CONSTITUTING AMERICA INC

GEORGE WASHINGTON SPEAKING INITIATIVE FOR SCHOOLS & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL CHATS PODCAST AT NO COST TO THE SCHOOLS OR CIVIC GROUPS, OUR CONSTITUTING AMERICA SPEAKING TEAM, COMPRISED OF STAFF, BOARD MEMBERS, VETERANS AND AWARD WINNING TEACHERS REGULARLY SPEAK AT SCHOOLS, TEACHER CONFERENCES, CIVIC GROUPS AND SENIOR CENTERS, EDUCATING STUDENTS AND CITIZENS IN A NON- PARTISAN WAY ABOUT THE RELEVANCY OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, HOW TO APPLY IT TO THEIR LIVES AND COUNTRY AND "HOW TO HAVE A CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION" WITH EACH OTHER AND WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY. WE ALSO INFORM STUDENTS ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER OUR "WE THE FUTURE" CONTEST AND WIN SCHOLARSHIP PRIZES, MENTOR TRIPS AND NATIONAL EXPOSURE. IN CALENDAR YEAR 2023 THANKS TO GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE DIANA DAVIS SPENCER FOUNDATION, THE DANIELS FUND, THE DUDDLESTEN FOUNDATION, THE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION AND THE ANSCHUTZ FOUNDATION, CONSTITUTING AMERICA CONTINUED OUR UNPRECEDENTED SCALE UP OF OUR SCHOOL SPEAKING PROGRAM, CULMINATING IN A RECORD-SETTING 461 SPEECHES IN OVER 125 SCHOOLS IN 13 STATES (TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, COLORADO, UTAH, ARKANSAS, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, INDIANA, OHIO, KANSAS, MICHIGAN ), ENGAGING AND INFORMING MORE THAN 15,000 STUDENTS. DURING THE INTERACTIVE TALKS UTILIZING THE SOCRATIC METHOD, CONSTITUTING AMERICA REPRESENTATIVES TAKE STUDENTS THROUGH AN AGE-APPROPRIATE CONSTITUTION QUIZ AS A TEMPLATE FOR SOCRATIC DISCUSSIONS AND APPLICATIONS TO THEIR OWN LIVES. CLIPS OF STUDENTS' WINNING WORKS SUCH AS WINNING PSAS ARE SHOWN AS A PEER-TO-PEER TEACHING TOOL AND INSPIRATION. STUDENTS WIN PRIZES AND ARE INVITED TO ENTER CONSTITUTING AMERICA'S "WE THE FUTURE" CONTEST. WE CONSISTENTLY SHOW AN INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE THROUGH PRE AND POST-TESTING AS A RESULT OF OUR CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS. EXAMPLE: ON AVERAGE, STUDENTS WENT FROM HAVING 6/10 ANSWERS CORRECT ON OUR PRE-TEST TO HAVING 9/10 ANSWERS ON THE POST-TEST CORRECT. IN LATE 2020 WE RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE HATTON W. SUMNERS FOUNDATION TO BRING OUR "HOW TO HAVE A CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION" PROGRAM TO OKLAHOMA SCHOOLS AND WE BEGAN IMPLEMENTING THAT PROGRAM IN 2021 AND CONTINUED INTO 2023 WITH 99 PRESENTATIONS IN 16 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO MORE THAN 2,920 STUDENTS. IN THIS HIGH IMPACT PROGRAM, STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO READ AND EXAMINE BOTH SIDES OF A CURRENT NATIONAL ISSUE, GLEAN PERTINENT AND FACTUAL INFORMATION, AND DISCUSS COMPLICATED AND DIVISIVE ISSUES WITH THEIR PEERS AND FELLOW CITIZENS IN A PRODUCTIVE AND CIVIL MANNER. DESIGNED WITH POLLING AND FOCUS GROUP DATA IN MIND FROM OUR 2018 POLL OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, WE TEACH STUDENTS CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION TOOLS WITH A VIDEO PRODUCED BY CONSTITUTING AMERICA FEATURING OUR "WE THE FUTURE" CONTEST WINNERS. WE THEN GIVE STUDENTS ACTUAL EXPERIENCE UTILIZING THESE TOOLS AS THEY READ ARTICLES FROM THE "OTHER SIDE," OF THEIR PREDISPOSED ISSUE POSITION. STUDENTS THEN WORK WITH FELLOW STUDENTS TO FIND COMMON GROUND AND CREATE A BILL TO PRESENT TO THEIR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. EXAMPLES OF ISSUES STUDENTS HAVE DISCUSSED INCLUDE THE ISSUE OF BUILDING A WALL AT OUR COUNTRY'S SOUTHERN BORDER; GUN CONTROL; CLIMATE CHANGE; WHETHER OR NOT MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE SHOULD OWN GUNS; AND WHETHER OR NOT STUDENTS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR CELLPHONES IN SCHOOL, FREE COLLEGE, VOTING AGE AND STANDARDIZED TESTING. WE MEASURE THE IMPACT OF "HOW TO HAVE A CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION" WITH STUDENT SURVEYS CONDUCTED FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF THE EXERCISE. BEFORE GIVING OUR CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION PRESENTATION, NEARLY A THIRD OF THE STUDENTS WE SURVEYED SAID IT IS HARD TO HEAR AN OPINION THAT DIFFERS FROM THEIR OWN (29%). A SIMILAR TREND FOLLOWED WITH 36% SAYING IT'S HARD FOR THEM TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES DIFFERENTLY THAN THEM ON A HOT TOPIC. AND EVEN MORE STUDENTS (38%) STATED THEY HAD NEVER STUDIED THE OPPOSING SIDE OF AN ISSUE THEY BELIEVE IN. ADDITIONALLY, MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE STUDENTS (69%) SAID THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW CONGRESS WRITES A BILL. AFTER GIVING OUR CIVIL CIVIC CONVERSATION PRESENTATION, 87% OF THE STUDENTS SAID THEY WERE MORE WILLING TO LISTEN TO A VIEWPOINT THAT DIFFERS FROM THEIRS. 80% SAID THEY FEEL BETTER PREPARED TO DISCUSS CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES WITH FRIENDS AND 84% SAID THEY WERE MORE OPEN TO LEARNING ABOUT OPPOSING POINTS OF VIEW. MORE THAN HALF OF THE STUDENTS (56%) SAID THEY PLAN TO CHANGE THE WAY THEY CONSUME NEWS STORIES AND 77% OF THE STUDENTS SAID THEY FELT THEY COULD BETTER APPRECIATE HOW CONGRESS SHOULD COMPROMISE NOW. AS ANOTHER WAY TO SERVE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC, WE BEGAN OUR LIVE CONSTITUTIONAL CHATS PODCAST SERIES IN MARCH 2020, AND HAVE CONTINUED THIS PROGRAM, WITH IT GROWING EVERY YEAR. IN 2023 WE HELD 47 LIVE STREAMING PRESENTATIONS VIEWED BY 9,000+ LIVE AUDIENCE MEMBERS (MANY OF WHOM ARE STUDENTS WATCHING FROM CLASSROOMS AND HOMESCHOOL VENUES), BRINGING OUR TOTAL PROGRAM REACH SINCE INCEPTION TO MORE THAN 200 LIVE PODCASTS TO MORE THAN 31,000 LIVE VIEWERS, WITH OVER 700,000 LISTENS ON POPULAR PODCAST PLATFORMS, TAKING OUR TOTAL PODCAST LISTENS TO 750,000. 94.5% OF ATTENDEES REPORT LEARNING SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION, WHILE 98.9% "FIND THIS WAY OF LEARNING ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION FUN AND INFORMATIVE.

