We The People

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Comments from Teachers

This was the most amazing PD I’ve ever been a part of. It revolutionized my civics instruction and helped me accomplish something I didn’t know I was capable of pulling off. I had the time of my life implementing the mock congressional hearing with my students and cannot wait to do this again!"

It was one of the best professional developments I have ever attended. The content was stimulating, the participants were interesting and the state coordinators were very helpful - I would highly recommend it to any history and/or government teacher."

This was the BEST PD in my nearly 20-year career as a social studies teachers, thank you!"

I think James Madison would be proud. :)"

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution provides an understanding of the political philosophy underlying our Constitution and Bill of Rights and their impact in history and relevance to current-day issues. The materials include critical thinking exercises and activities and cooperative learning techniques to develop participatory skills, while increasing student knowledge of the institutions of American constitutional democracy. There is a culminating activity in the format of simulated legislative hearings with the opportunity for high school classes to compete in an annual state (and national) competition.

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is a program of the Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, CA. It is coordinated in New Jersey by the New Jersey Center for Civic Education.

The instructional program enhances the students' understanding of government and American constitutional democracy. At the same time the students discover the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The optional culminating activity is a simulated congressional hearing (See below) in which the students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles. The students have the opportunity to evaluate, take, and defend positions on relevant historical and contemporary issues. The 2026-2027 New Jersey State Finals Hearings will be held on January 19, 2027 at the Busch Campus Center, Rutgers University, Piscataway. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

Independent studies reported that students who use the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution materials outperform other students on political knowledge and philosophy and were more politically tolerant than students who use traditional textbooks and teaching approaches.

At the 2024-2025 annual New Jersey State We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition for high schools, East Brunswick High School placed first and represented New Jersey at the National We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Competition in April. Montclair High School finished second with a strong performance.

Students from Bayonne High School, Marlboro High School, Steinert High School, and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North have demonstrated their knowledge of the Constitution and American government in past competitions.

Format

Congress has formed a congressional committee to examine the U.S. Constitution and the purposes of government.
The students will prepare and testify before the simulated congressional committee as expert witnesses on the Constitution.

Preparation

Form teams: 3-6 students for each of the units.
Each team works collaboratively to prepare answers to all the questions for the unit.
Students review materials in the We the People textbook and research other material prepare 4-minute written responses to the questions for each unit and get ready to answer follow-up questions
The teacher selects 3 people (other teachers, administrators, or members from the community) to serve as “legislators” or judges for each unit

Hearing (10 minutes per question)

Teams of students orally respond to questions (notes can be used) for 4 minutes.
members ask students follow-up questions and students respond (no notes allowed) for 6 minutes.
Panel members assess the prepared oral presentation and the responses to the follow-up questions using the rubrics

WE THE PEOPLE WORKSHOP FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, DECEMBER 9, 2025, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

The classroom materials are designed to be user-friendly to students with a wide range of abilities and may be used as a core or supplemental text for a full semester of study.

Critical thinking exercises, problem-solving activities, cooperative learning and simulated legislative hearings help develop intellectual and participatory skills. The materials are easily integrated into a civics, U.S. History or U.S. Government class, or as a stand-alone curriculum.

Classroom sets of We the People materials, which include 30 student textbooks and a teacher's guide, may be ordered by going to http://store.civiced.org

An ebook is now available for high schools. If you are interested in considering these materials you can have free 28-day access to the We the People ebook by going to http://civiced.org/resources/publications/ebooks

Here are the slides from the March 2025 We the People workshop: We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution

East Brunswick High School, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution State Winner, 2024-25

East Brunswick High School We the People The Citizen and the Constitution State Winner 2018-19

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution

36th Annual New Jersey State Simulated Legislative Hearings for High School Students

we the people

Date: January 25, 2023 Location: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Busch Campus Center, Piscataway, NJ

Sponsored by: The New Jersey Center for Civic Education

A project of the Center for Civic Education, established in 1987 under the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Schedule of Events

8:30–9:00 a.m. — Registration Fireside Lounge (outside Multipurpose Room)
9:00–9:15 a.m. — Opening Ceremony Multipurpose Room, Busch Campus Center Welcome: Arlene Gardner, President, Board of Directors, New Jersey Center for Civic Education Guest Speaker: Dr. Benjamin Dworkin, Director, Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship, Rowan University
9:30 a.m.–11:50 a.m. — Simulated Legislative Hearings Busch Campus Center Meeting Rooms:
- Bayonne High School — Center Hall
- East Brunswick High School — Room 116
- Marlboro High School — Room 120
- Montclair High School — Room 122
- West Windsor-Plainsboro High School — Room 117
- Judges Conference Rooms — Rooms 115 and 118
12:00–1:30 p.m. — Lunch and Awards Multipurpose Room, Busch Campus Center Keynote Address: Dr. Elizabeth Matto, Director, Center for Youth Political Participation, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

Hearing Schedule Matrix

Time	Bayonne High School Center Hall	East Brunswick High School Room 116	West Windsor-Plainsboro North Room 117	Marlboro High School Room 120	Montclair High School Room 122
9:30–9:45	Unit 3	Unit 4	Unit 5	Unit 6	Unit 1
9:50–10:05	Unit 2	Unit 3	Unit 4	Unit 5	Unit 6
10:10–10:25	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3	Unit 4	Unit 5
10:30–10:45	Unit 6	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3	Unit 4
10:50–11:10	BREAK
11:15–11:30	Unit 5	Unit 6	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3
11:35–11:50	Unit 4	Unit 5	Unit 6	Unit 1	Unit 2

Panels of Judges

UNIT ONE: What were the philosophical and historical foundations of the American political system?

