Adults and students compete in annual 'Smarter Than a Fifth Grader' competition
A standing-room-only crowd squeezed into the auditorium on the campus of Stuart Cramer High School for the Gaston County Educational Foundation’s 15th annual “Are You Smarter Than A Gaston County 5th Grader” event Thursday night. Local businesses sponsored 18 teams from elementary schools across Gaston County, consisting of two student coaches paired with representatives from their sponsoring business. Other students from each school cheered on their classmates with the excitement and volume increasing with each correct answer.
“It was even bigger and better than last year,” Foundation Executive Director Amy Spencer said with a smile. “We had more teams, more sponsors and more people come out. We will probably have to make a few logistical changes next year if we keep growing, but it is a good problem to have.”
This year's theme was “Storybook“ as each team dressed as literary figures, or they had a similar motif, and the competition was something to write home about. There were three rounds with six teams each answering questions ranging from music to math with varying difficulties from 3rd to 5th grade. Several teams were tied at the end of each round and tiebreaker questions were used to determine who advanced to the three-team championship round.
“All the kids are so smart. I thought we might run out of questions because every round went to a tiebreaker and sometimes multiple tiebreaker questions,” Spencer said. “The adults are the ones who give the answers to the questions, but they always listen to the kids (student coaches) because they are the ones who know the material.”
This year, Rankin Elementary (Clariant Corporation), Kiser Elementary (Next Generation) and New Hope Elementary (CaroMont Health) advanced to the championship round. When the dust settled, Kiser Elementary, who dressed as characters from the Young Adult Novel "Holes," emerged victorious after correctly answering the question: What percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered with water? The answer: 75%.
“It feels great to win,” Kiser student coach Cooper Rash said. “We are all so excited.”
Student coach Killian Young admits he was nervous.
“I was nervous and sweating to start with,” he said. “But then I just started answering the questions and that helped me relax.”
Teacher Ashlee Womack said the competition was beneficial for her students in many ways.
“I am a content teacher instead of teaching a certain grade, so I had a lot of these students last year,” she said. “These two guys right here (student coaches) are kind of shy, but seeing them come out of their shell tonight, having fun, it’s very gratifying. I’d love to come back next year.”
Prizes were also given for 2nd and 3rd places as well as a Team Spirit Award (Rankin Elementary) and a People’s Choice Award (Brookside Elementary). In addition, Sherwood Elementary was crowned the champion of the mascot dance-off.
“We wanted to give out more awards this year because it keeps everyone involved even if you don’t make it to the final round,” Spencer said.
It was a storybook ending for everyone, however. Thanks to title sponsors, Tindol Subaru and Wells Fargo, along with the generosity of many others, $47,000 was raised to support the Gaston County Educational Foundation, specifically the Ron L. Ensley and Jennie Stultz grants. The Ensley grants are given to teachers to fund innovative classroom lessons and projects while the Shultz grant focuses specifically on funding for the arts in schools.
“I look forward to giving out the grants every year,” Spencer said.
Spencer is already planning next year’s competition.
“We want to keep things new and exciting,” she said. “We have talked about doing a sports theme for next year, and we are always looking for new sponsors. I had one of our brand new sponsors from this year already sign up for next year. I think when people see what a great event this is, they can’t wait to get involved.”
For more information on the Gaston County Educational Foundation, or how to become involved in the 2025 “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?” visit the organization’s website, gastoncountyeducationfoundation.org.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Adults and students compete in annual 'Smarter Than a Fifth Grader' competition
