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EDUCATION

    1. Take a class field trip to a county commission meeting.

    2. Watch a commission meeting online – many livestream their meetings. 

    3. Ask your county commissioners to come speak to your class. 

    Find out what your county commission is working on in your county and encourage your students to write about it from the perspective of an 8th grader and why it matters to them. There are also a series of five informational videos here that details the roles and responsibilities of county commissioners. 

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    Learn More About National County Government Month

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    Counties Work Game & Curriculum

    An online game and curriculum to educate students about the important role and functions of county government.

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    Play Here

  • CCAWV County Government Essay Contest Rules

    A Day in the Life of a County Commissioner…

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    1. The contest is open to all 8th grade students, beginning April 1, 2025, who are enrolled in a West Virginia public, private or charter school.  

    2. Each essay is limited to a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 500 words and must address the following topic: “A Day in the Life of a County Commissioner” The essay must address specifically the county commission of the county in which the student resides.  

    3. The official application and essay should be submitted at www.ccawv.org by going to Education under the Events Tab.  Please include the student's name and school in the submitted essay.

    4. Each Student is limited to one entry. The entries must be in Microsoft Word or PDF format and must be submitted by the student’s teacher.  

    5. All entries must be submitted by Monday April 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm. 

    6. The winning essays will be announced in early May.  

    7. There will be a monetary prize for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place student winners as well as honorable mention and the teacher who submitted the 1st place essay will receive a monetary prize to be used for classroom activities.

    8. The winning students and his/her teachers will be invited to a County Commissioners’ meeting in their home county to receive their awards. 

    9. Goal: For students to imagine they were selected to be county commissioners for the day. They should think about their role as a commissioner and what problems need to be addressed. As well as what they can do to help improve the county. This is great opportunity for students to get involved in the life of their community and to get creative about what they would do if they were in charge of the county.

    10. Essays will be judged on the following criteria: Understanding of the role of a county commissioner; grammar and spelling; clarity; organization of thought and creativity.  While content is important, essays will be judged on relevance to the essay subject.

    11. By entering the contest, each student and teacher agrees to allow his/her name to be used in a news release announcing the contest winner in the event their essay is selected as a winning essay.  In addition, they agree to allow their name and photograph to be published on the CCAWV website and social media platforms.  

April is "National County Government Month" and the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia (CCAWV) hosts our annual essay contest for 8th grade students across West Virginia.

One of CCAWV’s goals is to increase information and public awareness about county government and the office of County Commissioner.  This goal of this initiative is to partner with West Virginia educators to encourage students to learn and write about their local county governing body, the County Commission. 

Student participants are asked to type a 500-word essay on the topic, 

    “A Day in the Life of a County Commissioner”

  • The winning essays will be announced in May.  

  • There will be a monetary prize for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place student winners as well as honorable mention and the teacher who submitted the 1st place essay will receive a monetary prize to be used for classroom activities. 

  • The winning students and his/her teachers will be invited to a County Commissioners’ meeting in their home county to receive their awards. 

  • Essays will be judged on the following criteria: Understanding of the role of county commission; grammar and spelling; clarity and organization of thought.  While content is important, essays will be judged on a well-structured, grammatically correct submission.

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For more information contact Meagan James at meagan@ccawv.org or at 304-345-4639.

County Government Essay Contest

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