BILL REQ. #:  H-2864.1 

Read first time 04/05/2007.   Referred to .

     WHEREAS, "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" is a national competition that challenges high school students' knowledge of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and
     WHEREAS, The primary goal of "We the People" is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation's elementary and secondary students; and
     WHEREAS, The "We the People" curriculum fosters attitudes that are necessary for students to participate as effective, responsible citizens; and
     WHEREAS, The culminating activity is a simulated congressional hearing in which students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles by "testifying" before a panel of judges; and
     WHEREAS, Since the inception of the "We the People" program in 1987, more than 28 million students and 90 thousand educators have participated in this innovative course of study; and
     WHEREAS, More than 1200 high school students and their teachers participate annually in the "We the People" national finals; and
     WHEREAS, Teams from each of the nine congressional districts compete in the statewide "We the People" competition to represent Washington state at a national competition in Washington, D.C.; and
     WHEREAS, The Gig Harbor High School "We the People" team is comprised of 21 students in an Advanced Placement Government class at Gig Harbor High School; and
     WHEREAS, Gig Harbor High School's AP Government students, taught by Ken Brown, competed in the state "We the People" competition in January in Olympia, winning first place; and
     WHEREAS, As the state champions, Gig Harbor High School's AP Government students will travel to Washington, D.C., in April 2007, to participate in the national finals against teams from the other 49 states;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives acknowledge the achievements of the 2007 Gig Harbor High School AP Government students in exhibiting exceptional civic literacy and American citizenship; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives support the goals and programs of the "We the People" competition; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Ken Brown, teacher and mentor of the 2007 Gig Harbor High School state champions of the "We the People" competition.