Empire High School
Tucson, AZ
Julie Mathews has been teaching for 15 years. Currently, she teaches American Government, AP American Government, and We the People at Empire High School in Tucson, AZ. She serves as Team Leader for the Social Studies Department and co-sponsor of the Genders and Sexualities Alliance which is a club. Julie attended the We the People Summer Institute to learn more about the program in the summer of 2017. Afterwards, she worked diligently to start the We the People program at her school and prepare for the congressional hearings. This school year is the first year she took a class to the We the People Regional Competition and her hard work has impacted many students. Her We the People team at Empire High School qualified for the 2019 We the People State Competition! At the State Competition, her We the People team won the Unit 5 Award which is a fantastic achievement! In addition to all of this, Julie’s students took part in the 2018 Kids Voting Arizona Election. Every election year her students predict election results using polling data, campaign information, and debate performances to assess candidates. What a fantastic way to instill the importance of civic education in youth!