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Virginia's Maggie L. Walker Governor's School Wins National Championship on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

Washington, D.C. - After three days of simulated congressional hearings on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the class from Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies of Richmond, Virginia, has emerged as the winner of the 24th annual We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals.

Amador Valley High School of Pleasanton, California, and East Brunswick High School of East Brunswick, New Jersey, took second and third place, respectively, in the competition on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Classes representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands came to the nation's capital to participate in the three-day academic competition.

The results were announced at an awards banquet Monday evening before an audience of 1,500 students, teachers, coordinators, judges and other program participants. At the ceremony, the 2011 Dale E. Kildee Civitas Award was presented to U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (MA-02) for his contributions to the field of civic education.

During the competition, students demonstrated their knowledge of the Constitution before simulated congressional committees made up of state Supreme Court judges, constitutional scholars, lawyers, public officials and We the People alumni. The first rounds of the hearings took place on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1. On the final day, the top 10 schools competed in congressional hearing rooms on Capitol Hill.

First Place:

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, Virginia

Second Place:

Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, California

Third Place:

East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, New Jersey

Fourth Place:

Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, Alabama

Fifth Place:

East Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Sixth Place:

Denver East High School, Denver, Colorado

Seventh Place:

Grant High School, Portland, Oregon

Eighth Place:

Northwest Guilford High School, Greensboro, North Carolina

Ninth Place:

Maine South High School, Park Ridge, Illinois

Tenth Place:

Munster High School, Munster, Indiana

Unit Award Winners

Best non-finalist team for expertise in each unit of competition

Unit 1 (The Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System)
Joplin High School, Joplin, Missouri

Unit 2 (How the Framers Created the Constitution)
North Smithfield High School, North Smithfield, Rhode Island

Unit 3 (How Changes in the Constitution Have Furthered the Ideas in the Declaration of Independence)
Spearfish High School, Spearfish, South Dakota

Unit 4 (How the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices)
Half Hollow Hills High School East, Dix Hills, New York

Unit 5 (The Rights That the Bill of Rights Protects)
Tahoma Senior High School, Covington, Washington

Unit 6 (Twenty-first Century Challenges to American Constitutional Democracy)
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Overland Park, Kansas

Regional Award Winners

Best non-finalist team from each region

Western States
West Anchorage High School, Anchorage, Alaska

Mountain/Plains States
Highland High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Central States
Highlands High School, Fort Thomas, Kentucky

Southeastern States
Scholars Academy, Conway, South Carolina

Northeastern States
Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Connecticut

President Ronald Reagan Award Winner

Class with highest score on question about President Ronald Reagan and the executive branch

Maine South High School, Park Ridge, Illinois

The We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program provides an intensive curriculum that offers students comprehensive instruction on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the principles and values they embody. The program is designed to promote an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our constitutional democracy.

More than 28 million elementary, middle and high school students have participated in the program since its inception in 1987. Developed and administered by the Los Angeles-based Center for Civic Education, the program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by Congress.

The 2011 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals is funded by the Center for Civic Education, state donors, and The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.