Written by Victoria Hughes, former Catholic school teacher and consultant at the U.S. Department of Education, america250@ed.gov
In 1974, I began teaching American History to 7th graders at St. Agnes Catholic School in Park Hills, KY. As excitement and focus on the Bicentennial ramped up, my students and I were part of it—studying and celebrating America’s great story during our 200th anniversary.
This year, during our 250th anniversary, current Catholic school teachers will have a similar opportunity. They can engage their high school students in our nation’s history and founding principles and encourage them to earn scholarship awards by participating in the Presidential 1776 Award competition.
As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s initiatives to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, in partnership with the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation and EBSCOed, has announced the launch of the Presidential 1776 Award, a nationwide competition recognizing exceptional student knowledge of our nation’s founding. Three high school winners will receive scholarships totaling $250,000, with the national finals to be held in Washington, D.C., in June 2026.
Everyone is invited to explore the online Study Library that is available free of charge to help students prepare to compete: https://www.presidential1776award.org/study-library
The 1776 Award competition involves three rounds of multiple-choice questions and verbal examinations developed independently by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation.
- In Round One, held during the week of February 22–28, 2026, students will take The Impossible Civics Test, an online, timed, electronically proctored multiple-choice exam. Students will have 90 minutes to answer up to 4,000 randomized civics and founding history questions in three 30-minute sections of increasing difficulty. Answers will be graded on a weighted system that accounts for both the number of correct responses and the difficulty of each question. This serves as the qualifying round, and four finalists from each state are selected.
- In Round Two, in May 2026, the state finalists will attend an in-person regional semifinals, which consist of short answer verbal competitions held simultaneously across the country. The top four students from each region move on to the national final.
- In Round Three, the National Final will take place in Washington, D.C., at the end of June 2026. Students will answer short-answer verbal questions and will be awarded a point for each correct answer. The top three winners receive scholarships of $150,000, $75,000 and $25,000.
Teachers, parents, and students can sign up today to receive updates about registration for the Presidential 1776 Award which will be open from February 1 until February 21 at https://www.presidential1776award.org/.
We encourage you to hang the attached flyer in your classroom so your students can learn more!
Background
The Presidential 1776 Award is one of the department’s initiatives to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. To learn more about the department’s America 250 initiatives, including the Presidential 1776 award, please visit the site here https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/america-250.
The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is a government entity established by Congress in 1986 after the Bicentennial with a mission to improve the teaching of the U.S. Constitution in secondary schools throughout the nation. Visit the site www.jamesmadison.gov for more information.
The EBSCOed team will deliver the secure digital experiences that comprise the Presidential 1776 Award program and recognize the achievements of all competitors with validated Learning & Employment Records (LERs) that they can build upon for a lifetime at LER.me.
