Elizabethtown Area High School has been invited to represent Pennsylvania at the We the People National Finals. The Elizabethtown We the People program has secured eight state championships over the past several years. The team is now eligible to represent Pennsylvania in the We the People National Finals competition, to be held from Friday to Monday, April 26 to 29, in Washington, D.C. Each state will send its state championship constitutional scholars team to compete for the title of national champion.
The We the People competition promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation's secondary students. At the national competition, the Elizabethtown team will join the other 49 states' winning teams in simulated congressional hearings on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The United States Congress will provide rooms on Capitol Hill to the top 10 teams on the third day of competition to express its support for this civic exercise.
At the national event, students will prepare and deliver brief opening statements on constitutional questions, and community scholars, such as professors, federal judges, and attorneys, will respond to the opening statements with follow-up questions. The competition judges will probe the students' knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the students defend their positions.
The Elizabethtown team consists of 15 students in James Sostack's Advanced Placement Government class. Students will devote time in evenings and on weekends to learning constitutional principles and practices. They will also develop team-building strategies as they work together in small groups when drafting the required responses to prepare for the national competition.
The students must raise $21,000 to cover the cost of the trip to Washington. While student contributions and district donations have subsidized some of the overall costs, funds are still needed. Donations are being accepted. For more information, readers may contact Sostack at james_sostack@etownschools.org or 717-367-1533.
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