Schools around the globe are invited to join a new program being offered by The National Constitution Center called, THE EXCHANGE: Should a year of national service be required for all Americans?" This program will be offered on March 18, 2010 from 12:30-1:30 PM EST. The Cost is FREE and the program is open to schools who have access to Internet2 connected networks and H.323 videoconferencing equipment.

The National Constitution Center is excited to invite your school to participate in the 4th installment of the 2009 – 2010 season of its national student program, The Exchange: A Marketplace of Student Ideas.  This event will take place on Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EST.  This installment of The Exchange, “Should a year of national service be required for all Americans?“ asks students to consider ways to connect national needs and the demands of responsible citizenship.  The discussion will be hosted by SuChin Pak from MTV and Discovery Channel’s Planet Green and moderated by Kermit Roosevelt, professor of law from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

Students will have the opportunity to be heard by and hear from other students around the country using Internet2 video conferencing technology. It is an exciting way for students to discuss current constitutional and political issues with their classmates and peers in other parts of the nation.
 
Schools that participate in The Exchange will be asked to use a free Town Hall Wall lesson-plan poster provided by the National Constitution Center to prepare their students to be part of the conversation.
 
If your school chooses to participate in The Exchange, you will be asked to select one student to be part of the video conference round table. Only one student, your school’s student representative, is allowed to speak to the national audience during the video conference. If a student other than your student representative speaks without prior authorization, then your school will be disconnected form the video conference.
 
During the video conference, students will have an opportunity to interact with each other and share their thoughts on mandatory national service.  Students will use this deliberation to recommend a national service model that the government should implement.  
 
Participating schools must have connectivity to the Internet2 network and the ability to do H.323 videoconferencing.
 
While there is no cost to participate in this event, we do ask schools to work to make sure this event is a success.  Participating schools will be responsible for the following:
 
·      Participation and successful completion of videoconference testing prior to the event with the National Constitution Center;
·      Selection of a student representative;
·      Preparation of students through the use of the free Exchange Town Hall Wall lesson-plan poster and resources; and
·      Completion of the nationwide Exchange Web Poll at www.constitutioncenter.org/exchange. 

If interested, please contact Jason Allen at either jallen@constitutioncenter.org or 215.409.6644 by Thursday, March 11th for registration and information. Mandatory Internet2 testing for all sites will be on Friday March 12th.  Once you have confirmed that you have Internet2 capabilities please contact Jason Allen to reserve a testing time.