The Washington State Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, partners with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) each year to put on National History Day in Washington State.

OSPI’s website describes National History Day as a “nationwide social studies program that challenges over 500,000 middle and high school students across the United States and territories to develop their historical research skills.” A new theme is chosen each year, and projects come in several categories, such as film or exhibit, and are submitted by an individual or group of students.

After winners are announced in May, the Archives honors a number of students, teachers, and schools with special recognition awards. This year’s awards and recipients are as follows:

State Archivist’s Award and Purpose:
Recognize students who effectively use the collections of the Washington State Government Archives and the Washington State Digital Archives.
Bibliographies must demonstrate significant use of State Archives collections. The information gathered from the State Archives must be effectively used in interpreting the topic. Winners are selected according to the quality of research and interpretation presented in the entry, as well as the quality of the associated primary source citation(s) included in the bibliography.

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Junior Division Winner:
Rachel Wyman, Individual Documentary category: The 1919 Centralia Massacre Tragedy
Pleasant Valley Middle School, Battleground School District
Teacher: Irene Soohoo

Senior Division:
No Entries

Washington State Archives Regional and Local Research Award and Purpose:
Recognizes and encourages the use of regional and local archives collections for History Day. The bibliography must show significant use of Washington regional branch archives collections or collections held by universities, colleges, museums, or historical societies in Washington. The information gathered from regional or local archives collections must be effectively used in interpreting the topic of the entry. The winners will be selected according to the quality of research demonstrated in the bibliography and the quality of scholarship and interpretation presented in the entry, as well as the quality of the associated primary source citation(s) included in the bibliography.

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Junior Division Winners:
Meha Shah, Meghna Sekaran and Aastha Shah, Group Exhibit: Rising From The Ashes: The Great Seattle Fire of 1889
Evergreen Middle School, Lake Washington School District
Teachers Nicole Kessler and Susan Jackson

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Senior Division Winner:
Elizabeth Fu, Individual Exhibit: Stopping a Tragedy in Urban Renewal: The Triumphant Return of the Pike Place Market
International Community School, Lake Washington School District
Teachers: Aleksandra Fraleigh, Meggan Houlihan and Librarian Amber Peterson

Outstanding Schools: Awards are based on cumulative scores for students making finals: First Place 6 points, Second Place 5 points, Third Place 4 points, Fourth Place 3 points, Fifth Place 2 points, and Sixth Place 1 point.

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Junior Division Winner:
Evergreen Middle School, Lake Washington School District
Teachers: Nicole Kesler and Susan Jackson

Students: Dhruv Bansal, Druhin Bhowal, Mehul Chaudhari, Elizabeth Chen, Nicole Chen, Jaser Chowdhury, Nam Dao, Anat Dubinsky, Steven He, Riya Kalra, Manas Kanakala, Thanushree Karunagaran, Akshita Kikkuru, Harish Krishnakumar, Rohan Kurup, Kelly Lin, Arjun Menon, Mukta Mishra, Ria Mohan, Ritvik Mohindru,, Laya Nair, Shrimayee Narasimhan, Jaysheel Pandya, Ashmita Rajmohan, Gauri Raman, Daphne Ritz, Rithani Saravanakumar, Ankhita Sathanur, Ikshita Sathanur, Meghna Sekaran, Aastha Shah, Meha Shah, Purab Shah, Anjali Sreenivas, Kavya Srikumar, Srinidhi Sundaresan, Arjun Tiwari, Kaaviya Uthirapandian,, Helena Zheng, Edward Zhou, Yan Zhu

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Senior Division Winner:
International Community School, Lake Washington School District
Teachers: Aleksandra Fraleigh, Meggan Houlihan, and Librarian Amber Peterson

Students:
Hoda Ayad, Maya Bar, Kristian Bridge, Clement Canel, Sophia Dettweiler, Elizabeth Fu, Madeleine Goertz, Sancha Gonzalez, Jillian Hines, Mei Houts, Maryam Iqbal, Jehan Jaddi, Kathryn Kotler, Meena Kuduva, Julia Lee, Nathania Lim, Marko Morrison, Sharon Oh, Andrey Piterkin, Alexis Pollard, Samantha Pollard, Rithikaa Prakash, Nuha Qadir, Kyle Ricks, Eden Saunders, Alex Schuessler, Fatimah Shabbir, Rahan Shankar, Eric Shi, Dunya Shur, Maxwell Voss, Praveen Weerasundara, Joshua Wentzien, Justine, Xie, Lauren Yates, Jeffrey Zhang

If you want more information about how the State Archives can help you with History Day projects, let us know.