Washington, D.C. - After three days of simulated congressional
hearings, during which students were required to apply constitutional
principles and historical facts to contemporary situations, the class
from East High School of Denver, Colorado, has emerged as the national
champion in the 22nd annual We the People: The Citizen and the
Constitution National Finals.
Vestavia Hills High School of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, and Amador
Valley High School of Pleasanton, California, took second and third
place, respectively, in the competition on the U.S. Constitution and
Bill of Rights.
East High School also captured the Lincoln Award for scoring the
highest on the question about President Abraham Lincoln and his
constitutional legacy. The question was added to this year's
competition to commemorate the bicentennial of the 16th president's
birth.
More>>
TVW presents a short documentary video following students from Evergreen High School, Gig Harbor High School, Lynden High School, and Tahoma High School as they prepare for and compete in the 2008 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution state finals in Olympia, Washington. An excellent record of the program's competitive process, this short film explores the thoughts of the participants, with summative remarks by teachers and students that illustrate the profound effects of the in-depth study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights provided in the We the People program.
Produced for TVW by David Johnson, Education and Media Specialist, and Jason Gutz, Special Projects Producer.
In honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, the Center is offering
a downloadable eight-page lesson and companion website for high school students
titled "
What Was Abraham Lincoln's Legacy to American Constitutionalism and Citizenship?
"
The lesson, written by John J. Patrick, Professor Emeritus of Education at Indiana
University, supplements the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution text.
The lesson and its companion website,
Lincoln.civiced.org, traces the rise of
Lincoln from his humble beginnings to the presidency. It also examines Lincoln's
ideas and decisions regarding slavery and the use of presidential power to preserve
the Federal Union during the Civil War. The lesson was made possible by a grant
from the Motorola Foundation. Watch a video about the lesson by clicking
here.
A unique opportunity for middle-grade and high school teachers and community-youth-organization leaders to take part in a professional development institute featuring We the People:Project Citizen, one of the country's foremost civic education programs.
The institute will use Project Citizen curricular materials as the primary base of instruction to strengthen the civic component of service learning.The materials are designed to foster active participation in a process-oriented curriculum that teaches students how to monitor and influence public policy in their communities. Each participant will receive a classroom set of Project Citizen texts as well as additional materials on public policy
Over Presidents' Day weekend, February 13-16, teams of middle school teachers from
across the country participated in a training seminar for the We the People Initiative
for High-Needs Students. The seminar provided the teachers with content expertise and
interactive methods in the We the People curriculum. In addition, each school team was
linked with an experienced We the People mentor teacher who will encourage, support,
and assist the team throughout the academic year.
The We the People Initiative for High-Needs Students is a comprehensive outreach
effort to address the needs of schools in the United States with significant numbers
of high-needs students. Although the We the People Programs are currently available
to every elementary and secondary school that wishes to participate, the initiative
is a focused effort to reach schools that serve high percentages of socioeconomically
disadvantaged students and those experiencing attendance or truancy problems. The
goal of this long-term project is to provide program assistance to schools in all
fifty states at all three grade levels.