Woodinville High School Student, Leota Middle School Teacher Selected to Represent Washington at Young People’s Continental Congress

This July, Woodinville High School junior Cooper Brix and Leota Middle School Social Studies Teacher Kathleen Hartman will travel to Philadelphia as the only delegation from Washington selected to participate in the second annual Young People’s Continental Congress (YPCC). They were selected for this opportunity by National History Day (NHD) and Carpenters’ Hall, the home of the nation’s First Continental Congress in 1774.

“We are incredibly proud to represent our region,” said Brix, “and eagerly anticipate the opportunities this summer will bring.”

Hartman introduced Brix to NHD in 6th grade, and his project focused on one of his favorite topics of study: the Battle of Yorktown. But the year prior, his 5th grade teacher at Wellington Elementary, Jeff Booth, was the person who ignited his love of history when he had to memorize the Declaration of Independence, Brix said. Booth explained that without breaking down the words in the Declaration, they lose their meaning. All history loses its significance and paramount opportunities to help us understand our past if not studied, Brix said. His teacher spent the remainder of that year inspiring the class through the stories of America's founding. Brix went on to participate in the traditional NHD program in 6th and 8th grades, resulting in him finishing first in the state and continuing on to the national competition. Brix said he thought 8th grade might have been his last time participating in NHD due to his busy academic and athletic schedules, until this fall when Hartman and he learned of YPCC and submitted a comprehensive application.

“The student-teacher collaboration with Cooper and the civic discourse we’ll engage in with other participants will be invaluable for our learning,” said Hartman.

Brix and Hartman will complete online learning modules throughout spring 2025 about subjects such as the Continental Congress, the Boston Massacre, and economic liberty in Colonial America. Then July 14-18, they will join 26 other teacher-student teams in Philadelphia for a week of special programming and field learning opportunities at sites such as Carpenters’ Hall, Independence National Historical Park, the National Constitution Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 

“Our journey involves doing in-depth research at some of the nation's finest museums, analyzing and discussing our country's founding documents in the spaces where they were debated and created,” Brix said.

Delegates will also co-create and sign a joint declaration of their aspirations for American democracy, just as their historical counterparts issued the Declaration of Colonial Rights and the Declaration of Independence. 

“It is our generation's responsibility to preserve this history and ensure its accurate transmission to the next,” said Brix. “I look forward to holding up this responsibility in part and in collaboration with other teams, professors, and history scholars at this one-of-a-kind program for students and teachers from across the United States.”