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National Finals

The winning high school from the Virginia We the People State Finals is invited to represent Virginia at the We the People National Finals each April. Should the state-winning team decline to participate in National Finals, the invitation goes to the second-place team. We also occasionally are able to take a wild card team to Nationals. Virginia has historically done very well at the National Finals, making it to the top 10 nationally every year but one over the last 22 years. We have claimed the National Champion title three times!

Middle schools may choose to compete at the We the People National Invitational, where Virginia has also taken top honors in multiple years.

2020 Results (the 2020 We the People National Challenge took place virtually)

1st Place: Massachusetts – Easthampton High School – Easthampton
2nd Place: Oregon – Lincoln High School – Portland
3rd Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2019 Results

2019 We the People National Finals
Maggie L. Walker Governors School: 5th Place
Douglas Freeman High School: 6th Place

SPECIAL UNIT AWARD: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School
Sponsored by the John F. Tinker Foundation, this award is presented to the class with the highest score on Unit 5, Question 3.

2019 We the People National Invitational
Rachel Carson Middle School: 3rd Place
J.T. Henley Middle School: Unit 3 and Unit 6 Champions

2018 Results

1st Place: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland
2nd Place: California (Wild Card) – Foothill High School – Pleasanton
3rd Place: Oregon (Wild Card) – Lincoln High School – Portland

5th Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2017 Results

1st Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
2nd Place: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland
3rd Place: Indiana – Cathedral High School – Indianapolis

6th Place: Virginia (Wild Card) – Douglas S. Freeman High School – Henrico

2016 Results

1st Place: Oregon – Lincoln High School – Portland
2nd Place: Colorado – Denver East High School – Denver
3rd Place: Oregon (Wild Card) – Grant High School – Portland

5th Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2015 Results

1st Place: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland
2nd Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
3rd Place: Virginia (Wild Card) – Douglas S Freeman High School – Henrico

2014 Results

1st Place: Oregon -Lincoln High School – Portland
2nd Place: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton
3rd Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2013 Results

1st Place: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland
2nd Place: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton
3rd Place: Colorado – Denver East High School – Denver

Southeastern States Regional Champion: Virginia – Douglas S. Freeman High School – Henrico

2012 Results

1st Place: Oregon – Lincoln High School – Portland
2nd Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
3rd Place: California – Arcadia High School – Arcadia

2011 Results

1st Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
2nd Place: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton
3rd Place: New Jersey – East Brunswick High School – East Brunswick

2010 Results

1st Place: California – Arcadia High School – Arcadia
2nd Place: Alabama – Vestavia Hills High School – Vestavia Hills
3rd Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2009 Results

1st: Colorado – East High School – Denver
2nd: Alabama – Vestavia Hills High School – Vestavia Hills
3rd: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton

4th Place: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2008 Results

1st: Colorado – East High School – Denver
2nd: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
3rd: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland

2007 Results

1st: Colorado – East High School – Denver
2nd: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton
3rd: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland

5th: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2006 Results

1st: New Jersey – East Brunswick High School – East Brunswick
2nd: California – Amador Valley High School – Pleasanton
3rd: Colorado – East High School – Denver

6th: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2005 Results

1st: New Jersey – East Brunswick High School – East Brunswick
2nd: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland
3rd: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond

2004 Results

1st: New Jersey – East Brunswick High School – East Brunswick
2nd: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
3rd: Oregon – Grant High School – Portland

2003 Results

1st: Virginia – Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Richmond
2nd: Florida – Our Lady of Lourdes Academy – Miami
3rd: New Jersey – East Brunswick High School – East Brunswick

Emily Voss

Emily Voss comes to civic education from the museum world, where she was passionate about making museums relevant to the modern world. She currently serves as the Manager of National Programs for the Center for Civic Education. Prior to that, she served as the Education Director at the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier where she spent the past decade developing programs for adult professionals that invited engagement with America’s founding documents. She served as the Virginia State Coordinator of the We the People program for 10 years and is a co-founder of Virginia Civics. Emily holds a BA in History from Gettysburg College, and an MA in Museum Education from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (SUNY). She and her family currently reside in central Virginia.

Co-Executive Director & Chief Programs Officer

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Jen Patja

Jen Patja has dedicated her career to strengthening constitutional self-government through her work with Virginia Civics, the Center for Civic Education, and Montpelier’s Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution, where she served as Deputy Director. Jen is a co-founder of Virginia Civics, and serves as a House of Delegates-appointed member of the Virginia Commission on Civic Education, a state legislative commission. She is the producer and editor of “Rational Security,” a weekly foreign policy and national security roundup, and “The Lawfare Podcast,” a daily audio production in cooperation with the Brookings Institution. Jen has held teaching and research positions at the University of Virginia, most notably in Criminology and the school’s University Internship Program with the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. She received her master’s in Sociology from the University of Virginia, and a bachelor’s in English from the University of California, Berkeley.

Co-Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer

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Amelia Bochain

Amelia Bochain has devoted her professional life to effective social studies education that fosters civil discourse. As a classroom teacher for nine years, she implemented project-based learning that focused on civic engagement and encouraging effective discussion skills. She is particularly passionate about the We the People program, where she coached teams that placed in regional, state, and national competitions.

State Coordinator

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