We the People Goes to Nationals

Sending a team to the state tournament may not be that unusual for one of our many successful sports teams, but did you know that Overlake is sending a team to Nationals? 

These Owls won't be playing a sport on a court, but rather arguing a case in our nation's capitol.

Seventeen AP Government students are competing at the We The People Nationals in Washington D.C. April 27 to May 1. Social Studies faculty member Heidi Wilbrandt is their teacher. “It’s a real-world application of their knowledge,” says Wilbrandt. “The whole idea of the We the People program is about civic virtue, so developing students that can engage in their civic duties, but also demonstrate that civil discourse and the civic virtue that the founders would hope permeate every aspect of our society.” 

Overlake’s team will compete with 55 other teams during two full days of competition. If they place in the top ten, they’ll go on to the final competition in a House of Representatives hearing room in the Capitol building.

Preparing for competition, the team held a practice session at the University of Washington School of Law. Coordinated by Overlake parent and law school professor Randi Hedin, the students faced a panel of Constitutional law professors who didn’t hold back. Student presenters conducted a four-minute argument in front of the panel on a variety of historical and contemporary questions. Topics included constitutional theory, statutory law, and case law. 

Call it spring training for We the People. “We missed some things in our presentations that the panel was able to bring to light and will allow us to go deeper in our arguments,” says Allie Kelly (’19) who summed up why this experience is so important to her. “You can learn how to code a computer and do all the equations in the world, but if you can’t formulate an argument or write a persuasive paper then you’re missing a key part of education.”

Wilbrandt agrees and says it goes beyond getting a good grade in an AP Government class especially with young adults who will soon become voters. “I tell my kids pretty regularly that your vote is going to count just as much as mine so I want your vote to be informed and thought-out and researched as it possibly can be so you can make the decision that’s going to be the best for the common good,” says Wilbrandt.

Click here to see last week’s We the People team in action at University of Washington.