'Being An American' Essay Contest

The Bill of Rights Institute, a non-profit educational organization based in suburban Washington, D.C., will award U.S. high school students and their teachers cash prizes totaling over $60,000 during the 2007-08 school year, the organization announced today. Students in 19 states and the District of Columbia will be eligible to compete in the "Being an American" essay contest, which explores the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship.

"We are pleased to offer students and educators in these regions the opportunity to explore how values such as integrity, courage and responsibility are interconnected with America's founding documents and American heroes," said Victoria Hughes, President of the Bill of Rights Institute. "As the classroom engages in discussion about our country's civic values, we trust that young Americans will gain an appreciation for putting those values into practice."

In their essays, participating students are asked to answer the following question: "What civic value(s) do you believe are most essential to being an American, and how can you personally put those values into practice?" Winning essays will be announced in the spring of 2008 and will earn the students and their teachers in each region cash prizes of up to $5,000 each.

To help integrate the contest into the classroom, the Bill of Rights Institute has created a lesson plan and supplemental materials about the contest topic, tied the contest to state and national academic standards, and constructed a web site so that teachers can submit their students' essays for consideration.

Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the contest will continue to expand nationally until all 50 states participate during the 2009-2010 school year.

Additional details on the "Being an American" essay contest can be found below. Further information, including complete contest rules, submission details, lesson plans and background information on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Founding Fathers and other Americans who have contributed to America's shared civic values are available at www.BeingAnAmerican.org.

The Bill of Rights Institute, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit educational organization. The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to educate young people about the words and ideas of America's Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.

2007-2008 SCHOOL YEAR PARTICIPATING STATES:

* West South Central Region: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas

* West North Central Region: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

* South Atlantic Region: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C.

Students Eligible: Students in grades 9-12 who are U.S. citizens or legal residents and are either attending public, private, religious, or charter schools, being home-schooled, or participating in a GED or correspondence school program but are no older than 19 years of age.

Essay Length: No more than 3,300 characters (approximately 500 words)

Judging Criteria:

* Adherence to Essay Guidelines

* Originality * Organization * Writing Style

* Depth of Analysis

Judges: High school teachers in each of the 20 contest states

Cash Prizes: Seven equal cash awards for students and teachers in each region: West South Central, West North Central and South Atlantic

* First Prize: $5,000 each * Second Prize: $2,500 each

* Third Prize: $1,250 each

* Honorable Mention: $250 each

Contest Start Date: September 4, 2007 (Tuesday)

Deadline for Essay Submission: Monday, December 3, 2007

Winners Announced: Spring 2008

Website and Contest Guidelines: http://www.BeingAnAmerican.o rg