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Meadowbrook Middle School and Teacher Tina Shaw, First Annual SoCal We the People Middle School Competition Gold Medal Winners

First Annual Southern California Middle School
We the People, The Citizen and the Constitution
Congressional Hearing Competition
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Feb. 20, 2010: Over 150 students from five schools throughout the southland participated in the first annual We the People Southern California competition. This event was the byproduct of California’s State Coordinator, David Richmond, desire to build strong civic education programs in every school in the Golden State. The event was held at the beautiful and prestigious Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and was organized by Coordinators Kim Tetzlaff and Mike Williams. Throughout the day, teachers, parents, and volunteers provided rave reviews about the quality of the event.

Volunteer judges from throughout the state were extremely impressed with the knowledge, poise, and skills that the students expressed. Alumni Judge, David Pierucci, himself getting ready to attend law school, commented that most of the hearing panels that he assessed would give many of the high school teams that compete a run for their money. “I was very impressed and somewhat overwhelmed by the historical and political understanding that these young students shared. I believe that every person who holds a legislative position in this country should sit down with these students. They definitely would learn some important things.”

The five schools that earned an invitation to the Middle School event were Colina Middle School, Thousand Oaks, 24th Congressional District, Teacher Kris Olson; Van Avery Prep School, Temecula, 49th Congressional District, Teacher Theresa Bolton; De Anza Middle School, Ontario, 43rd Congressional District, Teacher Brent Heath; Los Cerritos Middle School, 24th Congressional District, Teacher Jamie Kay; Meadowbrook Middle School, Poway, 52nd Congressional District, Teacher Tina Shaw.

Unit Awards
Unit I -- Colina Middle School
Unit II -- Meadowbrook Middle School
Unit III -- Colina Middle School
Unit IV -- Meadowbrook Middle School
Unit V -- Van Avery Prep
Unit VI -- Van Avery Prep
Team Results
Third Place, Bronze Medal: Van Avery Prep
Second Place, Silver Medal: Colina Middle School
First Place, Gold Medal: Meadowbrook Middle School

ALSO: In concert with the Middle School Hearings. 15 teachers participated in a We the People Teacher Training at the Reagan Library coordinated by Region 5 Coordinator Pam Allender, and presented by Mentor Teachers Kim Allender and Terri Richmond. The teachers went through the Unit I material on Political Theory and Foundations with Presenter, Alumnus Neil Richmond, Graduate Student in Political Philosophy and then were taken through the curriculum and presented with teaching strategies. To culminate the training, the teachers were invited to observe the Competitive Hearings so that they could see the value of this assessment tool. Many of the participating teachers commented that having the training and seeing the hearings on the same day was invaluable to their understanding of the program and their ability to implement in their classrooms.

California We the People
State Finals 2010 February 3-5

Sacramento, CA: Wednesday February 3rd to Friday February 5th, nearly 500 students, teachers, community volunteers, family and friends converged on the Sacramento Hilton Arden West and the State Capitol to participate and observe the finest exhibition of civic knowledge and skills that this nation has to offer. According to State Coordinator David Richmond “There is no academic competition that highlights student knowledge of the Constitution and Bill of Rights than the California We the People, The Citizen and the Constitution State Finals.

Twelve teams from around the state, representing the geographic, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity of California met in Sacramento for the 23rd Annual California State Finals. The first two rounds were held at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West, and according to volunteer judge Bob Warmack from Colorado, “The level of knowledge and skill that these students show would be a great example to every legislative branch across this great land.”

The program opened up on Wednesday night with Keynote Speaker Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, and a surprise appearance by Assembly member Joan Buchanan, who shared with the audience their joint sponsorship of ACR 11, a California Civics Day for Teachers.

After an intense 7 hours of competition on Thursday, the twelve schools were narrowed down to the final five, which would all compete on Friday at the State Capitol. Also that night, Susan Piekarski, a graduate of Amador Valley, 1999, and currently a teacher at Irvington High School, was honored as the Alumni of the Year and addressed the students on how facing failure is necessary in building stronger character and better citizens.

Finally, on Friday, after an intense final round, the anxious crowd gathered together at the Sacramento Hilton for the Awards ceremony. Andrea Mello was awarded the 2010 Roy Erickson Memorial Award, recognizing an individual who has given unselfishly to the California We the People Program. Following this emotional event, Tac Craven, the Chairman of the Board of Directors came to the stage to announce the Unit winners and the State Champion who would be representing California at the National Finals, April 23-26.

