[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 87 (Friday, June 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HILLSBORO HIGH SCHOOL TEAM WINS REGION FOUR (SOUTHEASTERN STATES) IN WE 
       THE PEOPLE . . . THE CITIZEN AND THE CONSTITUTION PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 1999

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my alma mater, 
Hillsboro High School, for their victory in Region Four (Southeastern 
States) of the We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution 
program. On May 1-3, 1999, more than 1,200 students from across the 
United States came to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national 
finals of this program. Through their hard work and diligence, and led 
by teacher Mary Catherine Bradshaw, State Coordinator Judy Cannizzaro, 
and District Coordinator Holly West Brewer, these young scholars gained 
a profound knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of 
our constitutional democracy.
  The We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution program is 
the most extensive educational program in the country developed 
specifically to educate young people about both the Constitution and 
the Bill of Rights. The three-day national competition was modeled 
after hearings in the U.S. Congress, consisting of oral presentations 
by the students before a panel of adult judges. The students testified 
as constitutional experts, and their testimony was followed by a period 
of questioning during which the judges probed the students for both the 
depth of their understanding and the ability to apply their knowledge 
to constitutional dilemmas.
  Twenty-seven students from Hillsboro competed in the competition, 
including Suchie Brattacharyya, Rachel Bloomekatz, Kate Caldwell, Tua 
Chaudahari, Lauren Collett, Doug Conway, Rion C. Taylor, Cara Doidge, 
Sarah Ettinger, Carmen Germino, Lee Griggs, Emma Groce, Kyle Hatridge, 
Sarah Henn, Rebecca Hunter, Emeily Leiserson, Meredith Lorber, Ana 
Mallett, Judson Merrell, Carley O'Shea, Rachel Roberts, J.P. Schuffman, 
Ashley Smiley, Ashley Thompson, Ayne Wallace-Swiggart, and Mary 
Williams.
  Administered by the Center for Civic Education, the We the People . . 
. program has provided curricular materials at upper elementary, 
middle, and high school levels for more than 26.5 million students 
nationwide. A 1994 evaluation of the program found it successful in 
promoting both the toleration of dissenting views and active 
participation in our political system. I commend the students from 
Hillsboro High School, as well as their teachers and administrators, 
for their impressive performance and wish them the best of luck in 
their efforts to reach the 2000 national finals.

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