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NEW YORK STATE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN
NATIONAL CONSTITUTION PROGRAM
ALBANY, NY -- On Saturday, Jan. 12, 33 students from
Forest Hills High School (Queens, NY) earned the right to travel to
Washington, D.C., where they will represent New York State in the 26th
Annual We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals,
the highly prestigious academic program based on the U.S.
Constitution.
Forest Hills students, under the guidance of their
teacher Tara Kelly, accumulated the best score of the six high schools
that attended Saturday’s New York State Final We the People
hearings in Albany. The 200 plus students studied for months to prepare
for their roles as experts testifying on constitutional issues in the
simulated congressional hearings. Panels of judges, 18 in all, rated the
students on their knowledge of the Constitution and their ability to
relate today’s news and court cases to their knowledge of the
Constitution.
One of the day’s highlights was the appearance of
Rep. Paul Tonko (NY 20) as the luncheon speaker. He congratulated the
students on their hard work. “You are now stewards of our
democracy,” he told them. “You are the role models for the
generations in front and behind you.”
The other five schools (and their awards) were:
Region 1
Smithtown High School West, Honorable Mention
Joseph Gatto, teacher
Half Hollow Hills High School East, second place
David I. Pitman, teacher
Region 2
James Madison High School, third place
Stacey Azoff, teacher
Region 3
Clarkstown Senior High School, Honorable Mention
James T. Russell, teacher
Region 4
Westfield Academy & Central School, Honorable Mention
Greg Birner, teacher
The first round of the national finals will be held at
George Mason University, Virginia, April 26–29. The competition
involves entire classes making presentations and answering questions on
constitutional topics before a panel of judges recruited from across the
country. Constitutional scholars, lawyers, and government leaders,
acting as congressional committee members, will judge the students'
performances. The combined scores from the first two days of
hearings will determine which ten classes will compete in the
championship round Monday, April 29, in hearing rooms on Capitol
Hill.
The annual three-day final competition is the
culminating activity of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution,
the most extensive education program of its kind in the country.
The New York State Bar Association’s Law, Youth and Citizenship
Program (LYC) administers the nationwide program in New York State. LYC
is the third-largest civics and law-related education program in the
country.
Implemented nationwide in upper elementary, middle, and
high schools, the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
program has reached more than 30 million students and 81,000 teachers
since its inception in 1987. The program was funded by the U.S.
Department of Education until recently, when the grant program was cut
from the federal budget. The New York State Bar Association assisted
with the funding of this year’s regional and state hearings. The
team will need to rely on fundraising to pay expenses associated with
the trip to the national hearings.
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