WALDORF, Md. – Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) high school students can learn more about a NAACP-sponsored program during an upcoming orientation and kick-off event. The NAACP’s Academic, Cultural, Technological, & Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) is designed to pair teens with professionals in specific areas of interest. The Charles County Branch of the NAACP will hold an ACT-SO kickoff 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Oct. 19, at The Space by LBI Collective in Waldorf.
Students of color who are amateurs, U.S. citizens and in Grades 9 to 12 are eligible to participate in ACT-SO. A community-based enrichment program, local ACT-SO competitions and ceremonies highlight projects, research and work completed by students. The interest areas are in STEM, business, humanities, performing visual and culinary arts, and hospitality management.
Competition winners at the local level receive medals and prizes provided by local and regional sponsors and contributors. Gold medalists at the local level will advance to the national competition where they vie for scholarships and other rewards provided by national sponsors.
Last summer, CCPS students placed at the national ACT-SO contest. Mohamed Keita, a 2024 graduate of North Point High School, earned a gold medal in the Medicine and Health category. La Plata High School senior Isaiah DeLeonard earned a silver medal in the Music Composition category, and Haili Powell, a 2024 La Plata graduate, received a “Write Your Future” $10,000 scholarship from Lancôme at the national competition.
Students can participate in up to three competition areas out of the 33 offered and if they advance at the local level, they receive the opportunity to compete against other top students from around the country in Charlotte, N.C., this summer during the ACT-SO competition held during the NAACP national convention.
In the STEM interest area, students can participate in competitions for:
- Architecture.
- Biology/microbiology.
- Chemistry/biochemistry.
- Computer science.
- Earth and space science.
- Engineering.
- Mathematics.
- Medicine and health.
- Physics.
In the Business interest area, students can participate in competitions for:
- Entrepreneurship.
- Hospitality Management.
In the Visual Arts interest area, students can participate in competitions for:
- Drawing.
- Filmmaking.
- Painting.
- Photography.
- Sculpture.
In the Humanities interest area, students can compete in:
- Music composition.
- Original essay.
- Playwriting.
- Poetry: Written.
- Short story.
In the Performing Arts interest area, students can participate in competitions for:
- Dance — Ballet.
- Dance — Contemporary.
- Dance — Modern.
- Dance — Traditional.
- Dramatic Arts.
- Music Instrumental — Classical
- Music Instrumental — Contemporary.
- Music Vocal — Classical.
- Musical Vocal — Contemporary.
- Oratory.
- Poetry performance.
There is also a Culinary Arts interest area.
For more details about each category, click here. For more information about the local competition, visit the Charles County NAACP site and click on the ACT-SO menu option.
Students and their parents who would like more information about ACT-SO, may contact Yolanda Felder, chairperson of the ACT-SO program for the Charles County NAACP, at ccnaacpactso@gmail.com, or Nevery Berry, co-chairperson of the program, at nevery.actso@gmail.com. The Charles County NAACP ACT-SO program organizers hold a meeting each
The Space by LBI Collective is at 2901 Festival Way in Waldorf.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,765 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).
