[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING WEST ANCHORAGE HIGH SCHOOL ON ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE 
                     ``WE THE PEOPLE'' COMPETITION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2005

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, from April 30-May 2, 2005 more than 
1200 students from across the United States will visit Washington, D.C. 
to take part in the national finals of We the People: The Citizen and 
the Constitution, the most extensive educational program in the country 
developed specifically to educate young people about the U.S. 
Constitution and Bill of Rights. Administered by the Center for Civic 
Education, the We the People program is funded by the U.S. Department 
of Education.
  I am proud to announce that the class from West Anchorage High School 
will represent the state of Alaska in this prestigious national event. 
These outstanding students, through their knowledge of the U.S. 
Constitution, won their statewide competition and earned the chance to 
come to our nation's capitol and compete at the national level.
  While in Washington, the students will participate in a three-day 
academic competition that simulates a congressional hearing in which 
they ``testify'' before a panel of judges. Students demonstrate their 
knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles and have 
opportunities to evaluate, take, and defend positions on relevant 
historical and contemporary issues. It is important to note that the 
Educational Testing Service (ETS) characterizes the We the People 
program as a ``great instructional success.'' Independent studies by 
ETS have revealed that We the People students ``significantly 
outperformed comparison students on every topic of the tests taken.''
  Congratulations to Elizabeth DeYoung, Monique Eniero, Roberta 
Gordaoff, Danielle Johnson, Jayme Johnson, Vassar Louis-Bradford, 
Gareth Olds, Michael Pascual, Courtney Prokosch, Alexander Richert, 
Gerriane Villanueva, Jeffery Wittsey and their teacher Pamela Orme.
  I wish these students the best of luck at the We the People national 
finals and applaud their outstanding achievement.

                          ____________________