ADULT ACADEMIC FORUM - 90 DAY STUDIES TO ENGAGE ADULTS IN A THOUGHTFUL AND INFORMATIVE DISCUSSION ON AMERICA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES AND TO AID PARENTS IN TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION, CONSTITUTING AMERICA LAUNCHED THE "HISTORY HOLDS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE" INITIATIVE. THIS INITIATIVE IS AN ONLINE FORUM THAT CHALLENGES ADULTS TO JOIN WITH OTHERS AROUND THE NATION IN READING AND DISCUSSING FOUNDING DOCUMENTS. THE PROGRAM IS AUGMENTED BY A NOTABLE GROUP OF CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO WRITE DAILY ESSAYS ON THE DAY'S ASSIGNED READING. THE 2023 TOPIC WAS "FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING: TIMELESS EXCHANGES AND IDEAS RESULTING IN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION." THE 90 ESSAYS COMPRISING THE STUDY WERE AUTHORED BY 30 DIFFERENT CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARS, HISTORIANS, AND ELECTED OFFICIALS AND WERE VIEWED 1.7 MILLION TIMES. THESE ESSAYS JOIN OUR 12 PAST 90-DAY STUDIES FOR A TOTAL OF 1,426 ESSAYS BY 213 NATIONALLY KNOWN CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARS, HISTORIANS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. OUR PAST 90-DAY STUDIES INCLUDE: "AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM REVEALED: THE HISTORIC RISE AND FALL OF WORLDWIDE REGIMES AND HOW UNITED STATES FOUNDING WISDOM PREVAILS 2022," "OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, AND OUR SACRED HONOR: A 90 DAY STUDY EXPLORING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE2021." "IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS: A 90-DAY STUDY OF IMPORTANT DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY THAT SHAPED THE UNITED STATES AND CHANGED THE WORLD 2020," "RESERVED TO THE STATES: BOUNDARIES ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE FLOURISHING OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 2019," "FIRE ON THE FLOOR: THE RULES, CONFLICT AND DEBATE THAT FUEL THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS 2018," "U.S. SUPREME COURT: LANDMARK DECISIONS AND THE JUSTICES WHO MADE THEM 2017," "THE INTRIGUE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL IMPACT: A STUDY OF OUR COUNTRY'S PAST 57 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2016," "CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS - HOW EXECUTIVE OVERREACH IS IMPEDING YOUR LIBERTIES AND UNDERMINING STATES' SOVEREIGNTY: A STUDY ON THE CRITICAL EROSION OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHECKS AND BALANCES 2015." OTHER PAST STUDY TOPICS INCLUDE: "THE CLASSICS THAT INSPIRED THE CONSTITUTION AND THE CHALLENGES IT FACES TODAY;" THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, THE CONSTITUTION AND THE FEDERALIST PAPERS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TODAY. DURING OUR 90-DAY STUDIES, CITIZENS ARE ENCOURAGED TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARS BY CONTRIBUTING BLOG COMMENTS, AND DISCUSSING THE DAY'S ASSIGNMENT ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA. OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE HAS RAPIDLY GROWN OVER THE YEARS (35,000 FACEBOOK FANS BY THE END OF 2011 TO OVER 83,000), ONE OF THE LARGEST OF ANY CONSTITUTION EDUCATION ORGANIZATION; OVER 27,000 YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS, AGAIN ONE OF THE LARGEST OF ANY CONSTITUTION EDUCATION ORGANIZATION. SINCE 2020 OUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT GREW FROM JUST 1,000 FOLLOWERS TO NOW OVER 9,000 FOLLOWERS IN 2023 AS A RESULT OF THIS INITIATIVE, THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS HAVE GAINED A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSTITUTION'S MEANING, AND ITS RELEVANCY TODAY THROUGH THE ESSAYS, COMMENTARIES AND ANALYSIS PROVIDED BY THE PARTICIPATING SEASONED SCHOLARS AND HISTORIANS. ALL THIRTEEN STUDIES ARE AVAILABLE IN THEIR ENTIRETY, ARCHIVED AND SEARCHABLE, AND IN DOWNLOADABLE PDF FORM, AND ARE BEING USED ONLINE FOR EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM AND ONLINE STUDIES.