Adams County students honored for Americanism and Government test scores

Seaman’s veterans hall turned into a civics classroom as Adams County students were honored for mastering the Americanism and Government test, a program meant to teach government, citizenship and the responsibilities that come with both.

Charles H. Eyre American Legion Post 633 and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 633 hosted the recognition reception Monday, April 20, at the post in Seaman. The annual test, given each fall just before Veterans Day, has been part of Ohio American Legion programming since 1936, and the state organization says its Americanism mission is to promote patriotism, wholesome youth and educated, law-abiding citizenship.

That civic purpose is one reason local veterans groups keep investing time in the program. The test reaches far beyond one school district, with about 60,000 Ohio students from roughly 500 high schools taking part each year. Top scorers can move on to further judging, where the essay portion carries added weight, and 18 department winners are selected for a five-day trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

At the local level, Post 633 and Unit 633 recognized one male and one female winner from each grade at North Adams High School, along with Ohio Valley Career and Technical Center students. The North Adams winners were Abigail Groves and Eros Dunkin in ninth grade; Alyssa McAdams and Elijah Benge in 10th grade; Elizabeth Raines and Jackson Harper in 11th grade; and Addison Shupert and Randall Dunkin in 12th grade.

The OVCTC honorees were Chloe Taylor of Peebles High School and Elijah Disher of North Adams High School in 11th grade, along with Caitlin Carter and Carson Walker from West Union High School in 12th grade. Post 633 also recognizes ninth graders at the post level, a move that widens the circle of students who get public credit for civic learning before they reach the upper grades.

Eric Newman, Bobbie Brooks and Dollie Willis were among the local leaders tied to the recognition, underscoring that the program is carried by the post, the auxiliary, school staff and families as much as by the students themselves. A 2024 note from the post said it appreciates the students, parents, grandparents and North Adams staff who support the effort, and that was evident again in Seaman.

North Adams has built a long record in the statewide competition, too. Alex Shupert was cited as the seventh state winner from North Adams in 11 years, a sign that the test has become more than a yearly exercise. In Adams County, it remains one of the few school honors that links academic effort directly to the habits of citizenship.