from Kern County, with their entry, “Four Innocent Girls, Victims of Hate, Casualties of Ignorance: A Tragic Incident That Would Affect Civil Rights in the U.S. Forever.”

            Anastasia Clegg, also from Fruitvale Jr. High, had an eighth place finish in the Junior Paper category with her entry, “Conflict, Compromise and Independence: the 1947 Partition of India.”  Centennial High School student Sarah Moore’s entry, “The Conflict of Nazis in Skokie: A Question of Compromise,” was awarded ninth place in the Senior (grades 9-12) Individual Documentary category. Fruitvale Jr. High’s Gabriela Forter competed in the Junior Individual Performance category but was not a finalist.

Nationally, 700,000 students and 40,000 teachers annually participate in National History Day programs. More than 2,000 students from across the country attend the national contest (from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Schools and American Samoa). Kern County’s students had to win at the Kern County History Day competition, sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, on March 8, then prove victorious over the best in the state at History Day in California on May 11 to be eligible to compete at National History Day.