During the weekend of Feb. 2, AHS’ We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, also referred to as Constitution Team, competed at the state competition. Despite being unable to qualify for nationals, the team was satisfied with their 4th place results.

For a competition, the class is divided into six teams of three to six students. Students participate in a simulated congressional hearing where they testify as constitutional experts before a panel of judges. Each hearing consists of a four-minute opening statement by students in response to three congressional hearing questions followed by six minutes of questioning. This format tests a student’s ability to apply constitutional principles while also providing them an opportunity to showcase their understanding and depth of knowledge. They are then judged on criteria such as reasoning, responsiveness, and use of constitutional applications.

Throughout the entire year, AHS’ Constitution Team practices extensively for this competition. “A lot of preparation went into this competition. Units would meet around three to four times a week for hours at a time,”senior Tanya Chen of Unit 5 shares. “We would go over our written responses, practice free response questions, meet with our coaches or other lawyers, and do research.” Coach Megan Leahy added, “The team has been working since June of last year to evaluate and learn the material. Once school started, we began having our Monday night meetings. As our state competition got closer the meetings and practices happened three times a week.”

With all this preparation, the team was able to accomplish many of its goals. Coach Leahy noted, “One of their biggest goals was to include more Constitutional citations in their answers. This is incredibly hard to do because it requires memorizing the actual citation and then properly using them in their answer.” However, team members admitted some improvements could have been made. Senior Francesca Yao of Unit 2 revealed, “I was personally happy with my performance because I was able to keep my responses concise but also substantial by including an Anti-Federalist paper or current event. At the same time, I was disappointed in myself because I spoke too fast or missed an opportunity to cite something that could have helped bring up the number of points received.”

Overall, this competition was a great learning experience for the team. Tanya shared, “It was an extremely rewarding and life changing experience. I think I speak for everyone on the team when I saw that it has made us all more actively engaged and will serve as the foundation for our future civic duty as citizens.” Coach Leahy also expressed similar sentiments. “The team did a great job continuing the tradition of being a state finalist. I was so proud of all they accomplished.”

Great job Gov Team, and best of luck next year!