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.