JSA – Junior State of America

Sen. Scott White Introduces Bill to Lower Voting Age for School Board Elections

For Immediate Release
For Information: Jesse Seidman — (206) 605-3061

Olympia, Wash., Feb. 7, 2011–On Monday, Jan. 31, Washington State Senator Scott White (D-46) introduced landmark legislation in Olympia that could give Washington State’s high school students far greater influence over their education. Read the full story

For Immediate Release
For more information: Jeff Harris – (800) 334-5353

JSA Honored by National Journal and The Atlantic for Promoting Bipartisanship

Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2011 — The media organizations National Journal and The Atlantic honored JSA by donating $5,000 to the organization. The check was given at a Congressional Reception hosted at the Library of Congress prior to the State of the Union. National Journal and The Atlantic chose JSA as recipients of the donation because JSA promotes democracy and bipartisanship in high schools across the nation.

In the wake of the Tucson, Ariz. shootings, National Journal and The Atlantic wanted to highlight an organization that seeks to improve civil discourse in American politics.  Terence Samuel, congressional editor of National Journal, presented the check to Jeff Harris, chief executive of JSA.

The focus of the reception was new members of the 112th Congress and was the first of its kind. The event took place in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. 

National Journal has been Washington’s premier source of nonpartisan insight on politics and policy for more than four decades and The Atlantic is a multimedia forum on the most critical issues of the times, from politics, business and the economy, to technology, arts and culture. National Journal and The Atlantic are published by the Atlantic Media Co.

NOTE TO EDITORS
A high-resolution (300 dpi) JPEG file of a Jeff Harris, JSA CEO and Justin B. Smith, President of the Atlantic Media Company is available at http://jsa.org/wp-content/uploads/Jeff-Harris-Justin-Smith.jpg

ABOUT JSA
Providing civics education and leadership programs for more than 75 years, JSA is the largest student-run organization in the United States.  School-year programs take place in more than 450 secondary schools in 35 states, with more than 10,500 dues paying members. Students have developed 10 “states” around the country that have their own political conventions and three-branch governments, with elected “governors,” “legislators,” “judiciary” and “cabinet members.” During the summer, JSA provides three-week summer schools that teach political science, government, constitutional law, international relations and speech communication courses on college campuses such as Georgetown, Princeton and Stanford universities, and well as one-week institutes focused on topics such as media and leadership, at schools such as the UCLA, Princeton, and Arizona State.  In 2010 the group launched its first overseas effort, the JSA Diplomat Program at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China. The JSA program is supported by the Junior Statesmen Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational corporation, which provides student the guidance and mentoring to run their own programs and administers the summer programs and institutes. It has offices in San Mateo, Calif., and Washington, D.C. More information is available at http://www.jsa.org/ or jsa@jsa.org.

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Press Release

Sept. 30, 2010 — A San Francisco man who has devoted his entire career to educating high school students in civic literacy and helping them polish their leadership skills has been named chief executive officer of the country’s largest student-run organization, JSA.
 
Jeff Harris will become CEO of the Junior Statesmen Foundation Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., effective Oct. 1. He has been executive director of the foundation since 2008 and earlier served for more than 20 years in a variety of roles in the organization, working his way up from resident assistant at the group’s summer schools to directing the summer school programs and helping to guide programs in Southern California.  “We are so fortunate to have someone of Jeff Harris’ quality and high caliber to lead JSA, as he is the personification of all we hope to teach students about leadership and statesmanship,” said Alex Evans, president of EMC Research Inc. of Oakland, Calif., and president of the JSA board of directors. Read the full story

Press Release

The Junior State of America is pleased to announce that the winner of the annual National Civic Impact Award is the Watchung Hills Regional High JSA chapter in Warren, New Jersey.  The National Civic Impact Award recognizes the JSA chapter that has had the biggest impact on increasing the level of civic awareness and engagement at their school.

The Watchung Hills Regional chapter was chosen from among the finalists, all of which had won the “Chapter of the Year Award” in their area of the country.  Watchung Hills finished first in the balloting after the chapters made presentations to a panel of judges consisting of trustees of The Junior Statesmen Foundation who also reviewed essays submitted by the finalists. Read the full story