Brown County Junior High can add a new and different award to its display case.
This year’s eighth-grade We the People civics team took second place in the state finals today in Indianapolis.
More than 300 students across the state participated in the contest which tests students’ knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and American history.
Fishers Junior High School took first place and can move onto the national competition in Washington, D.C., this spring.
This was this group of BCJHS students’ first and only year to compete at the junior high level.
Six past BCJHS teams have won state and four of them also placed in nationals: two as runner-up and two as national champion.
The We the People program teaches students about civic competence and responsibilities. After a semester of study about American history and constitutional issues, including current events and applicable court cases, students testify in mock congressional hearings before panels of professional judges.
Teams advance from Indiana’s four regional competitions to one state competition.
The contest is sponsored by the Indiana Bar Foundation.
The We the People educational model has been shown to increase civic participation, including voting rates, for students as they become adults, the foundation reports.
Read more about the local team later this week on bcdemocrat.com and in the Dec. 21 paper.
