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2010 News Articles › Raleigh Charter Honored at We the People National Competition
Raleigh Charter Honored at We the People National Competition
Article Date: Friday, April 30, 2010
Raleigh Charter High School earned the Southeast Regional Award at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals. More than 1,100 students from 52 high schools representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands will tested their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights during the three-day competition, from April 24-26, in Washington, D.C.
During the academic competition, students serve as expert witnesses testifying on constitutional issues in a simulated congressional hearing. Each class is divided into six groups, corresponding with the units in the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution text. Students are scored on their opening presentation and on answers to follow-up questions by a panel of judges, who grade the students on understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness, and participation. The national finals judges include state Supreme Court judges, public officials, political scientists, historians, educators, attorneys, journalists, and We the People alumni.
Members of the winning Raleigh Charter High School Constitutional Issues class are Rebekah Austin,
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| Front row, left to right: Adrienne Le, Elizabeth rock, Micah Khater, Rimsha Afzal, Keara Grayson; Back row, left to right: Sean O'Shea, Joshua Rowan, Ian Oglesby, Jacob Tobia, James Hoover, Alexander Karsten, Samuel Chapin, Grayson North, Tirrill Moore, Rebekah Austin, Shayne Klein (teacher). |
James Hoover, Alex Karsten, Adrienne Le, Tirrill Moore, Sean O’Shea, Ian Oglesby, Elizabeth Rock, Jacob Tobia, Rimsha Afzal, Samuel Chapin, Micah Khater, Grayson North, Joshua Rowan and Keara Grayson.
The Raleigh Charter students, under the supervision of their teacher Shayne Klein, were praised by the judges of the competition on their knowledge, reasoning and ability to apply the principles of American government to modern issues, case law and historical events.
In addition to the competition, students heard oral argument in the Supreme Court, met with North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan, met with Brad Miller, Congressman for North Carolina’s Thirteenth District, and received a Capitol Building tour from a staff member for North Carolina Senator Richard Burr.
Raleigh Charter was the We the People state champion, defeating four other North Carolina high schools, including defending champion Northwest Guilford to advance to the national competition.
Funding for Raleigh Charter's trip to Washington, D.C., was provided in part by the NCBA Foundation and additional grant sources.