Nova Middle School wins fourth consecutive national civics championship

Husband-wife lawyers lead law enrichment for students

Nova Middle School has won the "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" national civics competition for the fourth consecutive year, a streak fueled by a husband-and-wife team of Florida lawyers who have transformed the school's law program into a national powerhouse.

Florida Bar member Kristin Murphy left private practice for the classroom determined to build a program that would inspire students through the study of the Constitution and civic engagement. Alongside her is her husband, attorney Will Murphy, who volunteers as the team's coach.

The accomplishment is even more impressive because Nova is a Title I school, where roughly 80% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. For the Murphys, however, the championships are only part of the story. Their work demonstrates how lawyers can use their skills and commitment to make a lasting difference in the lives of young people.

Emily Voss, senior manager of national events and professional learning at the Center for Civic Education, which has run the We the People competition since 1987, says the program’s goal is to help students become active, informed, and engaged citizens by knowing the Constitution well, knowing their rights and responsibilities under it, and understanding the mechanisms for change that it allows.

The curriculum consists of six units, and the class is subdivided into six small groups, with each group of students becoming experts in one of the units. The class works together to provide written answers to a series of open-ended essay questions and prepare an opening statement to read to a group of judges. The judges ask the students follow-up questions to assess the students’ understanding of and fluency with the issues at play in the questions.

“It pulls on a lot of different skill sets, obviously not just the knowledge about the Constitution – which is lovely and we are very enthusiastic about that,” says Voss. “But also, the students are doing group work together. They're writing together, researching together. They're doing public speaking together. And so, it really does sharpen a lot of their civic skills.”

Nova Middle School Team

Kristin Murphy says students gain more than a command of U.S. history and the Constitution. They also develop intellectual agility, perseverance, and other skills that will serve them well long after the competition ends.

She says middle school students are now accustomed to turning in the first draft of a writing assignment and using AI to compose it, so the act of review and revision is foreign and frustrating to them, at first. But the process of writing the opening statement requires all six class subgroups to incorporate their subject matter, and as a result, the students learn how AI often gets things wrong. By the time the students deliver their opening statements, they have gone through more than a dozen drafts and learn the collaborative skills and patience needed to get it right.

As part of their practice drills, guest attorneys and judges ask questions of the Nova team, so the students become accustomed to answering questions asked by people they haven’t met before and won’t easily freeze up in competition.

After qualifying for the middle school invitational competition again this year, Nova Middle School traveled to Bethesda, Maryland, for the We the People national finals in April and finished ahead of 16 other teams for the championship. Most schools participate virtually, particularly at the middle school level, says Voss.

Kristin Murphy also incorporates the competition into a multi-day educational trip to Washington, D.C., where students visit historic and civic landmarks while creating lifelong memories.

The challenge of winning is the increasing pressure on the kids, says Kristin Murphy. With each championship, the odds of extending the streak grow longer, increasing the pressure the students place on themselves, she says.

“The kids don't want to be the first team to ‘lose.’ Even if they got second place, they would consider that a failure,” Murphy says, adding she encourages them to rest and relax going into the competition to no avail. “It’s taken on this self-imposed stress that I don't love.”

Will Murphy dedicates over 100 hours each year coaching the Nova students, offering feedback on their opening statements, one-to-one Zoom coaching sessions with kids, and three-hour subgroup Zoom calls four or five times per week during the month leading up to the finals.

This summer, Will Murphy accepted a part-time position teaching law at Nova High School, so it’s possible that the Murphys may have a few more years in their We the People winning streak.

“I'm going to give away [Kristin’s] secret to how they won,” Will Murphy says.

The Murphys also volunteer with the Broward County mock trial and moot court competitions.

Several other Florida attorneys helped Nova Middle School prepare for this year’s championship, as well as with Broward County’s mock trial and moot court competitions. Among those were: Judge Natasha Deprimo, Judge Ari Porth, Judge Jackie Powell, Adam Cervera, Peter Deprimo, Gabe Ermine, Nadine Goodman, Michael Gottlieb, Richard Grosso, Maria Della Guardia, Jason Leonard, Doug Oswald, Paula Phillips, Harold Pryor, Louis Reinstein, Elisabeth Rodriguez, Brigitte Silver, Jennito Simon, Gordon Weekes, and Morgan Weinstein.

The Murphys hope every student who earns a place on the team can participate in the national competition, regardless of financial circumstances. Through their nonprofit, Raising the Bar - the Next Generation, they help offset travel costs for students who need assistance.

“The secret is she works really hard,” Will Murphy said.