If you’re looking for someone well-versed in African American history, you don’t have to look any further than the students at Louisa County Public Schools!
Louisa County Public Schools hosted its annual Black History Month Trivia Contest on Friday, February 27th at Louisa County Middle School. This year’s contest marked the fifth installment of the annual tradition. Sixteen students from the division’s four elementary schools competed in the contest, with Moss-Nuckols Elementary School fifth-grader Driggs Johnson taking home the championship trophy!
Johnson’s victory came after an impressive – and highly competitive – performance by all sixteen of the students. In total, they competed for more than an hour and during that time, they correctly answered 93 questions!
The trivia contest debuted in 2019 thanks to the initiative and sponsorship of Kerry Wynn, a 2009 graduate of Louisa County High School and former NFL defensive lineman. The contest is an extension of his “Why Not Me? Foundation,” which provides cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 each year for the top three finalists.
“This contest means a lot to me because it’s important for us to continuously highlight African American history in schools,” Wynn said. “To see these students display how much they’ve been taught in school and to see how much research they’ve done to gain that knowledge, it’s inspiring. I’m really proud of the work Louisa County Public Schools is doing to bring out the best in our students.”
The process of whittling the division competition down to the 16 finalists began in early February when all fifth-graders at LCPS were given a study guide and the option to take a 25-question online quiz. The top four scorers from each school were invited to the finale on Friday.
For the first 75 questions of Friday’s competition, students fielded multiple-choice questions, having to choose the correct answer out of three options. In the second phase of the competition, students received questions in the format of true/false and either/or. The contest featured questions concerning a variety of topics, such as business, entertainment, sports, education, military, science, and more! To win, Johnson correctly fielded questions for 12 consecutive rounds.
“Driggs’ performance was outstanding,” LCPS Superintendent Doug Straley said at the event’s conclusion. “You can tell that he studied hard and worked to earn the trophy! All of our students did a great job and I’m really proud of them.”
Straley also praised Wynn for his initiative and work to help organize the contest.
“We talk about citizenship a lot here at Louisa County Public Schools, and Kerry embodies that quality,” Straley said. “He’s a fantastic role model for our students and he is someone I know our entire community takes a lot of pride in. He continues to donate his time and effort to make this world a better place, and we’re really thankful to have him as a member of our team.”
Through his victory, Johnson became the first champion to hail from Moss-Nuckols Elementary School. Three of the previous champions hailed from Jouett Elementary School, and one from Thomas Jefferson. As a result of Johnson’s victory, Moss-Nuckols Elementary School will lay claim to the event’s official trophy for a year, as the trophy rotates from school to school based on that year’s champion.
For this year’s competition, LCPS Director of Elementary Education Heather Spaid served as the official announcer. Complete photos from the competition can be found at the school division’s website, which is lcps.k12.va.us.
1st Place - Driggs Johnson (Moss-Nuckols Elementary School)
2nd Place - Hayze Dixon (Jouett Elementary School)
3rd Place - Tie between Elizabeth Waggy (Thomas Jefferson Elementary School) and Luke Hodel (Trevilians Elementary School)
Other competitors:
Allison Lovelace (MNES)
Carter Burkett (TJES)
Tyler Alley (JES)
Wyatt Clough (JES)
Marta Esquivel (TES)
Kingston Perkins (TES)
Lorelei Hart (JES)
Kadence LaFontaine (MNES)
Timothy Collier (TJES)
Natalie Campos (TES)
Kayla Martinez (MNES)
Leo Hernandez (TJES)