Munster High School, Brown County Junior High School Score Big at We the People State Finals

Munster High School, in a repeat performance, secured its spot as the top team at the State Finals for We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution. Brown County Junior High scored the highest placement at the middle school competition. More than 600 Indiana school children from the four borders of Indiana and several cities in between competed.

Early in the day the students were nervous and jittery as they waited their turn to answer questions from panels of attorneys acting as judges in mock congressional hearings. By the end of the day, they were all smiles and applauded wildly when their teachers and peers from competing schools were honored. In fact, the teachers received a standing ovation. Now we know these are great kids!

Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard addressed the high school students during the unit awards ceremony. He commended them for knowing that America is a republic, not a democracy and that public officials are elected to exercise their judgment, not simply “count heads.”

High School

Unit Award Winners

Unit 1 – Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers, Ind., Natalie Johnson (teacher)

Unit 2 – Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers, Ind., Natalie Johnson (teacher)

Unit 3 – Fairfield High School, Goshen, Ind., Marilee Keim (teacher)

Unit 4 – Floyd Central High School, Floyds Knobs, Ind., Suzanne Moss (teacher)

Unit 5 – Homestead High School, Fort Wayne, Ind., Keith Potter (teacher)

Unit 6 – Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers, Ind., Natalie Johnson (teacher)

Top 5 High Schools*

First Place – Munster High School, Munster, Ind., Michael Gordon (teacher)

Second Place – Plainfield High School, Plainfield, Ind., Chris Cavanaugh (teacher)

Third Place – Fishers High School, Fishers, Ind., Liz Bailey (teacher)

Fourth Place – Covenant Christian High School, Indianapolis, Yvonne Thompson (teacher)

Fifth Place – Castle High School, Newburgh, Ind., Benjamin Fritz (teacher)

Middle School Competition

Justice Robert Rucker, Indiana Supreme Court, addressed the middle school students in the afternoon. He reminded them that “giving less than your best is a luxury that neither you nor we can afford.”

Unit 1 – Brown County Junior High School, Nashville, Ind., Doug Thomas (teacher)

Unit 2 – Wilbur Wright Middle School – Team Madison, Evansville, Ind., Jim Colias (teacher)

Unit 3 – St. Richard’s Episcopal School, Indianapolis, Andrea Neal (teacher)

Unit 4 – Wilbur Wright Middle School – Team Washington, Evansville, Ind., Jim Colias (teacher)

Unit 5 – Brown County Junior High School, Nashville, Ind., Doug Thomas (teacher)

Unit 6 – Thompkins Middle School, Evansville, Ind., Steffanie Motz (teacher)

Top 3 Middle Schools*

Brown County Junior High School, Nashville, Ind., Doug Thomas (teacher)

Wilbur Wright Middle School - Team Washington, Munster, Ind., Jim Colias (teacher)**

St. Richards School, Indianapolis, Andrea Neal (teacher)

* The top finishers in the high school and middle school competitions are not eligible for unit awards.