Noel Baxter — Social Studies Supervisor, Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools
Dr. Benjamin Dworkin — Director, Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship, Rowan University
Christine Hladky — Teacher, Madison High School, Madison

UNIT TWO: How did the framers create the Constitution?

Hank Bitten — Executive Director, New Jersey Council for the Social Studies
Dr. James Masschaele — Executive Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University
Viola Lordi, Esq.

UNIT THREE: How has the Constitution been changed to further the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence?

Peter Mazzagatti — New Jersey Department of Education
Shea Richardson — Social Studies Supervisor, East Orange Public Schools
William Robertson, Esq. — DiFrancesco Bateman law firm

UNIT FOUR: How have the values and principles embodied in the Constitution shaped American institutions and practices?

Nicole Ferrante — Social Studies Supervisor, Mount Laurel Public Schools
Dr. Elizabeth Matto — Director, Center for Youth Political Participation, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University
Patricia Supplee — Monmouth County League of Women Voters, Energizing Young Voters

UNIT FIVE: What rights does the Bill of Rights protect?

Jesse Burns — Executive Director, New Jersey League of Women Voters
Louis Miron, Esq.
John Terry — Social Studies Supervisor, Bernards Township Public Schools

UNIT SIX: What challenges might face American constitutional democracy in the 21st century?

Gordon Golum, Esq. — Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer law firm
Jonathan Miller — Teacher, J.P. Stevens High School, Edison
Ashley Woolsey-Greene — New Jersey Department of Education

Participants

Bayonne High School, Bayonne

Instructor: Patricia Wyskowski

Joyce Azzer, Iman Baig, Jomana Bebawi, David Bekiet, Mia Bernardo, Mehraiil Bessady, Jason Chen, Brandon Crispino, Giselle Davis, Mariam Dosouki Mohamed, Elizabeth D'Rozario, Farida Gadalla, Mariam Gerges, Jerom Ghaly, Bogdan Gridniev, David Gu, John Guirguis, Selmaan Hadiouche, Anastasia Jones, Abigail Kadir, Mahekdeep Kaur, Melissah Keronche, Tyla Martin-Moore, Erin McCullough, Meriem Mechti, Eithan Mejia Matos, Jessica Naeim, Justin Safner, Viroun Salib, Disha Sarran, Fatimah Shousha, Mariam Sobhy, Muyang Wang, Camisha Williams, Jordan Young Freire

East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick

Instructor: Marc Mondry

Twinkal Barai, Shreya Bhardwaj, Helena Blivaiss, Ziad Burghli, Avery Chen, Bailey Cuomo, Burhanuddin Danish, Simon Emmanuel, Xuheng (Leo) Fang, Tiffany Flax, Chahel Katoch, Caroline Kelly, Jasmine Mehta, Ethan Miller, Dhihita Nishanth, Justin Ockun, Tanmay Parikh, Riley Seaver, Amanda Sun, Olivia Woodard

Marlboro High School, Marlboro

Instructor: Eric Yang

Benjamin Bodner, Jake Bono, Josiah Carter, Nicholas Casale, Ishan Dutta, Elizabeth Glozman, Michael Gundersen, Gen Guzzardo, Christian Hegarty, Ariyana Hussain, Ali Hussein, Chandni Patel, Miles Richardson, Aaran Robinson, Roman Salygin, Haaniah Syed Ali, Gaby Velazquez, Nanditha Vinod, Leana Vitale, Sika Vrlaku, Juliana Zisel

Montclair High School, Montclair

Instructor: William Wingren

Lola Adeyeye, Georgia Aishton, Gael Barker, Zoe Barrack, Charlie Benson, Liz Blaine, Alex Broduer, Anna Brubaker, Cavallaro Callum, Daniela Dreifach, Roxana Foroughi, Thaddeus Harris, Will Hojegian, Kaira Kapila, Jaimee Keys, Justin Kloiber, Alec Kuzyk, Benjamin Linietsky, Matthew MacDonald, Bella Moreno, Belay-Ejigu Peniel, Eric Pittman, Juniper Shelley, Jasper Spoor, Thomas Stanton, Salif Traore, Zachary Troeller, Levi Wassermann

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro

Instructor: Albert Paulsson

Sruthi Anupuru, Masingita Baloyi, Tanya Chatterjee, Mackenzie Denuto, Dhriti Goudar, Jahnavi Gupta, Vrinda Kantamaneni, Andrea Lu, Naomi Sheth, Taksheel Suryarao, Julien Thiberge, Alex Varnavas

Staff & Officials

Facilitator: Robert O’Dell (Executive Director, New Jersey Center for Civic Education)

Scorer: Scot Guempel, CPA

Timekeepers: Scot Guempel, Jessica Han, Robert Magliozzi, Aabir Rashid, Craig Uplinger

schedule we the people

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is the largest civic education program in the country. Established in 1987 under the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, it is administered by the Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, CA.

Students throughout the state prepare for the state hearing by completing a semester instructional program using the We the People text. Each student then becomes fully conversant with one of the six units in the text and testifies at simulated legislative hearings on each unit. Each class competes within the school, school district, and/or congressional district. During the state hearings, students are assessed on the following criteria: understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness, and participation.

The New Jersey Center for Civic Education is located at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in Piscataway, NJ. Dedicated to enhancing the teaching of civics, law, justice, history, government, and humanities in New Jersey’s K-12 schools, the Center offers professional development programs for teachers and civic education programs for students.

Programs

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal