(Oklahoma City – May 13, 2009) Two fifth grade classes at Laverne Elementary recently received top honors for the fifth-eighth grade division in the We the People: Project Citizen Program sponsored by the Oklahoma Bar Association in Oklahoma City. 

Janet Cook’s fifth hour social studies class won first place for their work, titled “Repair the Road…Fix the Problem,” and her second hour class won second place for their portfolio, named “Painting the Town.”

The portfolios of the students’ work were displayed at the Oklahoma Bar Center and judged by the OBA Law-related Education Committee and LRE community volunteers.

Participating students work in teams to identify a public policy problem in their community. They research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy. The final step is the development of a portfolio to showcase their work.

“The Project Citizen program helps students see that they really can impact public policy,” said Jane McConnell, OBA law-related education coordinator. “The OBA is proud to play a part in molding Oklahoma students into responsible and involved citizens through programs like Project Citizen.”

Laverne students participating in the project were Matthew Aytes, Jeanna Baker, Tanner Bond, Marisa Burke, John Burlingham, Gabriela Castillo, Cheyenne Christensen, Cindee Deal, London DeWitt, Emalie Dominie, Devon Duvall, Tina Evans, Brayson Howard, Cede Kirkhart, Jacqueline Lara, Trenton McConnell, Zach McKee, Chey Miller, Brisa Montes, Shelbi Morland, Edgar Nunez, Colten Person, Nathaniel Rascon, Uriel Rascon and Jeremy Wingo.

The “Repair the Roads…Fix the Problem” portfolio will represent Oklahoma in the national Project Citizen competition to be held in Philadelphia July 19.

Pamela Brown’s eighth grade class at All Saints Catholic School in Norman took third place in the fifth-eighth grade division. 

The Project Citizen program is funded by a grant through the Center for Civic Education, which receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act sponsored by the United States Congress.

Project Citizen is part of the OBA’s comprehensive statewide Law-related Education (LRE) Program which is committed to emphasizing the concepts of good citizenship. Other LRE programs include teacher in-service workshops, peer mediation programs, lesson plans, library resources and anti-drug programs. LRE services for educators are free. For more information, contact the OBA/LRE Department at (405) 416-7023.