Centers for Applied Science & Technology Schools hosted the fifth annual Speak Up Speak Out San Antonio Civics Fair, where more than 300 students in grades 3-12 gathered Jan. 9 to share ideas on how to make San Antonio stronger from a youth perspective.

Speak Up Speak Out is conducted in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin's Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life to give students the opportunity to work together to identify a problem in their community and create a long-term solution for it, the release said.

Held at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the civics fair involved more than 60 local elected, business and community leaders engaging student participants.

Students participants came from the Advanced Learning Academy, CAST Med, CAST Lead, International Schools of the Americas, Keystone, Democracy Prep, and the Space and Engineering Technology Academy, the release said.

Toward the end of the civics fair, event organizers announced the top three high school teams and the top three middle school teams that would qualify for the state civics fair competition to be held in Austin in March.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the civics fair represented an opportunity to hear directly from young people who have a passion for their community and for students to identify real-world problems and solutions.

“I’m grateful to CAST Schools for their support and to the dozens of judges and business leaders who give their time to this. San Antonio is blessed by remarkable young people and young talent, and they will represent us well in Austin this March,” Nirenberg said in a statement.

The release said Speak Up Speak Out is a civic education program designed to teach students about their communities and equip them with the tools to make a difference.

Students conduct extensive research through interviews and surveys, and by exploring digital and library resources, the release said, adding that as students craft their solutions, they work with community experts to receive authentic feedback on their proposed ideas.