Stay tuned . . .

Unfortunately we only have the University of New Haven competition on May 14th and can therefore only take 6 teams. Therefore registrations must be in by March 19th. Lottery will be done on March 20th and those 6 teams randomly chosen will be notified on March 22nd. Due to the fact that all teams were able to participate last year, this year's lottery is again open to all teams so please register ASAP.

The forensics competition at the University of New Haven is scheduled for May 14th.

Register by clicking here

2010 Forensics Competition Guidelines

This contest is for grades 6-12. It is an essay contest. Responses should be no longer than two typed double-spaced 12 pt font pages. Each response should also include a title page with your name, grade level, school name and address and teacher’s name.  Entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than March 1, 2010. This deadline has passed!!

Topic: Choose a quote from any United States President and explain its significance, meaning and purpose, the historical and political context of the time and anything about the speaker that would be relevant to the statement and its meaning and purpose. Briefly explain its significance for the United States at that time, and for you today.

Middle School Showcase Hearings

and High School Noncompetitive Showcase Hearings

Date:    April 29, 2010

Time:  9 am – 1 pm

Location:  Rensselaer Hartford

                  275 Windsor Street

                  Hartford, CT 06120

[Online Registration]

REGISTER NOW!!  Be among the first educators in Connecticut to participate in this award winning Holocaust Education Program

ECHOES and REFLECTIONS

A state-of-the-art multimedia curriculum on the Holocaust developed by The Anti-Defamation League along with the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority), includes ten multi-part lessons on the Holocaust with companion DVD or VHS of visual history testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other witnesses. These personal stories of the Holocaust offer distinct perspectives on this historical event.  Through the study of the Holocaust, the Echoes and Reflections curriculum helps students connect with contemporary issues.

There is no charge for the training, or the Echoes and Reflections curriculum

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

 Connecticut Bar Association

• Registration is limited to 30 middle or high school Social Studies, English, Civics or Humanities teachers.
• Schools must provide substitute teachers.
• Registration is first-come, first served.
• Participants will receive a copy of the Echoes and Reflections curriculum,a one-day workshop and 0.5 CEU’s*.

[Online Registration]  STRICT REGISTRATION DEADLINE OF MAY 1ST DUE TO A NEED TO ORDER MATERIALS****

Congratulations to the winners of our middle school courtroom art contest:

Carlens Sainvil - St. Ann School: 1st place portrait

Nick Grasso - St. Ann School: 1st place courtroom scene

Sloan Austermann - Bethel Middle School: 2nd place courtroom scene

Svetlana Sjoblom - Bethel Middle School: honorable mention

Please remember that the high school competition is still coming!!! Competition dates are the last two weeks in March. Go down to the high school mock trial section on this page to view the dates.

Announcing our new Mock Trial Courtroom Art Contest for all students!!!! If you are a high school student with artistic drawing talents this one is for you!!!

This contest will take place during the high school mock trial competitions.  Competition will be held during the regional mock trial competitions. Each Mock Trial team may enroll up to three courtroom artists. Schools that do not have mock trial teams may also enroll up to three courtroom artists and must make arrangements with the CCLCE as to which regional competition their competitors will attend. All competitors from the same school must compete at the same regional competition location.

If a person is a mock trial competitor and also wishes to compete in the Courtroom Art Contest, s/he must compete in the Courtroom Art Contest during a regional competition in which her/his mock trial team is not competing. These arrangements must be made with the CCLCE. No person shall be allowed to compete in the Courtroom Art Contest at a location without their school mock trial team without prior approval from the CCLCE.

 Awards for the Courtroom Art Contest are independent of the Mock Trial Competitions; an individual may win a Courtroom Art Contest award regardless of the Mock Trial Team’s final ranking. Regional winners will be announced within a reasonable time after the regional competitions have concluded and prior to the final rounds of competition.

Competition Rules

On-line Registration Form

            The We the People State Finals were held at the legislative Office Building in Hartford on Friday, December 18, 2009.  Students from Central and Harding High Schools, Bridgeport, St. Joseph and Trumbull High Schools, Trumbull, Immaculate High School, Danbury, Greenwich, South Windsor, and Torrington High Schools competed in simulated Congressional hearings to represent Connecticut at the We the People National Finals to be held in Washington, D. C in April, 2010.

            Congratulations to Aaron Hull’s team from Greenwich High School which won this honor.

After many requests the dates are finally here!! The 2010 CT Mock Trial Summer Camp for students entering grades 6-12 will be July 12-16. There will also be a NEW 2010 CT Debate Summer Camp for students entering grades 6-12 August 9-13. Further details and registration materials for these camps will be available in January, 2010. Once again we will also be looking for qualified student mentors for both camps.

Mock Trial Camp Registration Packet

Mentor Application

Debate Camp Registration Packet

Mentor Application

Congratulations to the winners of our first, and hopefully annual, Spring High School Debate Competition Wethersfield High School blue team consisting of Matthew Thomas and Adrianna Buccheri and the best speaker award for this competition goes to Matthew Thomas of Wethersfield High School!!!

RESOLVED: That all U.S. citizens ages 18 and over should be required to vote in all government elections.

Competitions take place in late April and early May. Registration is $10 per team of two students. You  may register as many teams as you wish. Registration form can be found on the program/debate page under middle school debate.

Dates: Greenwich April 27th, Deep River May 5th and Torrington Middle School  May 10th (date change).

Register by clicking here

2010 Online Registration

2010 High School Mock Trial Case Materials

2010 Case Exhibits

New Revised Rules

Tentative Dates: New Britain March 15 and 22nd, 3-6 p.m.; Danbury March 16, 3-8 p.m.; New Haven March 17 and 24, 3-6 p.m.; Waterbury (1) March 18, 1-7 p.m.; Waterbury (2) March 25, 1-7 p.m.; Stamford March 26, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Middletown March 27, 9 a.m. - 3p.m. (*Note there is no region in Manchester or New London this year due to court costs.) Quarterfinals: April 26 at Fairfield Prep, 28 at Hall High School and 29 at Westhill High School. Semi-Finals May 3rd. Finals May 7th.

Congratulations to this year's State Champion: Our Lady of Mercy!!

Congratulations to this year's state champion Valley Regional High School and the 2009 best speaker winner Janna Moen from Valley Regional High School. Congratulations to all for a successful competition. Keep your eyes open for possible additional competitions in the winter/spring.

Now available: Periodic newsletters with updated program information.  To sign up to receive your newsletters via email send your request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Newsletter 2-2 December 2009: This newsletter contains all fall program dates among other helpful information and resources.

The next CCLCE Board of Directors meeting will be April 7th at 5:30 at 30 Bank Street, New Britain. Please let us know if you cannot attend.

In early November five delegates from Connecticut traveled to Chile and met with a group of Chilean educators to assess civic education programs for young people in Chile and to exchange best practices and strategies to promote education for democracy.  The Connecticut delegates included James Schmidt and Julie Jaquish from CCLCE;  Gail Tomala, from the Connecticut State Department of Education;  Robert Stevenson, a teacher at New Canaan High School;  and Lorna Gallagher, a teacher at Lisbon Central School.

The Connecticut/Chile exchange took place as part of Civitas, a national and international network of individuals, civil society organizations, educational institutions, and governmental agencies. Civitas is directed by the Center for Civic Education in conjunction with its domestic and international partners and offers a range of activities and programs that share the common objectives of creating student-centered interactive curricula for the next generation of citizens and training teachers in the methodologies appropriate to the use of these materials in the classroom.

This is the fourth year in which Connecticut and Chile have worked together, specifically on Project Citizen, a curriculum program that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government.  During the current school year Connecticut and Chilean teachers and their students will study similar public policy issues, communicating with each other by computer.  A website has been established for this:  www.cclce.org/wiki.

Two schools in Connecticut will be involved in the project during this school year.  Lisbon Central School will work with two classes at Colegio Montesol, a pre-K-12 school in Quilpue, Chile.  New Canaan High School will work with one class at Colegio Montesol and one class at Cervantes High School in Santiago, Chile.

During the CCLCE’s four year partnership with educators in Chile, it is evident that Connecticut and Chilean students share common concerns, including health care, the environment, school needs, the lack of scholarships for college, and town and school safety.  Working together it is hoped that students will learn to interact cooperatively, challenging each other with questions and answers, as they work toward solving problems.  Examining common public policy issues, students will also understand the democratic process and learn to become engaged citizens.

The Resource CD was compiled to help ensure that Connecticut social studies and history teachers have easy access to documents useful for teaching courses in civics, government and United States history.

In addition to more than 400 documents, the disc contains several mock trial cases, curricular resources and lessons for teaching about Connecticut History, and links to dozens of websites offering free resources.

The contents of the CD are now available on-line under Resources. 

[Browse The CD Contents]  

Help is on the way!! We have curricula, lesson plans, projects, contests and more to help you meet the new state mandate in engaging your 4th or 5th graders in democracy education. More information will be available soon. For specific questions or requests, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .