By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org
This past weekend, East Kentwood High School added another state championship to its list of awards as the school’s We the People team brought home the top honor.
On Jan. 6, the Michigan Center for Civic Education hosted the We the Students: Michigan’s We the Program State Showcase. By a narrow lead, East Kentwood, lead by high school teacher and We the Pepple head coach Justin Robbins, beat out East Grand Rapids, and earned the honor of representing Michigan in the national Center for Civic Education’s We the People competition, which is set for April 22-24 in Washington DC.
We the People is an educational process which aims to enable students to learn about and address a range of governance-related issues, culminating in competitions to present at simulated congressional hearings.
This will be East Kentwood’s third consecutive trip to the national competition and its first as the State Champion from Michigan since 2010.
Along with the overall state championship title, there units in the group also won state championships in their content.
Bianca Bancifra, Maggie Fisher, Keaton Nguyen, and Sara Shapin, who are Unit 1, won for their knowledge of high law, colonial charters, and rights in common law.
Amira Hamilton, Dewaynia English, Connor Shaw, and Sophie Gemmen, who are Unit 2, won for their knowledge on the Articles of Confederation and the impact of slavary on the Constitution.
Lucy Fornetti, Mary Johnakech, and Owen Lawrence, who are Unit 6, won for their knowledge of privileges and immunities of citizens, immigration, and civic responsibilities in a republic.
The team also includes Dependra Bhattarai, Mollie Croskey, Rishta Tamang, Collin Terry, Drew Dame, Rebecca Moore, Mike Nguyen, Elleana Strehl, Ebise Tarekegn, and McKenna VanOveren.
Volunteer coaches are Ahjah Bailey-O’Conner, Tyler Buck, Ava Chatlosh, Eric Dubois, Branden Graf, Ken Orzanich, Justin Robbins, Mike Traywick, and Avalon Wieczorek.
