04/21/2026
An update from Ms. Boland, coach of Trumbull High’s We the People team:
I wanted to take a moment to share how proud I am of our We the People team after this past weekend at the National Finals.
This group made it to the final Top Ten round of competition and finished 8th in the nation! They competed against some of the strongest programs in the country, including teams that consistently place in the Top Five. They held their own in every round, even beating a few of those programs like Amador High School in California that won the national championship several times.
The judges’ feedback captured it better than I ever could. One of my parents down there captured some of them!
“It was an absolute delight to learn from you.”
“I thought my question would be a tough one, but you were prepared.”
“You quoted Alexander Hamilton but I was writing down quotes from you.”
They were praised for their preparation, their willingness to take intellectual risks, and their ability to connect historical ideas to modern challenges. Judges highlighted their use of comparative and international examples, their strong framing, and the way they worked together as a team to model thoughtful disagreement. One judge even said, “I will be sleeping in my nursing home nicely knowing you are all in charge,” which got a bit of a laugh from the audience, but also says a lot about the impression they made.
It was a wonderful end to the break and as you can tell, I am so proud of this team. Over the course of the five days, we also had the chance to visit museums, tour the monuments, have an hour long session with Rep Himes in one of his committee rooms, meet with Senator Murphy in his office and get a tour of the capitol thanks to his intern (Ella Jane Cook ‘22), spend an afternoon at Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home) and so much more!
Thank you to the ACE Foundation for the generous grant that helped us attend Nationals this year!
