Democracy High

Imagine a school where you can tell the principal "no."

by Kirstin Lindermayer

It's Friday afternoon, and Marc Brasof's ninth-graders are snapping their fingers and drumming on their desks. It's not pre-weekend antsiness; they're showing whether they agree (snap) or disagree (drum roll) with a classmate about the juvenile death penalty.

"I'm for [it] because kids these days are smart and know what they're doing," one student says.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS: At Constitution High, students like Shawanda Smith (center) drafted a constitution that could result in better lunches. : Michael T. Regan

"It violates the Eighth Amendment," counters a classmate at Constitution High School, a public magnet school that opened two blocks from Independence Hall in September.

It's a specialized high school that teaches history and democratic deliberation — the art of discussing issues — along with active citizenship. In order to understand the Bill of Rights, students gave presentations about the pros and cons of hot-button issues, relevant amendments and Supreme Court decisions.

"They have been able to make a connection to an amendment. Now, they can say, 'Oh, abortion. That has to do with a woman's right to privacy, and that's the Fourth Amendment,'" explains teacher Carl Ackerman.

Students also discuss the role of government in citizens' lives, craft their own political philosophies and wrote their school constitution. Explains Brasof, "We wanted them to see the Constitution as a blueprint for government." The process was arduous, but teachers reminded students that the Founding Fathers had trouble, too.

"They needed to be frustrated," Brasof says. "They needed to walk out and come back in the room and say, 'We have a goal.'"

Ratified Nov. 16, it established a House of Students and a Faculty Senate. Joining the legislative branch is the executive branch — Principal Tom Davidson and his Cabinet — and a judicial branch. While students can't impeach the principal, a two-thirds majority of the House of Students and Faculty Senate overrides his vetoes. "It's a student government that actually has power," Ackerman says. "In most schools, they plan the prom."

Today, students are abuzz with plans to reform their own cafeteria, which serves only prepackaged food. "They're prison lunches," says student Zameer Waliyud-Din.

Students plan to propose a bill granting permission to leave school for lunch. "The goal," says Ackerman, "is that our students are taking action."

Constitution High requires 90 minutes of social studies daily — twice that of public high schools. To qualify for admission, students must write an essay and have A's, B's or C's, excellent attendance and a solid behavioral record. (To start its inaugural year, the school welcomed 98 freshmen, many of whom came from struggling middle schools. By 2009, it will have 400 students.) In an era of high-stakes testing, these students are being asked to do more than memorize information; they're being asked to stop and think.

The school has partners in both the private and public sectors. For students, the National Constitution Center, a sponsor, is their school away from school. Over the summer, it hosted a Constitutional Convention at which students selected school colors (red, white and blue), a mascot (the Generals) and a slogan ("United we stand, divided we fall"). When their building wasn't quite ready for the first two days, the students returned.

There's also New York's Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which sponsors 45 history high schools — many of which have raised test scores and send more than 90 percent of graduating seniors to college — and Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, which hopes to encourage students, especially girls and minorities, to pursue legal careers. They'll provide job shadowing, internships and lawyers to coach the mock-trial team. Such opportunities explain why debater Harry Newton is happy here. "I was underchallenged," he says of middle school. "This school is challenging, and I like a challenge."

As with all things new, Constitution High still has some kinks to massage. "I think most students really understand when you say, 'I respect your opinion, but I don't appreciate the way you're speaking to me,'" says Ackerman. "I think their first instinct is just to shout out what they think. ... We need to come from a respectful place." So for Davidson, it's one thing to envision a democratic school environment, yet quite another to live it.

"A sense of community and shared mutual purpose isn't created overnight. It's not easy for adults to do in Congress, let alone for kids," he says. "Walking around the building, seeing spirited classrooms, engaged students ... makes me proud."

(k_lindermayer@citypaper.net)