2011 CA State Finals
2011 California State Finals
Congratulations to Amador Valley High School
State Champions
|
|
Sacramento, February 2-4
After six months of
intense academic preparation, eleven schools from seven different
regions of the state gathered together last week at the Sacramento
Hilton Arden West and the State Capitol to compete for the right to
represent the State of California at the National Finals in the We the
People program, April 29th - May 3rd.
|
|
|
Top Five Finalist Foothill High Teacher Jeremy Detamore and Students. |
As one student from Unit 1, which focuses upon the philosophical and historical foundations of America’s Constitution, stated “I learned the meaning of life from this experience! I always wondered where the line was between being a kid and being an adult. What happened? And now I knew. There was no right or wrong answer, it was about choices, how you choose and what you do to support those choices."
On Wednesday night the program opened with a dedication of this year’s state finals to Robert Warmack, a long-time teacher/coach from Colorado and a judge at the California State Finals for the past three years. All those gathered, including the Center for Civic Education’s Board of Directors provided a standing ovation to this year’s recipient of the Roy Erickson Memorial Award which was presented to Larry Hallum, long time teacher/coach of Arvin High’s WTP team and a current assistant coach.
|
On Thursday, students provided nearly seven hours of testimony in two grueling rounds in what one student described as an experience similar to going through a Constitutional boot-camp. Many were impressed with the quality of judges, and according to one teacher "I thought this was the best judging panel that I have seen in my 8 years as a coach. They gave both positive remarks and constructive criticism, and were accurate in their remarks." In the evening, nearly 500 hundred people gathered to see Jennifer Turner, class of 2002, provide an outstanding Keynote Address as she received this year’s Alumnus of the Year Award. Her stunning words were followed by the announcement of the top five teams that would be moving on to the state capitol to compete in the final round, which included Amador Valley from Pleasanton, Arcadia High, Foothill High from Pleasanton, Irvington High from Freemont, and Centennial High from Bakersfield. At the end of the evening program officials commented on the equity of competition and that the difference between first and sixth place after two rounds was extremely narrow.
|
Roy
Erickson Memorial Award Winner Larry Hallum with
Margaret Branson, Associate Director of
the Center for Civic Education
Alumnus
of the Year Award Jennifer Turner, Class of 2002,
speaks to teachers and students about significance of We the People
in her adult life.
Friday found the final five teams at the state capitol ready to share their knowledge with some of the most knowledgeable teachers, academics, lawyers, and community volunteers found in the nation in what can only be called a prestigious and intimidating setting. At the final banquet, students were treated to two outstanding speakers. Executive Director of the WTP program, Charles Quigley, and Keynote Speaker Congress member Tom McClintock from the California 4th District, who gave a rousing speech on the importance of understanding our Constitutional history.
Tac
Craven, Chairman of the Board of Directors and widely known as the
“voice of the Center for Civic Education” presented the awards to
schools for outstanding achievement in each unit and then counted
down to the Announcement that Amador Valley High School from
Pleasanton would be headed to Washington DC to defend California’s
National Championship. In the end, the entire could be summed up by
a comment from one of the competing students, “Thank you for this
wonderful program. We the People is different. It is different than
any other government or history course I or my friends have ever
had. To stand up against judges is truly empowering and changing to
one's life. Thank you for this competition."
Arcadia Teacher/Coach Kevin Fox fires up his students during final round at State Capitol.
Links to Related Stories:
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x1780156925/Centennial-takes-second-in-We-the-People