AHS Advances to Championship Round of National Competition on Constitution and Bill Of Rights

Arcadia High School is advancing to the championship round of the 2010 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals on Monday, April 26. The Arcadia, California, class is one of ten classes that will compete for first place in the academic competition, where students demonstrate their constitutional knowledge during simulated congressional hearings. The championship round will take place in U.S. Senate hearing rooms on Capitol Hill.

More than 1,100 high school students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands have gathered in Washington, D.C., to participate in the 23rd annual We the People finals. The initial field of 52 classes has been reduced to ten finalists based on the combined scores of each class over the past two days of intense examination of their constitutional knowledge.

In the competition, students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge of constitutional issues before simulated congressional committees composed of constitutional scholars, lawyers, journalists, and public officials. Students complete a comprehensive course of study on the Constitution to qualify for the competition, and the national finalists have won their congressional district and state-level competitions in order to advance to the national finals.

The first- through tenth-place schools will be announced and awards presented during a banquet at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Monday evening. Awards will also be given to non-finalist schools with the highest scores in each of the six tested areas of knowledge, and to the school from each of the five geographical regions with the highest overall score. U.S. Rep. David Obey (WI-07) will receive the 2010 Dale E. Kildee Civitas Award for his contributions to civic education.

More than 30 million elementary, middle, and high school students have participated in the We the People program since its inception in 1987. Developed and administered by the Los Angeles-based Center for Civic Education, the program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by Congress.

TEN FINALISTS COMPETING IN U.S. CONSTITUTION NATIONAL FINALS,
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2010

Compete 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, Alabama
Westminster Christian Academy, St Louis, Missouri
East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, New Jersey
Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, Virginia
Wauwatosa West High School, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Compete 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Arcadia High School, Arcadia, California
East High School, Denver, Colorado
Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Miami, Florida
Munster High School, Munster, Indiana
Lincoln High School, Portland, Oregon

FINAL ROUND OF COMPETITION ON CAPITOL HILL
Open for news coverage Monday, April 26, 2010
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Report to Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 628

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