Miami-Dade County Student led 501(c)(3) Founded 2022
Young people should not have to wait to have power.
Twenty one schools compete in our civics championship. Twenty three municipalities have handed a student the chair. One fellowship cohort drafted a business protection framework and took it to the Board of County Commissioners.
We turn civic learning into civic power.
Students should not first encounter government when they are old enough to vote.
We replace the textbook with the chamber, the hypothetical with the real, and someday with a date on a calendar. Nine programs. Twenty three municipalities. More than $120,000 raised since 2022.
01
Educate
History, the Constitution, government structure, economics and media literacy. Twenty one schools now prepare a team for our civics competition.
02
Activate
Students sit at the dais, run a commission simulation in the real chambers, question a foundation program officer and walk a working print house floor.
03
Advocate
Public comment, drafted policy, pitches, journalism and civic art. Fellows took the Legacy Business Framework to the Board of County Commissioners.
The gap we work in
76%
of young people believe their generation has the power to change the country.
40%
say they feel well qualified to participate in politics.
Source: CIRCLE, Tufts University
Belief is not the shortage. Access is.
So we hand over the seat, the agenda, the microphone and the deadline, and then expect the work to be good.
Programs, in the order we built them
- CDQ Constitution Day Quest Since 2022 The Constitution leaves the textbook.
- CKB Civic Knowledge Bowl Since 2023 Civics, but make it a championship.
- CAP Civic Action Podcast Since 2023 Students ask the questions.
- YGD Youth Governance Day Since 2024 For one day, Miami-Dade changes hands.
- SSBMI Florida Student School Board Member Initiative Since 2024 No decision about students without students.
- CEG Civic Excellence Gala Each May The night the work gets counted.
- S305 Strive305 Economic Fellowship Since 2025 Do not study the system from the outside. Enter it.
- SOS Speak Out September Your city. Your voice. Right now.
- PUBLIC. PUBLIC. Since 2026 Where art becomes public voice.
Attendance tells us who came. Impact tells us what changed.
Drawn from program registration, attendance and organizational records since 2022.
21
schools competing in the 2026 Civic Knowledge Bowl, up from twelve.
23
Miami-Dade municipalities have hosted Youth Governance Day.
400+
guests at the Civic Excellence Gala.
$120,000+
raised for civic programming since 2022.
This is what the work looks like.
Five years of programming across county chambers, city halls, a college auditorium, a newsroom, a print house, public libraries and a foundation boardroom.
Youth Governance DayA student takes the mayor's seat, nameplate and all. 
Civic Knowledge BowlThe auditorium at the 2026 Finale, Miami Dade College North Campus. 
Constitution Day QuestA municipal chamber converted into learning stations for the day. 
Civic Excellence GalaA student delivers the annual address. 
Civic Knowledge BowlTwo school teams face each other under a live scoreboard. 
Youth Governance DayMunicipal staff brief a student on the department before the day begins. 
Student School Board Member InitiativeStudents launch the Florida Student School Board Member Initiative. 
Constitution Day QuestStudents work a constitutional challenge station in teams. 
Youth Governance DayA student seated at the commission dais in Aventura. 
Civic Knowledge BowlStudents fill the hall for the Finale. 
Civic Excellence GalaThe student team recognized at the Gala. 
Youth Governance DayA municipal recognition read into the record with the student present. 
Constitution Day QuestA student volunteer runs the room from the municipal podium. 
Civic Knowledge BowlCompetitors confer between questions. 
Youth Governance DayA student works from a municipal office desk, city planning map on the wall. 
Night of Global EngagementRemarks at the Night of Global Engagement. 
Constitution Day QuestStudents take the dais to present their group's decision. 
Civic Knowledge BowlA winning school team recognized on stage. 
Civic Excellence GalaStudents recognized for civic contribution during the year. 
Student School Board Member InitiativeMaking the case for student representation on school boards.
Civics is more than a school subject taught from a textbook. It is a way of life.Maurits Acosta, Founder and Chairman of the Board
The people behind it
Student led is not a lower standard. It is the operating model.
Twenty six students run this organization, from the executive director to the coordinator who sets up the buzzer tables. A board of directors provides governance, fiduciary oversight and mission stewardship.
Try it yourself
Could you make the team?
Five questions from the kind of material schools drill for the Civic Knowledge Bowl. No score is stored anywhere.
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Built with community
Government, education, philanthropy, business, media and the arts.
Since 2022 the work has been built alongside county and municipal offices, a college, a public library system, foundations, newsrooms, law firms, small businesses and community organizations across Miami-Dade.