Ethics Bowl, everywhere.
The NHSEBBridge program focuses on removing barriers to participation for students from underserved communities and under-resourced schools, who may benefit from extra support when it comes to not only participating in academic extracurriculars, but succeeding. The program was first piloted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and has since grown into an experimental engine for promoting universal access to the benefits of the National High School Ethics Bowl program in all its various facets across the country. NHSEBBridge is generously supported by the American Philosophical Association, and involves three core initiatives:
Access Initiatives
In the midst of tremendous growth, we continue to prioritize expansion in underserved communities and schools. Currently NHSEBBridge Access initiatives include a Rural Workshop Series, Startup Coaching, and more.
ONLINE REGIONAL
A newly announced partnership between the Parr Center for Ethics and Gravitas: A Global Extension of the Stony Brook School brings the NHSEB program to new areas of the country via an innovative online-first competition structure.
SUPPORT FUNDING
NHSEB is committed to ensuring equal access to our programming, and providing financial support for constituents who require it. Support initiatives include a Registration Fee Waiver Program, a standing Travel Assistance Fund for the NHSEB Championship, and a brand new Outreach Micro-Grant program for NHSEB Regional and Divisional Partners.
BRINGING ETHICS BOWL TO ALL
NHSEBBridge Access Initiatives focus on supporting innovative outreach projects around the country which are designed to bring the National High School Ethics Bowl to new students and communities. NHSEB works centrally to make sure that any student, anywhere in the country can enjoy the academic, social, and civic benefits of the program, and works to support partners around the country doing similar work. Our strategy focuses on (a) identifying and lifting barriers to participation and (b) equipping students, teachers, and organizers with the resources to succeed, with an eye toward community-specific circumstances, needs, and solutions.
A 2022-2023 NHSEBBridge Access Initiative in North Carolina has focused on expanding the scope of participation in our local Regional Competition, with the goal of providing opportunities for students from outside the metro areas in the Piedmont, including rural students, students from the mountains and the coast, and indigenous students. At the Parr Center, we have designed and implemented a mentorship and volunteer coaching program, as well as teacher training workshops across the state’s rural communities. These initiatives are tightly integrated with an experiential-learning course in the Philosophy Department at UNC Chapel Hill. In addition to teaching the fundamentals of practical ethics and deliberative pedagogy, the course partners UNC undergraduates directly with schools participating in the NHSEBBridge program in order to design pedagogy resources and coach participants (both students and teachers) on ethical reasoning, moral theories, argument construction, and bowl mechanics, in a series of in-person or virtual site visits.
For 2023-2024, planning for new NHSEBBridge Access Initiatives is already underway in North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. For more information, or to partner with us on an access-based project, please contact NHSEB HQ.
EXPANDING the MAP, online.
Each year, NHSEBBridge @ Gravitas brings together 8 first-year high school Ethics Bowl teams from places across the country where NHSEB Regional Competitions do not yet exist. Teams of students who are enrolled in Gravitas’ online curricular programs around the country will also participate. These first-year teams are invited to compete in a new, borderless Regional Ethics Bowl administered by the Gravitas Program in collaboration with NHSEB. Participating schools will be provided with a tailored experience for students and coaches who are new to the activity—with the additional provision of training, orientation, and formative feedback from experienced coaches and instructors from NHSEB and the Stony Brook School.
After both organizations spent two years designing and piloting innovative online offerings by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, a partnership between NHSEB and the Stony Brook School is uniquely positioned to deliver a unique experience in character education and deliberative pedagogy to high school students who may not otherwise encounter it.
“Gravitas was created to make a Stony Brook education, one marked by a commitment to critical thinking, civil discourse, global diversity, and intentional character formation available to students who for a variety of reasons cannot access the resources of an elite boarding school. Ethics Bowl-style learning is embedded throughout our program, and we are excited to join the NHSEBBridge Program Team to bring Ethics Bowl training to students regardless of location or access to trained coaches.
”
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY
The National High School Ethics Bowl is committed to ensuring equal access to our programming, and providing financial support for constituents who require it—team and organizer alike. This commitment is expressed by three core initiatives under the NHSEBBridge umbrella:
Registration Fee Waiver Program: No High School Ethics Bowl team should be prevented from participation based on financial hardship or need. Team financial assistance and/or fee waivers from NHSEB HQ are available for teams who qualify. For more information or to request a fee waiver, please contact us at ethicsbowl@unc.edu.
NHSEB Travel Assistance Funds: It has historically been the case that no qualifying team has been prevented from travel to and participation in the NHSEB National Championship due to financial hardship or need, and we strive to see this continue. Each year, NHSEB HQ makes substantial funds available to offset the cost of traveling to Chapel Hill for competition, with a median award size of $2,000. For more information or to apply for Travel Assistance for your team, visit our National Championship page.
Outreach Micro-Grants: In 2023-2024, we’re excited to announce a new addition to our Support Funding initiative—a new series of small grants (between $200 and $1,000) for Regional and Divisional Partners of the National High School Ethics Bowl program. These micro-grants are designed to provide support for crucial outreach initiatives among members of our extended community, including, but not necessarily limited to: coaching assistance programs, team travel, recruiting initiatives, advocacy materials, and training/recruiting events.