Show Me the Constitution: Missouri High School Students Compete in New Missouri Bar Program

More than 50 high school students from across Missouri participated Monday in The Missouri Bar’s first ever Show Me the Constitution state competition at the State Capitol Building in Jefferson City. Students presented papers and answered questions about subjects such as Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Magna Carta. Students were scored on their written responses as well as answers to questions on a given subject area.

The 2015-16 school year was the pilot year for the program, with seven schools participating. Those schools and their participating social studies teachers were:

• Calvary Lutheran High School, Jefferson City—Denise Crider;
• Center High School, Kansas City—Alec Chambers;
• Central High School, Springfield—Joel Slingerland;
• Cole Camp High School—Carrie Homan;
• Jefferson R-VII High School, Festus—Trish Baumgartner;
• Kingston High School, Cadet—Ben Strauser; and
• Nixa High School—Greg Walker.

 Schools with the top three scores were recognized and given a cash award from The Missouri Bar Foundation to go towards the purchase of civics education curriculum materials.  The winning teams were:

• The first place $1,000 winner was Nixa High School. Students representing Nixa High School were Madalyn Foley, Jarrod Griffin and Barrett Young.
• The second place $750 winner was Central High School from Springfield, Mo. Students representing Central High School were Anubhav Garg, Terra Maslak-Hoppper, Amanda Morrison and Quinlan Pulleyking.
• The third place $500 winner was Cole Camp High School. Students representing Cole Camp High School were Darian Burton and Savannah Dieckmann.

Show Me the Constitution is an authentic assessment simulation, which replicates the Congressional committee hearing process used by Congress and the Missouri General Assembly. The primary goal of this simulation is to promote a greater personal understanding of the U.S. Constitution through a statewide competition. This simulated assessment fosters a greater understanding of the content and philosophy of the U.S. Constitution as well as its application to current issues facing our country. The competition is open to all students in Grades 9-12 from any public, private or parochial school in Missouri.