Law Related Education Newsletter

Welcome to the seventh edition of LRE News! We hope this newsletter has become a useful tool to you. It was created to provide information on LRE news, programs and events for those involved with LRE programs. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome. LRE is a “one-stop” shop for teachers, SROs, pre-service teachers and attorneys. Professional development trainings are provided throughout the year on programs such as:

2010 Project Citizen Summer Institute – June 13-18, 2010 – Clemson, SC
Join us for the Project Citizen Southeast Region Institute for teachers. We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular program for elementary, middle and high school students as well as youth groups that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government. The program helps young people learn how to monitor and influence public policy (a school rule or state law). In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance and feelings of political efficacy.

This week-long professional development institute is provided at no cost to 40 participating teachers throughout the country through the generosity of the Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, California. Participating teachers will receive all of the following:

Comments from Project Citizen Institute Attendees:
“Project Citizen has taken the problem solving model to another level. My students will now have a ‘hands on’ curriculum that’s ‘fun’ and it teaches problem solving.”

“Incredibly worthwhile adventure and training. Most informative and organized training I have taken in years!”

“I came into this opportunity with eyes, ears and mind wide open. I have never done this form of class activities program before and now believe I can and will do it! Wow!”

“I loved and learned so much from this Institute. This re-enforced why I love social studies. It reflects our real lives. Thanks.”

To apply for this Institute, contact Cynthia H. Cothran at (803) 252-5139 or ccothran@scbar.org.

National History Day Celebrated in South Carolina
National History Day is an exciting educational program for middle and high school students that fosters the development of research skills and analytical thinking. Students research and develop topics of their choice that are related to an annual theme (this year it’s “Innovation in History: Impact and Change”) and present their conclusions in exhibits, performances, documentaries, Web sites or historical papers. “It’s like science fair for history, only better, because so many topics can be related to history—from arts to the sciences as well as “traditional “ history topics—and students can choose from different formats to present their research,” said Elizabeth Johnson, Director of Historical Services at the S.C. Department of Archives and History.

Archives and History has coordinated the event in South Carolina since the late 1990s, with the support of many dedicated individuals and organizations. Several thousand students participate and 300 reach the state contest held each April at the S.C. Archives and History Center in Columbia. According to Johnson, “The quality of student research is impressive. For example, some students track down inventors or politicians and interview them. Equally impressive are the technical and creative skills used to create the entries.”

Each year the South Carolina Bar presents an award for the Best Entry on the History of Legal Justice. “We are delighted to have the S.C. Bar involved with National History Day in South Carolina,” said Johnson, “and the financial support of the award can help the recipient attend the national contest held at the University of Maryland each June.”

For more information:
National History Day in South Carolina www.nhd.sc.gov
National History Day www.nhd.org
S.C. Department of Archives and History www.scdah.sc.gov

Don’t Forget About Law Day – May 1st
The 2010 Law Day theme has been selected: 21st Century: Emerging Challenges and Enduring Traditions. Please be sure to visit www.lawday.org for more details on the theme as well as downloadable artwork, lesson plans, resources, the Dialogue and more.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, the law is changing dramatically as it seeks to shape and adapt to new conditions. Economic markets are becoming global, transactions require cultural adaptation and understanding, populations are more mobile, and communication technologies such as the Internet bridge distances and time zones to form new communities around the world. In such a world, all of us must renew our commitment to the enduring principles of law, become knowledgeable about other legal systems, recognize the need to adapt our practices, and acquire new cultural understandings. In a global era, matters such as human rights, criminal justice, intellectual property, business transactions, dispute resolution, human migration and environmental regulation become not just international issues but shared concerns. Law Day 2010 provides us with an opportunity to understand and appreciate the emerging challenges and enduring traditions of law in the 21st century.

