Congratulations to the West Virginia “We the People” State Champions. Clay County High School’s Advance Placement Government & Politics class, taught by Mr. Ronald Starcher, competed at the Robert C. Byrd Federal District Courthouse on Dec. 17, 2025, in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” State Competition. This is a competition where students demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and current issues in mock congressional style hearings. Each school participating must divide its classes into six teams. These six teams prepare a four-minute verbal response to a constitutional question and then are asked follow-up questions by a panel of three judges for six minutes. Teams are scored on their knowledge of the Constitution and their ability to apply the concepts to their everyday lives as Americans.
This year’s Advanced Placement Government and Politics class is made up of juniors and seniors with strong interests in the United States Constitution and the inner workings of national, state, and local governments. These students are eager to discuss controversial issues and are well adept at taking and defending their positions among peers as well as judges at district and state competitions. The students illustrate that hard work and dedication pay off.
Classes can have individual unit winners and overall class winners. CCHS won three out of six individual unit championships and won the overall class state championship, defeating the champions from congressional district one, Robert C. Byrd High School, and wildcard, Woodrow Wilson High School. By winning the state championship, Clay County High School has earned a spot in the National Finals in Washington D.C. in April 2026.Dual-unit winners included Ariel Dobbins, Alivia Gilliland, and Lillian Starcher. Single unit winners were Sophia Berberich, Christian Bryant, and Juliann Gallaher. Gallaher was also recognized by the judges as an outstanding performer. Members of the class are Sophia Berberich, Christian Bryant, Ariel Dobbins, Juliann Gallaher, Alivia Gilliland, Dakota James, Jakoby Nichols, Justin Nida, TJ Pritt, Lydia Shamblin, Lillian Starcher, and Owen Tinney, and Cadence Williams served as timekeeper for this year’s team.