Easthampton High School’s We the People team poses after capturing its ninth straight state title.
Photo credit: We the People, Easthampton.
EASTHAMPTON — The dynasty keeps rolling on as Easthampton High School’s We the People Team has won its ninth straight state title and is now once again seeking donations from the community to help fund their trip to the national tournament in Washington D.C. this April.
Reminder Publishing visited the class on Feb. 10 to catch up with students and teachers Kelley Brown and Taylor Dadmun as they prep for the national tournament. During the visit, the team was presented with the plaque for their most recent state victory before speaking about the program’s continued success and leadership under Brown.
“Here you are, 17, 18, and your understanding about your government is probably greater than 98, 99% of the American people. Think about that. At your age, you understand what our government was meant to be by our founders and framers of our government. That’s a pretty huge statement to make. A pretty somber statement to make. And yet, you’re able to do that, and now, you’re going to continue to try and do that at the national level. I think that’s a pretty incredible opportunity for you,” said Roger Desrosiers, president of the Mass. Center for Civic Education. “I am so happy for you. Just remember, you’re building for the rest of your life. And that’s the most important gift of all.”
We the People is a curriculum and program that is offered by the Massachusetts Center for Civic Education, a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes civic education in public and private schools and communities.
Almost all of the 37 We the People students in the program are already familiar with the team, having seen its continued success while growing up in the community over the better part of the last decade.
“For me, the most exciting part is, every year, getting a new group of students who know very little about the U.S. constitution and how our government works, and watching them on that final day when they present, the joy they have in talking about what they’ve learned and why it’s important, and connecting it to things that matter to them is really special as a teacher,” Brown told Reminder Publishing.
Open to juniors and seniors, the course focuses on learning about the U.S. Constitution and governance from its philosophical origins to modern application. The course is divided into six units, where students learn about different aspects of the constitution and government studied throughout the semester. At the end of each unit, classes go through an authentic type of assessment where they participate in a mock congressional hearing.
This is ultimately what the competition is. Easthampton High School competes against other schools in the state tournament, where they have now captured nine straight championships, 10 in 13 years. They also have one national title in 2020.
Many of the We the People teammates shared similar sentiments that the course not only has helped them become more mindful of government and politics, but it has also helped improve other transferable skills, like public speaking or preparation for their work.
“I was really nervous because I don’t like public speaking, and I was like, ‘oh my god, how am I going to remember all this stuff. But once we got our unit groups, I got a lot more confidence because we practice it so much, and by the time states happened, I felt a lot more confident in my public speaking,” shared student Lily O’Connell. “I feel like Ms. Brown has done it for a super long time, so I feel like she already knows what to do. We do a lot of practice hearings, and it’s also just kind of throwing you in there without a lot of information, but once you do it, you get feedback and learn more.”
Students also expressed much gratitude for Brown and Dadmun for their teaching and support. Student Olivia Guertin said that the class definitely had its challenges, but under the leadership of Brown, it made her want to give her best effort.
Easthampton High School’s We the People team was presented a plaque from the Mass. Center for Civic Education President Roger Desrosiers on Feb. 10 for capturing this year’s state title.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
The team’s connectiveness is apparent and fostered with the help of past winners. Senior Aiden Favorite was on the team last year and has spent this year as a volunteer to assist the new We the People members in training throughout the year, continuing a pay-it-forward mentality the program sees from various former students.
“It’s a whole different experience having to teach them, but it’s really great watching them grow,” said Favorite. “It’s less work in a way because they’re doing all the studying and memorizing, but it’s also kind of more stressful because you know how much they can do and are doing.”
Fellow mentor Leia Halfacre added that it was a great experience coming back in the role and seeing students make the same growth she saw the year prior.
“The practice of speaking and trying to know what to say when you’re not expecting what questions you’re going to get, it’s more like life skills, and also just knowing about your country is an important thing. Now, when I see certain things in the news, I know what it means, and it says a lot that most people don’t,” said Halfacre. “It’s a different feeling as a mentor, too. I guess I never felt proud of somebody like this before, being young. Like people feel proud of their children, but I was just proud of how they did it. It was a cool feeling.”
The program’s growth in popularity has reached a point where practicing lawyers and scholars visit the school to prepare for the competition with the students. Students have said the class also helps them expand their own voice in discussing politics and government in the world.
“Before this, I didn’t follow politics very much, but afterwards, learning all this stuff makes me want to follow up more. I talk to my parents more. Before, I would never talk to them about politics. But after learning about it and learning what impact it has on me, it’s made me more intrigued,” said student Jake McGee.
With another trip to D.C. on the horizon, Brown said she continues to love the annual sight of seeing the growth of her students’ passion for learning about the constitution and U.S. history.
“You can tell they want to keep doing it, and to me, that provides for them a window into how they can do that for the rest of their lives,” said Brown.
Brown noted that the country’s 250th anniversary serves as an easy reflection point for a lot about what students are learning.
“I feel like it’s definitely really interesting to learn about things that people were saying hundreds of years ago and how they still apply today,” said Geurtin. “I also just think it kind of puts it into perspective. It’s 250 years of America, but that’s kind of young compared to us talking about ancient Greece or Rome, which is way before that, so I think that’s interesting.”
Brown credited her fellow teacher in the program, Dadmun, who was a student of Brown’s and partook in the We the People program at Easthampton High School.
Dadmun said the experience is always gratifying, and she is happy to be involved in the powerhouse that the program has become over the years.
“One of our mentors was asked [by a current WTP student], ‘how do you think we’re going to do?’ and he said, ‘as long as you guys do better than what we did last year, that’s what I want,’ and I think that is such an amazing thing that has been created here,” said Dadmun. “The students from last year not only are helping students learn these skills, but also they’re learning how to teach, like they’re learning how also deliver information, find information [and] give feedback. It’s a really cool thing that not only do we have students learning some of these skills, but then the next year, if they decide to come back, they themselves are still gaining so much from this program.”
Looking forward to another appearance in the national championship, Brown said students have a strong foundation heading in, but they will only go as far as their hard work and determination will take them.
“Obviously, when you get to nationals, there’s a lot of very steep competition, but I always say to them, there are just 16, 17, 18-year-olds somewhere else in the country, and right now they could be working harder than you, so work harder. that’s kind of our approach,” said Brown. “I always say to them, I will work as hard as you. I will learn with you, give you feedback, but if you’re going to ask your community to generate $70,000, you’re going to work hard and represent this community and the commonwealth with pride, and hard work and industry and all those words we use and practice. I’m excited, and they’re excited too.”
As the team is set to return to Washington D.C. on April 16-20, they are seeking donations to cover travel costs. At press time, it reached 15% of its $60,000 goal. To learn more about the team or to donate, visit sites.google.com/epsd.us/2024-easthampton-wtp/home and donate using the EHS MySchoolBucks link or QR code listed.
Brown added if people want to send a direct donation, they can send cash or a check made out to “Easthampton High School” and mail it to: Easthampton High School c/o Kelley Brown, 70 Williston Avenue, Easthampton, MA 01027.
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