More Than 900 Indiana Students to Test Their Constitutional Knowledge at Indianapolis Finals

More than 900 Indiana students will descend on downtown Indianapolis next week to demonstrate what they know about the U.S. Constitution. They represent 14 middle schools and 14 high schools from around the state.

The Indiana Bar Foundation is hosting the state finals of the "We the People: The Citizen and Constitution" competition on Dec. 5 and 6 at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis-Downtown Union Station. Middle schools compete on the first day, and high schools follow on the second.

Tim Kalgreen, the foundation's director of civic education, said participants have spent time studying questions tied to different aspects of the Constitution. At the finals, they present their findings and arguments to a panel of judges, usually working in groups of three to five students.

Judges evaluate the teams on several measures, according to Kalgreen. These include constitutional application, participation, the supporting evidence students use, and how responsive they are to the questions posed. The students, he said, "are real experts in all aspects of the Constitution, the philosophies behind it, the creation of the Constitution, and what government actually is."

Kalgreen added that watching the students present at the competition is "really fun." The program is built on materials developed by the Center for Civic Education and is nationally acclaimed by educators.

Each participating class earned its place in the finals through regional competitions. Those events were held in Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Gary and Plainfield.

The middle schools competing on Dec. 5 are Brown County Middle School in Nashville; two teams from Carroll Middle School in Fort Wayne, led by Culbertson and Smith; Castle South Middle School in Newburgh; Fall Creek Junior High School and Fishers Junior High School, both in Fishers; and Helfrich Park STEM Academy in Evansville. Also competing are Hobart Middle School in Hobart; Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Fort Wayne; St. Malachy Catholic School in Brownsburg; Sidener Academy in Indianapolis; Union Township Middle School in Valparaiso; and Woodside Middle School in Fort Wayne.

On Dec. 6, the high school field includes Castle High School in Newburgh; Evansville North High School and the Randall T. Shepard Leadership and Law Academy, both in Evansville; Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High School, both in Fishers; and Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis. The list continues with Hobart High School in Hobart; Homestead High School in Fort Wayne; Jasper High School in Jasper; New Palestine High School in New Palestine; North Posey High School in Poseyville; and West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School in West Lafayette. Plainfield High School is sending two teams, Team Hamilton and Team Madison.