Lower and Middle Schoolers Recognized for Winning Essays
Three Barstow students were selected as grade-level winners in the 2025 American History Essay Contest by the Shawnee Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The annual essay contest is open to students in grades 5–8 in public and private schools and is designed to encourage young people to think critically and creatively about history. Each year, students respond to a specific prompt; this year’s topic focused on the era of the American Revolution from 1773–1783 and the individuals involved during that period. Essays are evaluated by local DAR chapters for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, spelling, grammar and neatness. Each chapter selects one essay per grade to advance to the state level.
The Shawnee Mission chapter selected three Barstow students as winners: fifth grader Michael Bell, sixth grader Nezar Alchekakie and seventh grader Cena George. Their essays will advance for consideration at the state level, where one entry per grade is then selected to move on to the national competition.
Each year, students submit essays to two local DAR chapters; three students were already selected by the Mission Hills chapter this year. Students from Barstow have earned consistent recognition in this contest at the local, state and national levels for more than a decade.
