Our Courts Launches DC Classroom Program

The Our Courts project, in partnership with Georgetown Law, recently launched a new program for Washington DC schools. Our Courts will send a small team of law students to teach civics in middle school classrooms using interactive games. The Our Courts lessons and games meet DC’s 8th grade social studies standards, and our volunteers can teach 1, 2, or 3 class periods depending on your needs. Our curriculum is fun and engaging, and has been shown to improve student understanding of the Constitution and its amendments. For more information or to schedule a class session, please contact Jeff Curley at info@ourcourts.org or (202) 661-6527.

We have also just released a new game, Argument Wars. In it, students argue landmark Supreme Court cases and evaluate supports for key arguments. Each case is separate within Argument Wars, so you can teach as many or as few as you would like. Check them out using the links below:

• Brown v. Board of Education
• New Jersey v. T.L.O
• Gideon v. Wainwright
• Texas v. Johnson (coming soon)
• Miranda v. Arizona (coming soon)

Winner of DC We the People Competition Announced

Congratulations to the We the People team from the Capitol Hill Campus of the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy, winner of the 2010 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution high school competition for the District of Columbia!

Three other local high schools also competed to varying extents: the Parkside campus of Cesar Chavez, St. John's College High School, and National Cathedral School. The teachers from all schools, as well as the community leaders and educators who served as judges at the competition, were impressed with the knowledge and skills of all students involved in the competition.

Kavitha Cardoza from WAMU 88.5 FM, the local NPR affiliate, also stopped by the event to talk with some of the students and teachers. Her piece ran the next day on the air, which you can read or listen to here.

District Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton congratulated all of the students at the end of the competition, insisting that they continue to empower themselves and become owners of their democracy. She told them, "You should crown your achievement today by taking it and insisting that you are the last class of second-class citizens in D.C.," referring to the struggle for voting rights in the District.

The Chavez-Capitol Hill team will be representing the District of Columbia in the national finals of the We the People in a competition that brings 1,200 students from all fifty states (and the District) to Washington this April 24-26, 2010.

The winning team: Cesar Chavez-Capitol Hill

Keynote speaker: Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton

D.C. Students Vie for First Place at Simulated Congressional Hearings -- WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Read yesterday's press release from the PR News Wire here.

Come out to see the 2010 District of Columbia We the People Middle School Competition tomorrow at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives; opening ceremonies begin at 9:30 AM and the awards will be presented at 1:30 PM. Register here to attend as a guest.

And a huge thank you to Campanella Communications Group, LLC for their able assistance and generous support with our press efforts this year.

2010 DC We the People Competitions

This year the District's city-wide We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competitions will be held again in January at the Sumner School Museum and Archives. The middle school competition will be held on Thursday, January 14, and the high school competition will be held on Thursday, January 28.

Click here to learn more, attend as a guest or volunteer for school-based hearings!

Participating 2010 schools include:

• Cesar Chavez - Bruce Prep
  
• Cesar Chavez - Capitol Hill
• Cesar Chavez - Parkside
• KIPP DC: KEY Academy
  
• Lincoln Multicultural
• Maya Angelou - Evans
  
• National Cathedral
  
• SEED School of DC
• St. Johns
  
• Stuart-Hobson
  

KIPP DC: KEY Academy Holds Annual Simulated Congressional Hearings

Seventy-five KIPP DC students from Ms. Gabriela Stiteler's 8th grade U.S. History classes participated in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program at KEY Academy last week. The simulated congressional hearings last Thursday, November 19, featured student testimony before a panel of three judges on a range of constitutional topics, from natural rights philosophy to the role of a citizen in U.S. society. Following are some pictures of the hearings in progress:

At the conclusion of the KIPPster's panel presentations and questioning, the students received awards for their study of the We the People curriculum. D.C. Councilmember Yvette Alexander signed the awards presented by her Communications Director, Andre Johnson.
One team from each unit will advance to the city-wide We the People competition to represent KIPP DC: KEY on January 14, 2010. Winning teams were selected from each of the three homerooms based on scores in six criteria as determined by 18 volunteer judges from outside the school. Here are a couple KIPP students receiving their medals as the winning team: