On December 11, 2010 the Constitutional Law class from Elkins High School won the state title at the Texas We the People contest sponsored by the Law Related Education Division of the State Bar of Texas and qualified for the National "We the People… the Citizen and the Constitution" Competition to be held this Spring in Washington, DC. Twenty seniors finished first in the competition held at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas.
Studying during the school day throughout the fall semester, the class intensified their preparation over the Thanksgiving break by meeting almost daily to refine and practice their speeches and hone their question answering skills. “We gave up quite a bit of our vacation to prepare for the competition, but all our hard work paid off,” said class member Matt McKinnon.
A dress rehearsal held shortly before the competition was judged by County Commissioner James Patterson, School Board Member Laurie Caldwell and Elkins Alum Angela Wu who provided team members with valuable feedback. “They gave us pointers on presentation and content,” said Ramona Yu.
John Choate said, “The night before the contest team members from the previous teams drove to Austin and worked with us at the hotel and then got up early to come and support us as we competed, they were awesome.”
The class has begun preparations for the national competition that is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education. The class is researching new presentations for the competition and preparing for follow up questions that will be asked by a panel of judges over a four day period. All 50 states and the District of Columbia will be represented at the National Competition.
Members of the class are: Bailey Morgan, Irene Burgess, Daron Eubanks, and Nick Zuiker comprising Unit One concentrating on Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System. Unit Two members are Ramona Yu, Megan O’Malley, Jeff Anyan, and Vincent Teran. They are furthering their expertise on the reasons the Framers created the Constitution.
Researching Unit Three studying how the values and principles embodied in the Constitution shaped American institutions and practices are Jacob Harrison, Camille Osterhold and Tony Liao. Caitlyn Cross, Matt McKinnon, and An Le make up Unit Four focusing on how the protections of the Bill of Rights have been developed and expanded.
Examining the rights protected by the Bill of Rights are Unit Five members John Choate, Nicole McLellan, and Joel Mathullah. Isaiah Peters, Amberlea Cogan, and Hayley Leonard constitute Unit Six covering the roles of the Citizen in American Democracy.
Marilyn Ellington, teacher, says "I'm so proud of my kids. They are a very hard working group and had to do extensive research in order to gain a great deal of knowledge about the United States Constitution. "
The We the People program is the most extensive education program in the country on the principles and values embodied in Constitution and Bill of Rights. Administered by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the program is implemented in every congressional district in the United States. Including noncompetitive students at elementary and middle and high school levels, approximately 26.5 million students have participated in the program since its inception in 1986.
According to a study conducted by Professor Richard Brody of Stanford University, high school students who participate in the We the People program display more political tolerance and feel more politically effective than most adult Americans and most other students. Students in the program are more interested in politics, feel more politically effective, and perceive fewer limits on their own political freedom. In a survey of alumni who have participated in the program, 82 percent indicated that they had voted in the 2000 presidential election, where the turnout nationwide for that age group was measured at 32 percent.
This major educational program represents the joint effort of a nationwide network of educators, civic leaders, the business community, and members of Congress. For more information about the program, contact state coordinator Jan Miller at the State Bar of Texas-Law Related Education, P.O. Box 12487, Austin, TX 78711-2484 or the Center for Civic Education at 21600 Oxnard Street, Suite 500, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 (818) 591-9321.