Regional Industry & News

MOORHEAD — Minnesota has anointed its first class of students who earned a new state civics honor, and Moorhead Area Public Schools is represented in a big way.

The Minnesota Civic Seal recognizes high school students who complete sustained and documented civic work, along with a self-designed community project and reflective video.

The program is led by the YMCA Center for Youth Voice in partnership with the Minnesota Secretary of State and iCivics, the nation’s largest provider of civic education.

Of 23 students honored statewide, more than a third are from Moorhead High School — eight of them from social studies teacher Chad Olson’s class.

“It’s not a government class … it's a civic leadership class that is really geared at developing lifelong engagement in terms of being a citizen,” Olson said.

The students receiving the Civic Seal are, in alphabetical order: Cedrik Donahue, Rowan George, Mason Hearn, Logan Kalivas, Flora Nelson, Maya Oetker, Dylan O’Toole and Rafe Saarinen.

Several were on hand to receive the Civic Seal certificate in person from Secretary of State Steve Simon in St. Paul in early July.

Simon said it was an honor to recognize students who’ve stepped up to help their communities in meaningful ways.

“Civic engagement is the bedrock of our democracy, and it is inspiring to see the next generation fulfilling the ideals of our country,” Simon said in a news release.

Olson said his Moorhead High School students led the way.

“I teach the class but they did everything. That was one of the reasons it was so successful for them,” he said.

To earn the seal, each student had to garner at least 120 points by completing and documenting projects across five areas of citizenship: democratic engagement, civic knowledge, media literacy, community service and bridge building.

“They would develop an activity and from there they would lead it and teach it. They would go through all the steps prescribed by the Civic Seal, then work together for the entire class to submit it,” Olson said.

A news release from Simon’s office acknowledged the “team of Moorhead students” who collected more than 14,000 cans of food for the honor.

But that final project, where students gathered and distributed food items for Fill the Dome and their in-school food pantry, the Spud Closet, was just a fraction of their work.

The Moorhead students arranged multiple hands-on civic learning experiences, including a session with Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson, who invited city department heads to answer the students' questions about government operations.

The students conducted a mock trial with help from Minnesota 7th Judicial District Judge Johnathan Judd and former Clay County District Court Judge Amber Gustafson, who is a candidate for Clay County attorney.

They also learned firsthand about local flood protection efforts in the F-M area from Jason Benson, executive director of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority and brigadier general of the Minnesota Army National Guard.

Two of Olson’s students wrote letters to President Donald Trump about key issues of concern and received an official signed reply from the White House.

There could be more Minnesota Civic Seal recipients to come from Moorhead Area Public Schools.

Olson said some of his students who will be back in the classroom this fall can continue their work and possibly earn the honor during the next school year.