For Immediate Release
	CONTACT: Christi Powers State Bar of Wisconsin (608) 250-6025

Phoenix Middle School students earn statewide recognition
State Bar of Wisconsin hosts public policy competition

MADISON, June 12, 2001 - Students from Phoenix Middle School earned Awards of Merit from the "We the People...Project Citizen" statewide competition for their creative efforts to reduce bullying in schools. The students spent a semester studying the issue of their choice and developed an implementation plan, under the direction of teacher Tammy Fumall. They earned 4th place, out of 10 entries.

As part of their study, the students interviewed approximately 100 peers. More than 90 percent said that they had witnessed bullying at school. The increase of school violence reported in the news prompted the students to study bullying. The issue is not just a local one, schools nationwide grapple with it. "It happens to everyone," wrote one student.

The students proposed alternatives included a peer mediation task force to deal with complaints and implementing dress codes to reduce teasing relating to students' attire.

"The caliber of the entries clearly demonstrates that the students successfully worked together to find innovative solutions to societal problems," said retired teacher Jack Jarmes, state coordinator for Project Citizen." "I can't think of a better way to teach kids about the inner workings of government."

Project Citizen is a civic education program for middle school students to promote competent and responsible participation in state and local government. The students' final product is a large portfolio displaying their work (see photo).

The competition, held at State Bar Center in Madison on June 9, was sponsored by the Wisconsin Law Foundation, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Center for Civic Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the U.S. Department of Education. A panel of seven judges-state legislators, government leaders, and marketing professionals - scored the entries based on completeness, clarity, and graphics.

For more information on other State Bar law-related education efforts, visit www.legalexplorer.com/education, or contact Dee Runaas at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6191.

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