Amador Valley High School students well-versed on current events and the Constitution took center stage at the state competition: “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution,” Feb. 3-4 in Sacramento. Both Foothill and Amador competed. Amador Valley swept the tournament to take first place, Foothill took second, and Amador now moves on to Nationals.
Both competed against 10 teams from across the state. “The competition is nerve racking,” said Amador coach Brian Ladd, who was confident his team would do well. “They are a very hardworking group with a good background.”
Amador will compete in Washington, D.C. at the end of March. Again, students will be tested on their knowledge of the Constitution and how it applies to current events. Before hand, students enroll in a “We the People” civics course to prepare for the competition. Students must apply to get in the preparatory class, and even that is competitive said Foothill’s coach, Civics teacher Cindy Juarez.
Before heading for Sacramento, Foothill senior Lisa Battershell said, “I’m excited about the competition. It makes us work harder. My unit has been meeting every night for two hours leading up to the competition.” Last year, Foothill took first place and Amador took second, Ladd said.
Students prepare responses, in the style of Congressional testimony, to three questions which they are given before the competition. However, they do not know what question they will be asked at the event. Their presentation is made to a panel of judges and the judges ask them a series of follow-up questions. The entire event takes place in the State Capitol building.
The friendly rivalry that exists between Amador and Foothill continues at “We the People,” but both teams are very supportive of each other, Juarez said. Up until a few years ago, the two teams were in the same regional category and each year one would win over the other, meaning only one Pleasanton school could move on to the state competition. The regional lines were changed, placing the schools in different regions and now, because both are topnotch teams, the two regularly meet at state.
“The thing that is exciting is that even though it is an academic competition, you get the same adrenaline rush as a sport,” said Juarez, who has also coached mock trial and varsity softball. “It gives students who may not have played on a sports team a real feeling of camaraderie and competition.”
In fact, students said the friendships they’ve made with their “We the People” teams have been a highlight of the program.
“One of the best parts has been making new relationships with the people on the team,” said Foothill senior Ben Ferguson. “I’ve made some close friends.”
While both teams hoped to go on to Nationals, making it to state was an accomplishment of its own.
“The goal is always to win state and make to it Nationals,” Ladd said. “But any of the teams that make it to the top three or four in (California) are also (in the top 10) in the nation.”
To send 30 students and teachers to the April 29-May 1 competition in Washington D.C., the Amador team must raise nearly $40,000. Checks can be made payable to Amador Valley High School Competition Civics Team.
Foothill High School “We the People” team:
Kyle Adkins, Saima Ali, Lisa Battershell, Anastasia Bendebury, Christina Edholm, Ben Ferguson, Anna Freed, Abishek Gupta, Joyce Jang, Bonnie Jin, Natalie, Kleffman, Michael Kelso, Richard Kim, Elizabeth Klinger, Matthew Kwan, John Langan, Vivian Lau, Elizabeth Lee, Nimi Mastey, Angela Ren, Martin, Smith, Ruoji Tang, Nicole Teixeira, James Wang and Daniel Will.
