AHS Government Team Wins National Championship

Arcadia's We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Team with teach Kevin Fox in Washington D.C where the team won the national championship on Monday.

After three days of simulated congressional hearings on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the class from Arcadia High School of Arcadia, California, has emerged as the national champion of the 23rd annual We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals.

The academic competition marked the end of months of study and hard-won victories at the congressional district and state levels for more than 1,100 high school students representing all 50 states, District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The announcement of the first- through tenth-place classes was made at an awards banquet on Monday evening before an audience of 1,500 students, teachers, coordinators, judges and other program participants. Awards were also presented to the class with the highest non-finalist score in each of the six units of the text and in each of the five geographic regions in the country.

AHS teacher Kevin Fox confers with the student moderators as they host a debate of the Arcadia City Council Candidates on March 31. - Photo by Terry Miller

The first rounds of the competition took place on Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25. Today, the top 10 schools met on Capitol Hill. Students demonstrated their knowledge of the Constitution before simulated congressional committees made up of constitutional scholars, lawyers, journalists, and public officials.

The panel of judges tested the expertise of the classes on the six units of the “We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution” text: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System? How Did the Framers Create the Constitution? How Has the Constitution Been Changed to Further the Ideals Contained in the Declaration of Independence? How Did the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shape American Institutions and Practices? What Rights Does the Bill of Rights Protect? What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the Twenty-first Century?

The We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program provides an intensive curriculum that offers students comprehensive instruction on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the principles and values they embody. The program is designed to promote an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our constitutional democracy.

- Photo by Terry Miller

When combined with the companion noncompetitive elementary and middle school programs, more than 30 million students have participated in the program during the past 23 years. 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.

A LIST OF ALL TWENTY-ONE AWARD WINNERS FOLLOWS:

NATIONAL WINNER:
Arcadia High School, Arcadia, California

SECOND PLACE:
Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, Alabama

THIRD PLACE:
Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, Virginia

FOURTH PLACE:
Lincoln High School, Portland, Oregon

FIFTH PLACE:
East High School, Denver, Colorado

SIXTH PLACE:
East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, New Jersey

SEVENTH PLACE:
Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Miami, Florida

EIGHTH PLACE:
Munster High School, Munster, Indiana

NINTH PLACE:
Westminster Christian Academy, St Louis, Missouri

TENTH PLACE:
Wauwatosa West High School, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

WINNERS OF UNIT AWARDS
(BEST NON-FINALIST TEAM FOR EXPERTISE IN EACH UNIT OF COMPETITION)

UNIT 1 (The Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System): Sky View High School, Smithfield, Utah
UNIT 2 (How the Framers Created the Constitution): Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Connecticut
UNIT 3 (How Changes in the Constitution Have Furthered the Ideas in the Declaration of Independence): Corona del Sol High School, Tempe, Arizona
UNIT 4 (How the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices): Essex High School, Essex Junction, Vermont
UNIT 5 (The Rights That the Bill of Rights Protects): Tahoma Senior High School, Covington, Washington
UNIT 6 (Twenty-first Century Challenges to American Constitutional Democracy): West Anchorage High School, Anchorage, Alaska

WINNERS OF UNIT AWARDS
(BEST NON-FINALIST TEAM FOR EXPERTISE IN EACH UNIT OF COMPETITION)

Western States: Incline High School, Incline Village, Nevada
Mountain/Plains States: Highland High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Central States: East Kentwood High School, Kentwood, Michigan
Southeastern States: Raleigh Charter High School, Raleigh, North Carolina
Northeastern States: Half Hollow Hills High School East, Dix Hills, New York

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