American History Contests, Scholarships and Opportunities for Students and Teachers

ROTC/JROTC & Other Cadet Recognition Programs

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) awards the ROTC Medal to foster the principle of the “citizen-soldier,” exemplified by the Minutemen of Revolutionary War days.

This award is presented by an SAR Chapter, State-level Society, or the National Society to ROTC or JROTC cadets who are selected for having a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities, military bearing, and general excellence. The recipients are selected by the Commanding Officer of the ROTC or JROTC unit, who should be given full latitude in making the selection.

SAR members are direct descendants of those patriots that achieved the independence of the American people and the objectives of the organization are intended to perpetuate a more profound reverence for the principles of the government founded by our forefathers. Such were the ideals of Captain Alden Partridge, who is considered the founder of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in the United States. Partridge founded the ROTC because his father, Samuel Partridge, a soldier of the Revolution, had concern for the newly founded United States and its lacking a development resource for qualified military officers. SAR supports all programs that encourage historical research, foster true patriotism, and maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom. It strongly supports the United States ROTC and JROTC as exemplary programs of these ideals.

For ROTC or JROTC units with fewer than five hundred cadets or midshipmen, one ROTC or JROTC Recognition medal will be awarded each year.

For larger units, one medal may be presented for every five hundred students enrolled in the unit. In cases where a school has more than one ROTC or JROTC unit, each unit is counted separately.

The Silver ROTC Medal is presented only to students in a college or university ROTC unit and no recipient may receive it more than once.

The Bronze JROTC Medal was authorized in 1965 and is presented only to students in secondary school JROTC and no recipient may receive it more than once.

As of June 15, 1998, the U.S. Navy Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is no longer eligible to receive the SAR JROTC Bronze Medal. Instead, the NSCC should be supported by recognizing the outstanding NSCC cadet with the SAR Sea Cadet Medal (Bronze Good Citizenship Medal with Ribbon Bar).

The winner of each state-level society competition will be entered into the National JROTC Recognition program. The winning cadet at the national society level will receive his or her award at the annual SAR Congress. The award will include the National JROTC Medallion and an award of $5,000.  The 2nd Place award is $2,000 and the 3rd Place award is $1,000. Two new award levels for 4th and 5th Place introduced for 2018-2019 are now at $500 each. A complete set of rules, along with the application for both the applicant and the sponsoring SAR members, can be found by contacting our local Youth Activities Committee Chair (see above).

Please be aware that the local application deadline dates may vary, so interested applicants should reach out to us for further details.

Outstanding American History Teacher Award

The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) invites all American history teachers, whose approved curriculum teaches students about the American Revolution era from 1750 to 1800, to apply for the Dr. Tom & Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award. The award is open to all teachers at the middle school or high school levels at a recognized public, private, or parochial institution. While the preliminary rounds of the award program begin at the local chapter level, teachers may eventually advance to the state and national levels.

The American History Teacher Award recognizes educators who distinguish themselves in teaching the history of the American Revolution. Teacher candidates interested in entering the local George Washington Chapter, Virginia SAR contest must complete the required application and submit a written essay of not less than 1,000 words discussing the importance of teaching the American Revolution era. The essay may also describe any extraordinary teaching techniques or innovative projects utilized by the teacher to teach the American Revolution. The contest is aimed at identifying a teacher who is still actively teaching, has taught for at least three years, and who is in the early or middle stages of his or her career, therefore having at least 15 years of productive classroom teaching remaining.

The program will feature a contest at each of the two educational levels so there will be a winner for the middle school level and the high school level. 

The George Washington Chapter (as a local chapter) may submit a contestant to the state from each school level and the state may hold a contest and select a winner from each school level to submit for the national awards.

A state may submit a state winner for each level, or from only one or two educational levels. The national winner from each school level will receive potential benefits worth up to $5,000.00 per winner.

The benefits to each winner are as follows: Attendance at a teacher workshop or seminar on the American Revolution. The winner will receive up to $3,000.00 to pay for tuition and travel expenses to attend one of the following teacher seminars: the Freedoms Foundation Summer Teacher Graduate Workshop at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; the Colonial Williamsburg Summer Teacher Workshop in Williamsburg, Virginia; or the SAR Annual Conference on the American Revolution.

Other seminars may be attended provided the SAR grants prior approval in writing. The tuition for the seminar will be considered a scholarship and will be paid directly to the seminar.  Reasonable travel expenses directly related to attendance at a seminar will be incurred by the winner and submitted to the SAR for reimbursement.  

The winning teachers will then bring back to their classrooms and students a heightened level of creativity and enthusiasm for the American Revolutionary era. A complete set of rules, along with the application for both the applicant and the sponsoring SAR members, can be found by contacting our local Youth Activities Committee Chair (see above).

Please be aware that the local application deadline dates may vary, so interested applicants should reach out to us for further details.