After a morning of simulated congressional hearings that tested their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, one North Dakota School took top honors at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution State Finals Challenge.
The State Finals champion is the Edgeley High School team taught by Melissa Entzi. The students qualified to advance to the National Finals scheduled for April.
Six schools competed January 19 in the academic competition where students demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution in simulated congressional committees and were judged by state supreme court justices, constitutional scholars, lawyers, and public officials. The schools competing and their instructors were Bismarck Century (Shannon Sorenson), Edgeley (Melissa Entzi), Kidder County (Jennifer Kallenbach), Napoleon (Andrew Pike), South Heart (Susan Reinhiller) and Washburn (Keith Jacobson).
The competition was held at the State Capitol in Bismarck. State Senator Nicole Poolman gave the opening address. She said the We the People competition allows participants to celebrate the country’s system of government while providing them critical skills such as analysis, writing and public speaking.
“This program will make participants more likely to engage in civic organizations, to run for public office and to seek public service,” Said Poolman. “Education is key in promoting civil discourse and this program and competition provides education that every American citizen should have.”
The panel of judges tested the expertise of the classes on the six units of the "We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution" textbook: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System? How Did the Framers Create the Constitution? How Has the Constitution Been Changed to Further the Ideals Contained in the Declaration of Independence? How Have the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices? What Rights Does the Bill of Rights Protect? and What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the Twenty-first Century? To compete for the state title, a school must enter teams in all six units.
The We the People Program is administered nationally by the Center for Civic Education. In North Dakota, the program is administered by Humanities North Dakota with the support of the State Legislature and the State Bar Association of North Dakota.
The competition results were announced at an awards ceremony Jan. 19. A list of all the awards and winning schools is below:
Awards of Merit-Top Scoring Unit (Class Awards)
Unit 1 - Bismarck Century High School (Chance Bowlinger, Tyler Kleinjan, Dylan Nosbusch)
Unit 2 - Edgeley High School (Madison Giesler, Allee Boyer, Mya Olsen)
Unit 3 - Bismarck Century High School (Olivia Data, Madison Lively, Reagan Spomer)
Unit 4 – Kidder County High School (Brock Nicholson, Jake Olson, Grant Pfaff, Ella Svanes)
Unit 5 - Bismarck Century High School (Carsten Irgens, Ange Missalou, Paige Stevhn)
Unit 6 – Bismarck Century High School (Claudia Purdon, Quessia Missalou, Sydney Sheehan)
2022 ND State We The People Champions
Edgeley High School (teacher: Melissa Entzi)
