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Foothill High School’s We the People competitive civics team will be spotlighted in the final episode of a new documentary series that started airing nationally this week on PBS.
“Citizen Nation”, the four-part docu-series, follows the journey of the national educational program where high school seniors demonstrate their understanding of the U.S. government and the Constitution by participating in simulated congressional hearings.
“The experience of We the People is one that is invaluable for students and the transformative nature of the program in the lives of young people is why we do the job,” Graham McBride, Foothill’s We the People coach, told the Pleasanton Weekly. “This documentary was filmed to try to capture that quality that the program brings and share it with the larger public.”
According to a July 15 press release from PBS, the four-episode documentary follows high school students over the course of 10 months across eight different states as they work through regional and state competitions and answer critical questions about democracy and politics.
“This was an amazing opportunity to capture a portrait of daily life of teenagers all across the country,” Kyra Darnton, executive producer of “Citizen Nation”, said in the press release. “Our journalists were embedded in their lives for months, and that gave us the opportunity to understand the issues they are confronting today and how they are thinking about the future.”
The series culminates in a showdown at the national championships which took place in Washington D.C. between April 13 and 15 this year. Foothill took home the third-place award for a second year in a row after having previously placed second in the state championship.
“’Citizen Nation’ captures Gen Z’s brightest as they vie for championship glory,” said Margaret Ebrahim, senior director, programming and development, general audience programming at PBS. “We are honored to elevate the voices of these inspiring students, as they demonstrate resilience and grace amidst today’s political environment.”
Alameda County Board of Education Trustee Cheryl Cook-Kallio, who first shared the news with the Weekly, said Foothill’s civics team being featured in the docu-series speaks to the importance that Pleasanton places on providing a broad public education to its students.
Amador Valley High School’s We the People team will also be featured in the docu-series, although not as prominently as Foothill’s, Cook-Kallio said.
She said she is an avid supporter of the We the People program because it not only nurtures students to grow up and become leaders or take on roles in politics, but because it also affects the families of those students.
“I have had students tell me of convincing their parents to vote or to get involved,” Cook-Kallio said. “I had a parent come to me and say you don’t know what this means to me as a parent to see my child do this, to understand what we have learned as a family.”
She also said that even though it’s fun to win first place, students gain so many skills and experiences by participating in We the People like team work, civil discourse and researching. But she also said they are able to find their voice.
And for McBride, he hopes that the docu-series will show a hopeful story about the American experience and the future of the country, which will be in the hands of these students.
“I hope that it drives more interest in the We the People program to continue it for generations to come,” McBride said. “Foothill High School’s involvement in this documentary was in the service of furthering those goals, and I hope that we did.”
The last episode which features Foothill High School will be set to air on the final Tuesday of the month (Oct. 29) from 9-10 p.m.
Correction: A previous version of the story failed to mention that Amador Valley High School will also be featured in the final episode of the documentary series. The Pleasanton Weekly regrets this error.
