A total of 17 students from West Hartford won medals and prizes at the competition on May 2.

By Ronni Newton

Students from West Hartford were among the 435 participants in the Connecticut State History Day Contest held May 2, 2026 at Central Connecticut State University, presenting projects that they have been working on for months related to the 2026 theme which was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.”

To reach the statewide contest, students previously won awards at one of the regional contests earlier this spring.

In the Connecticut History Day Contest, students from 59 middle and high schools throughout Connecticut entered a total of 268 research projects, with the goal of representing the state in the National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland, which begins on June 14, 2026.

According to the Connecticut Democracy Center, which organizes the contest, a total of 17 West Hartford students received medals and special prizes – including Kamran Batchelder of Sedgwick Middle School, who was a top-10 finalist at the National History Day Contest in 2025 in the “Junior Individual Documentary” category and also received the “Outstanding Connecticut Entry – Junior Division Award” last year.

Batchelder, along with six other first- and second-place winners, will compete at the 2026 National History Day event. Third-place winners will serve as alternates.

Below are the details of the 17 award-winning West Hartford Public Schools projects.

Category: Junior Papers

• First Place: The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: How the Reactions to this Revolution Reformed American Society
  School: Sedgwick Middle School (West Hartford)
  Student: Emilie Mathieu
• Third Place: Betrayal, Dehumanization, and Devastation: How the Guatemala Syphilis Experiments Ignited a Revolution in Human Rights through International Reaction and Bioethical Reform
  School: Talcott Mountain Academy (West Hartford)
  Student: Konstantinos Raptis

Category: Junior Individual Documentary

• First Place: Jazz Across Borders: The Cultural Revolution, Reaction, and Reform of Jazz’s Globalization
  School: Sedgwick Middle School (West Hartford)
  Student: Kamran Batchelder
• Category: Junior Group Performance
  Second Place: John Conolly and Hanwell Asylum: A Revolution in Mental Health Care
  School: Sedgwick Middle School (West Hartford)
  Students: Sufiya Khan, Jayden Malla, Nina Moscardi Rowe
• Third Place: Coven of the Connecticut Witches

School:Sedgwick Middle School (West Hartford)
Students: Madeleine Wik, Stella Nester, Mae Monteith, Aya Hamaoka

Category: Junior Group Website

• Third Place: The Road to Desegregated Education During the Civil Rights Movement
  School: King Philip Middle School (West Hartford)
  Students: Helena Wise, Aaliya Lal, Grace Tam

Category: Senior Individual Documentary

• Second Place: In Small Spaces (Eleanor Roosevelt’s creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
  School: Conard High School (West Hartford)
  Student: Luke Kalke

Category: Senior Individual Exhibit

• First Place: “Yesterday Timisoara, Today Bucharest:” Revolution, Reaction and Reform in the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
  School: Conard High School (West Hartford)
  Student: Annabelle Brooks
• Third Place: “We Want Bread And Roses Too”; Revolution, Reaction and Reform in the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912
  School: Conard High School (West Hartford)
  Student: Anna Small

Category Senior Paper

• David O. White Prize for Outstanding Entry in African-American History (Sponsored by: Association for the Study of Connecticut History): “Hang, Curs, Hang!”: The Reconstruction Acts, Black Civic Reforms, and Reactionary Southern Extremism
  School: Hall High School (West Hartford)
  Student: Ethan Zimmer

“Students have been working on their projects for a good portion of the school year,” said Director of Secondary Education Programs for The Connecticut Democracy Center Rebecca Taber in a statement. “It requires them to focus, study, collaborate, and communicate. What I love most about Connecticut History Day is watching students discover and develop a passion for research while utilizing critical thinking skills to put what they learn into historical context.”

Students throughout the complete their projects as part of classroom work, as well as through enrichment programs and clubs.

According to the Connecticut Democracy Center, “They are permitted to explore any aspect of history, from local to international. They can work individually or in groups on topics of their own choice. Students must present projects in one of five categories – exhibits, documentaries, websites, papers, or performances and learn how to identify primary sources, conduct research, and write a historical argument and thesis statement. As they develop their projects, students receive guidance from local teachers who also help prepare them to present their findings to volunteer judges.”

For more information about the contest, visit the Connecticut History Day website at historydayct.org. The complete list of winners can be found here.

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