The latest Learning Lunch, held Tuesday at Lincoln Public Schools District Office, highlighted We the People, a program that promotes civic responsibility and knowledge about the history and principles of U.S. constitutional democracy.

Jaci Kellison, LPS K-12 social studies curriculum specialist, offered the audience an overview of the national program and how it aligns with the school district’s curriculum.

“In Lincoln Public Schools social studies courses, we use inquiry learning to prepare students to be active, engaged and informed citizens – and that’s exactly what the We the People program prepares students to be,” she said, adding that students also learn to work cooperatively as a team, manage conflict, reach consensus and speak confidently in public. 

Tuesday’s program featured students from Lincoln East High School who participate in We the People, as well as their coach, social studies teacher Kevin Rippe. The students offered a snapshot of a We the People competition, in which teams of four students participate in a simulated congressional hearing. They testify before a panel of judges acting as members of Congress – in the case of this Learning Lunch, a local attorney, university professor and representative from Civic Nebraska. 

Students offer heavily researched answers to questions such as, “What are the philosophical and historical foundations of the American political system?” and, “What challenges might face American constitutional democracy in the 21st Century?”

Roughly 100 LPS high school students participated in the recent We the People state competition, held at the University of Nebraska College of Law. In addition to East – which won for the 13th time in 15 years – students from Southeast, North Star and Southwest high schools also competed. East earned a trip to nationals with its first-place finish.

“You have something special with this team and I know you can compete favorably at nationals,” said one of Tuesday’s judges, Randy Ernst from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Southeast finished second at state and also earned a trip to nationals, held April 24-27 in Washington, D.C.