2010 ACETA Application Now Available
The 2010 American Civic Education Teacher Awards (ACETA) application is now available. Each year the ACETA program selects and showcases three teachers who have done exemplary work in preparing young people to become informed and engaged citizens. The awards are designed to recognize educators who have demonstrated a special expertise in teaching about the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Congress and public policy. These honorees are full-time, K-12 classroom teachers serving in public or private schools. ACETA recipients receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in an educational program that includes observing committee hearings in Congress, meeting members of Congress and other key officials, and visiting sites such as the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. The teachers are also honored during an awards ceremony at a major civic education conference. Applications are due February 16, 2010.
www.civiced.org/pdfs/aceta/aceta_application_2010.pdf

2010 Sprint Character Education Grant Program
Now in its third year, the Sprint Character Education Grant Program awards Sprint Foundation grants to school districts and individual schools to fund resources that facilitate and encourage character education among K-12 students. With a national reach, the program is open to all U.S. public schools (K-12) and U.S. public school districts. Applications for the 2010 Sprint Character Education Grant Program will be accepted from Jan. 4 through Feb. 5, 2010; the program will provide funding for character-education initiatives in schools and districts across the country.

In 2010, the Sprint Character Education Grant Program will award individual-school grants between $500 and $5,000 and school-district grants between $10,000 and $25,000. In 2009, the Sprint Foundation awarded more than $450,000 in combined grants to schools and school districts through this program.

“Character education is such a critical building block for our young people to become productive citizens,” said Debby Ballard, director of Community Affairs for Sprint. “But sadly, it’s an area that is woefully under-funded in many schools across the country. Through this program, the Sprint Foundation is able to provide teachers and administrators with the tools they need to develop and execute the character-education programs that will work in their classrooms.”

The Sprint Character Education Grant Program will accept applications for character-education programs that promote youth leadership, youth volunteerism, a positive school culture and address drop out prevention.

For further information, a list of previous winners and the grant application please visit: www.sprint.com/educationgrants.

60-Second Civics
The Center for Civic Education is pleased to introduce 60-Second Civics, a daily podcast that provides a quick and convenient way for listeners to learn about our nation’s government, the U.S. Constitution and American history. The podcast explores themes related to civics and government, the Constitutional issues behind the headlines, and the people and ideas that formed our nation’s history and government. To subscribe, visit www.civiced.org/rss/podcast_60second.xml.

2010 Training Catalog
The 2010 Law Related Education Training Catalog will be unveiled in January. Watch your inbox, as you don’t want to miss out on all the trainings coming your way.

LRE Awards and Recognitions
Each year, one middle school and one high school are selected as the LRE School of the Year. Winners for the LRE middle school and high school of the year are chosen based on their implementation of LRE curricula and/or programs and commitment to the principles of LRE. Each school receives a scholarship of $2,500 for use as it wishes.

There is also an award for one middle school teacher and one high school teacher to win the LRE Teacher of the Year based on their implementation of LRE curricula and/or programs and commitment to the principles of LRE. Each of these teachers receives an award of $500 for use as they wish.

High school seniors who have participated in mock trial or either of the We the People programs have the opportunity to apply for a one-time $500 scholarship to assist with higher education costs.

An award is also provided to the LRE Citizen of the Year selected based on his or her commitment to LRE programs and goals, and this recipient will receive $500 to use as he or she wishes. LRE also recognizes one LRE Attorney of the Year that is recognized in front of his/her peers at the annual House of Delegates meeting.

The winners of the statewide High School Mock Trial Competition and the We the People Competition receive some financial assistance to compete in the national competitions.

The winner of the statewide Project Citizen showcase has its portfolio displayed at the National Conference of State Legislators and is awarded a recognition of excellence.

All applications are to be post marked no later than March 19, 2010. For applications, click here.

Middle School Mock Trial – Results and BIG Thank You
The 2009 Middle School Mock Trial season has come to a close, but not before recognizing the 2009 State Champion, Forestbrook Middle School and first runner-up, North Myrtle Beach Middle School.

Congratulations and many, many thanks to the following dedicated teachers and attorneys coaches who generously gave their time and energy to mentor students that participated in the program.

Competition Dates for 2009/10
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
• Columbia, January 8, 2010

High School Mock Trial
• Regionals (Charleston Columbia, Conway & Greenville), February 27, 2010
• State (Columbia), March 12-13, 2010
• Nationals (Philadelphia, PA), May 5-9, 2010

The spotlight has stopped on…

Courtney Long
Fifth Grade Teacher
Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary
Academy for Civic Engagement (ACE)
Richland School District Two, Columbia

Courtney Long is a native of Greenville, South Carolina. She graduated from Southside High School in Greenville and went to the University of South Carolina where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She also has an MAT in Elementary Education and a MED in Divergent Learning from Columbia College.

Long resides in Richland Northeast and teaches at Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School with the Academy for Civic Engagement (ACE) Program. She teaches fifth grade in all core subjects. What she likes most about teaching is that no day is the same and the things that she teaches her students are things that they can apply to their every day life when they grow up. She also likes that she gets to be a learner all the time with her students.

Long has the proud honor of leading her class to win the state champion title for the 2009 Project Citizen State Showcase. Their state winning entry represented South Carolina at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Project Citizen annual showcase where they ranked in the “superior level,” which is the second time South Carolina has earned this ranking! The class’ entry was titled, “Styrofoam is Whack, Plastic is Back.” The project addressed the issue of using existing reusable plastic trays in place of Styrofoam trays that fill our landfills. The school was successful in that its policy proposal was adopted by the school district beginning with the 2009/10 school year. What Long likes most about Project Citizen is the power that it gives the students, how it affects their student voice and how they are truly changed as a result of participating in the program. Long now serves as a district coordinator for We the People: Project Citizen in the second Congressional district for South Carolina.

The S.C. Bar Law Related Education Division is extremely appreciative of Long’s efforts to increase civic education and action. She truly has made a positive impact on the citizens of Richland County and South Carolina as a whole.

Description: Looking for a curriculum that teaches communication and problem solving skills? Community Works is a program targeting middle and high school students that can be implemented in the classroom, after school or in most any other setting. It provides students with a practical understanding of crime and crime prevention that is useful in their everyday lives. It can function as a stand-alone program, or it can be incorporated into a classroom curriculum. The curriculum includes 31 highly interactive session, involves community resource people and includes a service learning/action project component, if desired. This curriculum not only teaches teens to be resources for each other, but to interact positively with community members.

What's New: A two-day training is scheduled for March 18-19, 2010. Click here for registration information.

Description: Elementary Mock Trial is an excellent way to begin to introduce the concepts of justice and the judiciary through fairy tale trials. We all know the stories of Goldilocks, Paul Bunyan, The Three Little Pigs and others. Through materials from the American Bar Association supplied to elementary teachers by the South Carolina Bar LRE Division, upper elementary students can learn about the courts in an interactive fashion. For the majority of the trials, there are even puppets available for checkout from the S.C. Bar LRE Division.

What’s New:The LRE Division has added many new puppets and cases to choose from when implementing Elementary Mock Trial. The Division will also come to schools that implement the program to videotape the students presenting the mock trial cases. For more information about the program, to review cases and choose puppets, click here.

Description: Foundations of Democracy is a character education curriculum created by the Center for Civic Education. The curriculum is available for grades K-12 and addresses authority, responsibility, privacy and justice. The Center for Civic Education's mission is "to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry, committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy in the United States and other countries." Students in South Carolina can benefit from this mission by becoming enlightened and active, responsible citizens while impacting the state through the implementation of this program. Through participation in this program, students will increase their basic skills of listening, speaking, writing, reading, problem analysis and awareness of the Constitution and how it is applicable to their daily lives.

What’s New: A two-day training has been scheduled for June 16-17, 2010, in Columbia. Interested in starting this program at your school? Click here for registration information.

Description: The High School Mock Trial Program is a hands-on exercise in learning about due process. It is most often conducted as an extracurricular activity but can also be incorporated into law, forensics or public speaking classes.

What’s New: The record has been broken! There are 52 teams registered to compete in the 2010 High School Mock Trial regional competitions set for February 27. It is exciting to report that the two-day state competition will be held at the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse in downtown Columbia.

Do your students have questions? Do they need answers? Don’t let the students go through life without knowing about this fabulous online program for kids. LawForKids.org is a Web site dedicated to teaching children about the law. It was created with the specific goal of educating South Carolina’s youth, parents, communities and schools about the law and to encourage lawful behavior. The site includes an interactive forum through which students may anonymously ask questions about the law and receive correct, factual information from volunteer attorneys.

Access to the Web site is free and adapted for South Carolina youth. There are quizzes, interactive games, cartoons, comics, law documents, links to other law related education Web sites and a searchable database on South Carolina law and how it affects young people. Students will find the Web site helpful for research projects and homework assignments, but can also use the site to play games and hear first-hand from their peers about law related incidents and how to best handle various situations.

To access the Web site, visit www.LawForKids.org. Click “other states” in the top right corner of the home page, and then select South Carolina on the U.S. map. Users will then have the option of making the South Carolina site their permanent home page.

Description: The Middle School Mock Trial Program is a hands-on exercise in learning about due process. It is a team activity program that is most often conducted as an extracurricular activity, but can also be incorporated into law, forensics or public speaking classes.

What’s New: If you thought that mock trial was only for high school, then you thought wrong! The 2009 Middle School Mock Trial season just came to a close with a total of 42 schools participating.

North Myrtle Beach Middle School was the runner-up. Participating students included Ryan Carini, Brady Chandler, Shannon Cherney, Hannah Edge, Taylor Evans, Macey Freeman, Ariyana Gore, Taylor Gerland, Chaz Graham, Brooke Hagler, Harley Long, Satondra McCoy, Jarrett McCray, Taylor Moon, Bailey Phillips and Candace Roberts. Teacher coaches were Brenda Kidd, Colleen Taylor, Susan Hamilton and Candace Lane. Attorney coaches were Melissa Frazier and Melanie Nicholson.

Students presented the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious case before a panel of local volunteer lawyers. Additionally, students filled the roles of witnesses and bailiff. Each team was judged on its presentation skills, rather than the legal merits of the case.

Interested in starting this program at your school? Click here for more information.

Description: We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular program for elementary, middle and high school students as well as youth groups that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government. The program helps young people learn how to monitor and influence public policy (a school rule or state law). In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance and feelings of political efficacy.

What’s New: The 2010 showcase of all complete Project Citizen entries is scheduled for April 15, 2010. In-school presentation dates can be scheduled any time during the school leading up to the April 15 showcase. Judging of in-school presentations can be arranged with Cynthia H. Cothran at (803) 252-5139 or ccothran@scbar.org.

Interested in starting this program at your school? Click here for dates and registration information for trainings.

Description: Street Law is a course in practical law. It was designed to provide students with knowledge of what to do when confronted with a legal problem. Information is presented through student-centered activities that enable teens to develop as effective citizens. Most often, Street Law, is taught as a one-semester social studies elective or in place of a government course. The curriculum can also be used by teachers of a practical business law class. The curriculum is correlated to the state standards and is on the SC textbook adopted list. The curriculum includes a teacher's manual as well as test banks.

What’s New: A Street Law training for teacher and SRO teams is scheduled for March 24-25, 2010. Click here for registration information.

Description: We the People is an in-depth study of American history with an emphasis on understanding the formation of the Constitution and its interpretation throughout history. Students compete in a mock congressional hearing and discuss critical issues regarding American government, the founding fathers and current events based on a constitutional perspective.

What’s New: Teams from across the state will be competing in the 2009/10 We the People state competition on Friday, January 8, 2010, at the Darla Moore School of Business. Students will be participating in two mock congressional hearing rounds. The winner of the state competition will represent South Carolina at the national We the People competition in Washington, DC on April 24-27, 2010.

To register for a FREE two-day training, click here for dates and registration information.

Description: Do you know what one of the fastest growing youth diversion programs in the nation is? The answer is Youth Court. There are 35 separate youth courts serving many different communities and schools throughout South Carolina. In communities, Youth Court is a juvenile diversion option intended to keep young people with no criminal record out of the juvenile justice system, allowing them a second chance to maintain their clean juvenile records. In schools, Youth Court can handle actual criminal offenses in which the school resource officer is involved, or it can be inserted into the discipline code to handle violations of school rules. Youth Court functions like a traditional court with all the key roles in place. The difference is that all of those roles are played by youth.

What’s New: With the reinvigoration of the South Carolina Youth Court Association, the S.C. Bar now serves as a clearinghouse for information and a resource for reaching the S.C. Youth Court Association. For a list of Youth Court publications held by the Bar, please e-mail Donald Lanier at dlanier@scbar.org.