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Foothill High School’s competitive civics team is once again heading to the national We the People finals after winning the California state competition for the second year in a row earlier this month.
This is now the fourth year in a row that the Pleasanton high school will represent not just the city, but the entire state at the national level. In 2024, Falcons took home the third-place national award.
“We are incredibly proud of the hard work and tireless hours our students have put into this program,” Foothill history teachers and We the People coaches Graham McBride and Jeremy Detamore said in a joint statement to the Pleasanton Weekly. “We are tremendously excited to have the opportunity to represent Pleasanton and the state of California at the national finals in April.”
The national competition is scheduled to take place from April 17-19 in Washington, D.C..
We the People is an educational program where thousands of high school seniors across the country demonstrate their understanding of the U.S. government and the Constitution by participating in simulated congressional hearings, according to the program’s website.
These high school teams compete every year at their respective state events in order to get a chance to represent their state at the national level.
This year, the state championship took place over the weekend of Feb. 7-8 and featured eight high school teams from across the state, according to a Facebook post from Alameda County Board of Education Area 7 Trustee Cheryl Cook-Kallio.
Cook-Kallio, who is also a California state coordinator for the civics program, applauded Foothill’s team for making it to nationals and also congratulated Amador Valley High School’s civics team for securing the wild-card spot – meaning both Pleasanton teams are competing in D.C.
“I’m always delighted to see all the young people involved in the California We the People state finals. It is really a testament to the hard work of the coaches and the students and gives us hope for the future,” Cook-Kallio told the Weekly. “Pleasanton’s continued legacy in winning also speaks to the support and value this community places in quality education.”
Foothill principal Sebastian Bull also commended his school’s civics team for their hard work in preparing for these state and national competitions, as well as the two teachers for their dedication to helping the students succeed.
“It is an inspiration to watch them perform and it makes me happy for the future since they will help us guide this country in the future with their amazing Constitutional knowledge,” Bull said in a statement to the Weekly.
“This is the second year in a row that Foothill has won the state competition and we are lucky to have such talented students who work so hard to learn the content and represent their families, the school, and the Pleasanton community along with the State of California,” Bull added.
And as Amador’s team gets set to return to the national stage after having last secured the state championship back in 2024 (the team placed third last year), principal Malcolm Norrington said he and the rest of the school are proud of the team’s accomplishments and that he is “grateful for the dedication that made it possible and eager to support them as they represent AVHS and the greater Pleasanton community”.
“We extend our sincere congratulations to the students and staff whose collective effort has strengthened the We the People program as an outstanding representation of Amador Valley High School and the broader Pleasanton Unified School District community,” Norrington said in a statement to the Weekly. “Their advancement to the finals in April reflects sustained academic rigor, disciplined preparation and the high level of commitment required to excel in this competition.”
