JT gears up for Constitution Day.

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During Constitution Week this month, Justice Teaching volunteers will fan out across the state with the goal of bringing the United States Constitution to life for all Florida students.

Now in its sixth year, Justice Teaching trains and provides age level-appropriate curriculum to volunteer attorneys and judges who visit one classroom at a time to deliver civics education in an interactive, informal style. It's an approach Justice Fred Lewis has used for more than a dozen years of visiting Florida schools, talking one-on-one to students at all levels about the Constitution, teaching them about their rights as citizens by taking care to make the topic timely and relevant to their lives.

"The experiment of school visits to provide educational sessions with pre-designed lesson plans began in January 1999 and, based on those seven years of experience, matured in 2006 into the formal program now known as Justice Teaching," said Justice Lewis, who created the program

Justice Teaching now boasts 4,000 volunteers who provide multiple sessions in Florida schools each year.

"The vision of promoting knowledge of our Constitution in a fair and nonpartisan educational plan has been made possible only by the dedicated voluntary effort of Justice Teaching lawyers and judges who have given of themselves to make Justice Teaching a tremendous success," said Justice Lewis. "We are so very thankful for all of the lawyers and judges who have responded for Florida's students and look forward to another great school year."

Initially designed to begin in public schools, Justice Teaching has expanded beyond the some 3,800 Florida public schools it now serves and into more than 350 private schools and beyond the borders into other states.

Lewis will spend Constitution Day, September 17, with students at Florida Keys Community College.

The week of September 17-23, Constitution Week, is an ideal time for Justice Teaching to rev up for the new school year, said JT coordinator Michelle Ballard.

In 2005, Congress designated September 17--the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional...