The Arcadia High School Constitution Team won its second state championship in three years today (Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012).
The 30-member team of AHS seniors were heading home from the two-round competition in Bakersfield Saturday evening.
Advanced Placement Government teacher Kevin Fox, talking from his cell phone on the bus with the team, said it was an “amazing team effort,” with the six student units competing twice today and remaining “consistent across both rounds.”
The team will represent California at the national Constitution Team competition in April in Washington, D.C. It will be the second national competition since the AHS team won the national championship in 2010, under Fox, now in his 13th year. Arcadia High School has won five state championships overall.
Topic areas of focus for the AHS team today involved the Occupy movement, due process, and how the Constitution might provide for a more limited government in the future. Fox said the team received high praise from judges for their conversational style and passion for the topics. They also appreciated how they demonstrated how the history of the country lays a road map for the future. Judges were also impressed that students even referenced an Op-Ed piece in today’s New York Times.
The team left Friday afternoon for Bakersfield, where the local Centennial team, a perennial contender, came in second place.
Fox also praised volunteer coaches including Mayor GaryKovacic, Jim Romo, Bob Garrett, Megan Leahy, Carl Nielsen, and Karyn McKreary.
— By Scott Hettrick