Tosa West 'We the People' team wins state

Wauwatosa West High School's "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" team won the Wisconsin state championship for the seventh consecutive time in competition this month.

Competing against teams from across Wisconsin at the Marquette University Law School on Jan. 12, West High School won the right to represent Wisconsin at the national "We the People" competition in Washington, D.C., in April.

"We the People" is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and hosted by Civics in Wisconsin.

The program is designed to spur broader understanding of politics and public affairs among high school students. The competition takes the form of simulated congressional hearings that consist of oral presentations by students before panels of judges.

The national finals are held on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. High school classes qualify for the national championship by placing first in their congressional district and state competitions.

The West team members, all juniors, are Nina Best, Nolan Billstrom, Sabrina Black, Samuel Frederick, Annalise Ho, Abhishek Janardan, Katherine Janiszewski, Kady Johnson, Julia Kennedy, Alexander Kirtley, Kristianna Klammer, Charles Koepp, Halle Lambeau, Sarah Lau, Michelle Lei, Dominic Longo, Tessa Mallegni, Brendan Michael, Juhi Mody, Henry Morgan, Sarah Mraz, Jacob Ng, Sarah Overholt, Deanna Ross, Mark Salamone, Alexander Stanisic, Nicholas Stanisic, Ashley Summers, Lydia Wehrley and Emelia Zaeske.

Chad Mateske teaches the American Public Policy Special Emphasis class that prepares the students. Mateske is assisted by senior teaching assistants Marena Leisten and Emily Schaefer and community mentors Mark Young and Tom Schneck.