Roberta West
Candidate for Board of Directors
Roberta A. West is an attorney and educator who has worked making the law accessible to lay audiences in schools and beyond since she was a student at Temple University School of Law in 1986. Hired as staff attorney and Education Director at Temple’s Law, Education and Participation Project in 1993, West served the young people of the Philadelphia region for more than 25 years, retiring from temple-LEAP in the fall of 2014 to pursue new educational opportunities.
Under her direction, LEAP grew to include a number of programs that have substantially impacted the lives of young people in Philadelphia such as: Teen Court, and alternative disciplinary program for high school students who commit low-level offenses of the high school code of conduct; Youthworks, a five-week service learning summer “law camp” experience for economically disadvantaged high school students aimed at helping them to prepare for college and to explore law-related careers, and the John S. Bradway Philadelphia High School Mock Trial Program, which became one of the largest high school mock trial competitions in the state.
West developed lessons that “brought to law to life” in classrooms throughout Philadelphia by including law students, practicing attorneys, judges, police officers and community stakeholders in interactive classroom presentations.
The Future of Social Studies
As a longtime instructor in law-related and civic education, I see the future of social studies in Pennsylvania in terms of promoting hands-on education so the next generation of young people will be prepared to take on the role of active citizen in our society. History Day, We the People, mock trials, moot court, mediation showcases, anti-bullying education and youth courts are just some of the programs I believe should be the basis for Act 35 civics assessment moving forward. I have worked with young people—and others not so young--using all of these interactive and stimulating methods of making the law come alive for young people. I have seen students who were lost in the classroom come alive with interest because of great social studies education.
PCSS, as the umbrella organization for social studies education in the Commonwealth, must support social studies educators young and old. I have been part of a strong Philadelphia area law-related education partnership with past PCSS President David Trevaskis for many years. If elected to the Board, I look forward to building on my civic education work and helping PCSS grow.