St. Louis, MO 2024

Hometowns Program

Civics Education / Hometowns Program / St. Louis, MO 2024

Fall 2024

Summary of the Program

Twenty-one St. Louis area high school students engaged in an immersive federal court program that took them on a journey through Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988). Over the course of the semester-long program, students explored how their hometown case made it to the Supreme Court of the United States after the district trial at the Eastern District of Missouri and appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The students were aided by exceptional local attorneys who served as legal mentors throughout their learning experience as well as federal judges and court staff, law professors, and historical eyewitnesses.

Students also got to meet with and interview case plaintiffs Cathy Kuhlmeier, Leslie Smart, and Leanne Tippett-Mosby as well as Hazelwood East principal Gene Reynolds and others involved in the case. As their capstone project, students used the interviews to create an oral history installation. These recordings have been added to the original student-created Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier exhibit on display in the Judicial Learning Center at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse. 

The Hometowns program was planned and coordinated by Nicole Maffei, the Society’s Director of Civics Education and Rachel Marshall, Director of Civics Education, and Theresa Lueke, Education Program Manager, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

“The most valuable piece of knowledge I gained is more knowledge on an attorney’s life! Since that is something I want to pursue in the future I found it really helpful to get to hear from attorneys, law clerks, and other law related fields on their line of work.”
Elizabeth A.
“Participating in the mock Supreme Court Oral Arguments was the best part of the program! Preparing and asking questions was fun, but meeting and talking with Judge Gruender was the highlight. It was such a cool opportunity that I otherwise would have never been able to experience!”
Cooper L.
“I enjoyed the interviews with participants/ people involved with the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier because it was fascinating to hear everyone’s first-hand account of the case.”
Elise H.
My favorite part of the program was being able to look at precedent cases from the Supreme Court with similar issues of 1st Amendment rights and being able to compare them.
Madeline L.
My favorite part of this program was when we spoke to the students that this case impacted. My personal favorite was when I interviewed Leslie Tippet because of the insightful things she had to say about her personal experience.
Eva G.

Student Capstone Project

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