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Amador Valley High School’s “We the People” team returned home to cheers and congratulations from parents and supporters at the school’s campus Tuesday night, ending a six-day trip to Washington, D.C. where Amador placed second in national finals out of schools from 44 other states and the District of Columbia.
The students, all part of the Competition Civics class, and those in the welcome home celebration thanked their social studies and civics teachers Brian Ladd and Mairi Wohlgemuth for their many hours of coaching since last September, leading up to Monday night’s awards ceremony.
Then they left for home with Advanced Placement tests and final exams ahead as their graduation days approach.
With this year’s champion Competition Civics class over, it will be up to with another class and new students to re-start the program next August. New teacher-coaches will also have to take over since both Ladd and Wohlgemuth have said this would be their last year to head up the “We the People” program at Amador. The school’s principal, Jim Hansen, a long-time supporter of the We the People program,also is retiring this year.
This was the 12th time Amador Valley has represented California in the We the People national competition. The school’s team won the state championship in Bakersfield on Feb. 9, and since has been meeting after school, on weeknights and weekends preparing for the national finals.
Amador won the nationals in 1995, but this year that top honor went to students from Grant High School of Portland, Oregon, who won first place.
The competition results were announced at an awards ceremony Monday evening before an audience of more than 1,900 students, teachers, coordinators, judges and other program participants.
The students had just completed three days of simulated congressional hearings that tested their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
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 Saturday and Sunday. Today, the top-10 schools competed in actual congressional hearing rooms on Capitol Hill.
The 2013 We the People award winners were:
NATIONAL WINNER:
Grant High School, Portland, Oregon
SECOND PLACE:
Amador Valley High School
THIRD PLACE:
Denver (Colo.) East High School
FOURTH PLACE:
Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, Ala.
FIFTH PLACE:
Cathedral High School, Indianapolis, Ind.
SIXTH PLACE:
Corona del Sol High School, Tempe, Ariz.
SEVENTH PLACE:
Tahoma Senior High School, Covington, Wash.
EIGHTH PLACE:
Trumbull High School, Trumbull, Conn.
NINTH PLACE:
Maine South High School, Park Ridge, Ill.
TENTH PLACE:
Plainfield High School, Plainfield, Ind.
Amador Valley seniors who made presentations in Washington were Dena Behnam, Grant Bonham, Sara Borchers, Grant Cohen, Courtney Dickson, Will Dormann, Teresa Duddy, Blair Guilfoile, Mekhala Hoskote, Shubhanker Kapoor, Bobby Lee, Mitchell Mayo and Sabrina McGraw.
Also making presentations were Adriana Morton, Sri Muppidi, Jordan Nally, Jon Nieman, Alexis Orozco, Dhiraj Pangal, Henry Person, Jena Pianin, Nick Powell, Anika Riley, Adit Sinha, Arany Uthayakumar, Eric Yang, Yves Yang, Kashyap Yechuri and Ke Zhao.
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Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) joins Amador Valley High School’s “We the People” team on Capitol steps Friday as students prepared for competition over the weekend on the Constitution. Amador finished 2nd in the competition. Photo courtesy of Congressman Swalwell. -
Amador Valley High social studies and civics teachers Mairi Wohlgemuth (standing, far left) and Brian Ladd (back row, far right) join their “We the People” students for a final photo at Monday’s national competition in Washington, D.C. Photo by Arick Little. -
“We the People” teams from high schools around the country assemble in George Mason University auditorium Monday to learn results of three days of presentations on the Constitution and bill of Rights. Amador Valley High School finished second out of 45 school entries. Photo by Arick Little.
I am so incredible proud of Amador Valley Comp Civics team, their coaches. Brian Ladd and Mairi Wohlgemuth, and volunteers who have made a labor of love getting these young men and women prepared for adulthood. This is an incredible accomplishment. I am also proud of this community and the support we all show for education. These young adults will never forget this experience. They have something in common with every other young person in this country who have had the benefit of this stellar program. As a teacher and parent of children who benefited from this program I want you to know how much I appreciate you all.
Congratulations to all the team members, Coaches and civics teachers Brian Ladd and Mairi Wohlgemuth! You represented AVHS and Pleasanton with pride and character. Safe travels and Woo-Hoo on a job well-done!
AWESOME!!! Congratulations to these young minds and our teachers who coached them. BIG things are in the future for these young adults. You should be very proud of yourselves as much as your entire community is proud of you.
Congratulations to the Amador Valley High School Comp Civics Team, wow! 2nd in the nation! What an accomplishment! Of course this only comes from months and months of carefully planned hard prep led by two wonderful teachers, Mr. Ladd and Mrs. Wohlgemouth! Last but not least parents too! To each and every student on this team you should be beaming with pride and know this…you’ve done something few do and this experience will last your lifetime! Congrats!
Congratulations to the team, the teacher/advisors, and the volunteers who supported them (including parents)!
Great to see Pleasanton making a mark nationally.
Congratulations TEAM. Enjoy your tour of DC and take time to bask in your success. This is great!
Congratulations Amador!! We are very excited for you and proud of you! A big thank you goes to Mr. Ladd and Mrs. Wohlgemuth for the time, energy and dedication they have given to this important program that teaches kids how to be good citizens. Yeah Amador Civics!!
Christina
AVHS Civics ’96