2010 State Finals Results

CONGRATULATIONS to the nearly 350 students and teachers who participated in this years We the People state finals. It was said by all 44 judges who participated this year that this was the toughest competition they have been involved with and that it was extremely difficult to separate out the teams.

Twelve schools, representing the geographic, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity met at the Sacramento Arden West Hilton and the State Capitol in Sacramento to determine which school would represent the Great State of California at the National We the People Finals in April.

Here are the results:
Gold Medal: Arcadia High School, Arcadia
Silver Medal: Amador Valley HS, Pleasanton
Bronze Medal: Irvington High School, Freemont
Fourth Place: Foothill High School, Pleasanton
Fifth Place: Centennial High School, Bakersfield

Unit Awards
Unit 1: Galileo High School, San Francisco
Unit 2: Calvin Christian High School, Escondido
Unit 3: Martin Luther King Jr. HS, Riverside
Unit 4: Foothill High School, Bakersfield
Unit 5: Monta Vista HS, Cupertino
Unit 6: Arvin High School, Arvin

On November 13^th, Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA22) visited Terri Richmond’s We the People class in Bakersfield. The Congressman and the students discussed economic issues, health care, redistricting, and sentencing for juveniles. Student Chris Biezad solicited the Congressman’s views on the unitary executive and how the Framers might have felt. McCarthy expressed that the response to 9/11 required an expansion of executive power. When asked by student Bianca Ramirez about the fact that CA 22 is a relatively “safe” district, Congressman McCarthy expressed his desire for a more competitive district, stating that people who “breathe the same air and drive the same roads” have similar interests, regardless of party.

Region 4: Bakersfield College Hosts Annual WTP Scholars Night

Foothill student Bianca Ramirez waits for David Richmond to call on her

On October 29^th, ten Kern county We the People teams met at Bakersfield College for their annual Scholars Night, hosted by the Center for Kern Political Education. The evening began with awards presentations for recently retired Chief Public Defender, Mark Arnold, and Associate Superintendent for Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Pat Alexander. Awards were given by representatives of Congressmen McCarthy, Costa, and State representatives Fuller and Ashburn. Then the students were led in an examination of the case of Carey v. Musladin, concerning issues of the 1^st and 6^th amendments. Terri Richmond, region 4 co-coordinator, led the opening discussion, and then state coordinator David Richmond engaged the crowd of over 250 students in a debate of the issues. After the opening activity, students adjourned to their study rooms with their unit scholars for approximately 90 minutes of work.

California Legislature votes to allow 17 year olds unrestricted voter registration

NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION

AB 30 (Youth Voter Registration) Heads to Governor's Desk

Sacramento, CA - The California legislature approved AB 30 (Price & Swanson), a bill lowering the voter registration age to 17. If signed by the Governor, this legislation could dramatically improve California's alarmingly low voter participation rate for young voters. Almost half of the eligible voters between 18 and 24 years of age were not registered to vote in 2004 (the most recent year for which data is available).

AB 30 is based on a signature idea from the New America Foundation's Political Reform Program. Steven Hill, director of the Political Reform Program, said "registration is one of the largest barriers to voting. Citizens often become energized by candidates or issue campaigns in the last weeks of an election only to find they are not registered to vote."

AB 30 will create an option for young people who are 17 years or older to pre-register to vote (sometimes known as "advance" registration). When they turn 18, their registration will automatically become active. This bill would allow young people to be involved in the democratic process at an earlier age and make it more likely that they will remain engaged as they become adults.

In addition, current state law says that anyone who is 17 years old is eligible to pre-register if that individual will be 18 years old before the next election. AB 30 would extend pre-registration to all 17 year olds, making the treatment of 17 year olds uniform instead of having some who are eligible to pre-register while others are not. That in turn will make implementation of pre-registration more efficient and streamlined, and should lead to less confusion.

"Research has demonstrated that developing good 'political engagement' habits at a younger age will increase the likelihood of civic participation as an adult," said Hill. "AB 30 will help break the 'disengagement cycle' that often prevents young people from developing habits of participation that carry over into their adult years."

Allowing pre-registration of 17 year olds is a nonpartisan idea that has been passed in both GOP states like Texas and Florida (where it was signed into law by Florida governor Charlie Crist) and Democratic states like Hawaii, as well as swing states like Iowa and Missouri. Eight States have enacted pre-registration laws.

About the New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States.
Media Contact
Liz Wu
(510) 295-9859
wu@newamerica.net

Chaparral Team, Temecula Headed to State Finals for Third Year Running
Northwest Voice: Centennial High School and We The People
An Article in the Northwest Voice (Bakersfield, CA) regarding the High School We The People program at Centennial high School.