DC Courts, Community Academy Public Charter Schools and National Center for State Courts partner for Civics Project on Law Day 
 
WHERE: Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School 1400 First Street, NW  

WHEN: Monday, May 2nd, 2011, 10:00am-11:30am  

WHO:  Chief Judge Eric T. Washington, District of Columbia Court of Appeals Kent Amos; Founder, Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools (CAPCS);   Leonard Upson, Academy Leader, Amos 3 Middle School, CAPCS 
 
Chief Judge Eric Washington will honor Law Day by kicking-off a civics curriculum for seventh and eighth graders at the Community Academy Public Charter Schools using ‘graphic novels,’ a new approach to engaging middle school students. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has produced a three-part series of graphic novels which illustrate how various aspects of the legal system function.  Over the next several weeks, CAPCS students will be tasked with reading the three graphic novels in the NCSC Justice Case Files series: The Case of Jury Duty, The Case of Internet Policy, and The Case of Stolen Identity.  

“Kent Amos and the entire staff of CAPCS have been outstanding in their dedication to educating the District’s students not just on academics, but on values, including civic responsibility,” said Chief Judge Washington. “We are thrilled to partner with them on this initiative and appreciate their willingness to embrace a new approach – the graphic novel.”  The Chief Judge also praised the National Center for States Courts, saying that the organization had “developed an innovative educational tool in the ‘Justice Case Files’ graphic novels.”  He explained “The stories are engaging, and will help students understand how important their own individual roles are as young men and women in the judicial process.”