A Burrell High School teacher is one of 60 nationwide who will get firsthand training to help teach students about the United States judicial system.

Amanda Pagnotta will travel to Washington, D.C., in June to attend the Supreme Court Summer Institute, which aims to give teachers the opportunity to study recent Supreme Court cases in detail and learn innovative teaching methods to bring back into the classroom.

It’s co-sponsored by Street Law Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance civic- and law-related education, and the Supreme Court Historical Society.

“I think the Supreme Court’s cases are the most critical part about learning about government,” Pagnotta said. “It’s all checks and balances.”

According to Street Law, teachers that attend the summer institute report feeling more confident discussing controversial issues and Supreme Court cases in their classrooms, use interactive teaching strategies more frequently and gain critical knowledge about the Supreme Court.

“I love what I do,” Pagnotta said. “I have really amazing classes, and we do a lot to make the Constitution more accessible to students.

“The more I learn, the better I can facilitate discussions in class.”

Over the past year, Pagnotta has revamped criminal justice and legal studies opportunities for Burrell students to make them much more in-depth.

She led a group of students last May in attending Lower Burrell’s Citizens Police Academy, where they experienced what law enforcement and criminal justice-related careers are like. She’s co-teaching a new Investigative Sciences and Literature class this year and coordinated a mock trial last month.

“It’s always been my goal to build up a legal field program to have students have that as an option,” she said.

Pagnotta said it’s important to her to be able to provide real-world, accessible lessons to the criminal justice and legal system for interested students. She looks forward to the Washington, D.C., trip.

“I’m honored and blessed to be able to do it,” she said.

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