Lisa Smith, a teacher at Cross Timbers Middle School, will travel to Washington, DC, in June to attend the prestigious Supreme Court Summer Institute. Smith was one of 60 teachers nationwide who were selected to participate this year. A graduate of Grapevine High School, she has taught at GCISD for 10 years.

 

Open to teachers in the field of law-related and civic education, the Institute is co-sponsored by Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society. Smith will have the opportunity to study recent Supreme Court Cases in detail and learn innovative teaching methodology for conveying this information to students. Well-known Supreme Court lawyers, reporters, scholars and educators will be among the speakers and instructors for the Institute, and Smith will visit the Court and attend a reception.

 

As a result of her trip, Smith wants to be sure her students know that learning is a continuous process. She hopes her experience encourages them to think about the Supreme Court and its history and influence. "In U.S. History, I plan to use interactive strategies that I learn and an examination of famous Supreme Court cases to get my students to think about the history and development of the Supreme Court and its successes and failures. I want my students to understand how past Supreme Court cases have changed the course of history and how decisions of the Supreme Court directly affects their lives today."