Across the Country but Inspirational to Educators Anywhere

A must-see We the People production from Arvin, California:



And remember, for something a little closer to home, here's the 2009 District of Columbia We the People video:

Teen Advisory Council Meeting

The National Law Enforcement Museum is kick-starting its Teen Advisory Council with an informational meeting on June 16, 2010 at 4:30pm. Pizza and root beer floats will be provided. Cesar Chavez Public Chater School junior Warren Jefferson will talk about the museum's new project: A video highlighting youth perceptions of law enforcement.

The meeting is strictly informational - you don't have to make a decision about participating in the Council until later.

If you're interested, the meeting will be held at 901 E Street, NW, Ste. 100. (That's on the corner of E and 9th in Penn Quarter).

If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Bowers at bbowers@nleomf.org or 202-737-7989.

Chavez Team Honored in Congressional Record

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton honored the hard work of the students of the Cesar Chavez's Capitol Hill class that represented Washington, DC at the 2010 We the People National Finals by reading their names and a brief synopsis of the program into the Congressional Record. The full text can be accessed here or can be read below. Congratulations again to these dedicated students and their excellent representation of the District at the National Finals!

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STATEMENT OF
HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, in April 2010, more than 1,200 students from across the country took part in the We the People : The Citizen and the Constitution national finals in Washington, D.C. I am proud to announce that a class from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School--Capitol Hill Campus represented the District of Columbia at this prestigious national event. These outstanding students, through their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, won their city-wide competition earning the chance to compete at the national level.

While in Washington, the students participated in a three-day academic competition that simulated a congressional hearing, in which students demonstrated their knowledge and skills as they evaluated and defended positions on historical and contemporary constitutional issues. Annual surveys consistently show that high school students who take part in the We the People academic competition outperform other students in the National Assessment of Educational Progress political test by at least 22 percent.

Madam Speaker, the names of these outstanding students from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School--Capitol Hill Campus are: Kim Diaz, Marco Gomez, Karen Mejia, Jason Allen, Jesse Balderas, Briana Bullock, Joel Carela, Jaleel Dyson, Kendra Goodwin, Ely Guerrero, Corey Johnson, Jose Maheda, Anthony McCannon, Christian Mondragon, Nakea Paige, Ryan Pope, Alexis Rhett, Leticia Rivera, Elizabeth Rogers, Paul Schmidt, Jaztina Somerville, and Jade Vaughn.

I also wish to commend the teacher of the class, Dionna Shinn, who was responsible for preparing these young constitutional experts for the national finals. Also worthy of special recognition is Julie Harris, Director of Public Policy at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, for her tireless commitment to the students on the District's team and implementation of the rigorous curriculum at the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School.

I congratulate these young constitutional experts on their outstanding achievement at the We the People national finals.

Chavez Parkside Middle School Wins City-wide Public Policy Competition

For the second consecutive year, middle school students from Mr. Toomer's classes at Cesar Chavez's Parkside Campus won the District of Columbia Project Citizen Showcase. The annual event was held on June 3, 2010, at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives. Following are some pictures from the day which was kicked-off with a fabulous interactive presentation on freedom of expression by constitutional activist Mary Beth Tinker (Tinker v. Des Moines).

Mary Beth Tinker teaches students about the five freedoms in the First Amendment.

Chavez Parkside students with their winning portfolio on "Student Rights".

Showcase evaluator Ian Schillinger speaks with student ambassadors from the SEED School.

Joey Wignarajah speaks with students from Chavez Bruce Prep about their ideas to address "Homelessness".

Students from Ms. John's seventh grade class at Chavez Parkside talk to judges about the lack of course selection at their middle school.

We the People National Finals Competition

Congratulations to the We the People class from Arcadia High School (California), our 2010 We the People National champions!

Arcadia High School, California

Students from every state in the Union, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (52 teams in total) descended upon Washington, DC to compete at the National Final Competition April 24-26. The top ten teams were able to compete on Capitol Hill in the Dirksen Senate Building on April 26th.

The ten finalists were:

1. California - Arcadia High School
2. Alabama - Vestavia Hills High School
3. Virginia - Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies
4. Oregon - Lincoln High School
5. Colorado - East High School
6. New Jersey - East Brunswick High School
7. Florida - Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
8. Indiana - Munster High School
9. Missouri - Westminster Christian Academy
10. Wisconsin - Wauwatosa High School

The team from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School - Capitol Hill Campus represented the District well at finals. We are proud of each of the kids for their hard work and excellent preparation for the competition.

Cesar Chavez Public Charter School - Capitol Hill Campus