Two Boston students 'testify' before the U.S. Supreme Court

BOSTON - Two Boston Public Schools (BPS) students recently had the opportunity to learn about the U.S. Supreme Court and Constitution from the experts themselves: justices of the nation's highest court.

Moriah Smith of Dorchester, a junior at Boston Latin Academy, and Adeoye Owolewa of Roxbury, a senior at Boston Latin School, were selected to meet with justices in the marble corridors of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., as part of the Constitution Project, designed to expand understanding of the nation's democratic institutions and coordinated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Superintendent Carol R. Johnson said, "Reading about the Constitution in class and arguing the merits of cases are exciting learning experiences for students, but to be able to sit face-to-face with the justices who wrote the decisions is a wonderful opportunity for students to delve deeper into the issues facing the nation right now. Moriah and Adeoye went from learning about history to becoming a part of history."

Moriah and Adeoye were among 87 students from 34 states, plus Puerto Rico, to participate in the program this year. The group met with Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Antonin Scalia and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for a question and answer session on the Constitution. Moriah and Adeoye worked with Boston Latin School AP History teacher Wendy Holm to prepare questions for the visit.

"We are very excited that the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court saw the high caliber of students that our city schools are graduating," said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of the nation's largest urban public school systems that arranged for students to participate in the Constitution Project.

The sessions were videotaped for distribution to schools throughout the nation for use on Constitution Day 2008 through the Sunnylands Seminar DVD series, underwritten by the Annenberg Foundation Trust. The videos will join four others that are part of Sunnylands Seminars on the judicial branch. The goal of the Sunnylands project is to help students better understand the U.S. Constitution and the role an independent judiciary plays in this nation's democracy.

Moriah Smith is a member of the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) and the student representative to the Boston School Committee. Adeoye Owolewa is the President of BSAC and the alternate student representative to the School Committee. They are taking the lessons learned in Washington back to their fellow students on BSAC who can share the experience with students in high schools across the city.

Boston Public Schools students Adeoye Owolewa (center) and Moriah Smith (right) pose with Adeoye's mother, Bolade Owolewa (left), in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Adeoye and Moriah were among fewer than 100 students nationwide selected to participate in a special question and answer session on the Constitution with several Supreme Court Justices as part of the Constitution Project, coordinated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.