Rutgers Law Marshall-Brennan Fellows Bring Constitution to Life in High Schools
Rutgers Law School is home to one of the nation's longest-running chapters of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, a program that places law students in high school classrooms to teach constitutional law, civic engagement, and advocacy. Before law students step into a classroom to teach, they learn about the community and listen to its students.
On August 29, the Rutgers Law School–Camden chapter brought together 10 newly selected fellows for an intensive boot camp. The day focused on educational inequality and Camden’s educational, social, and racial history while giving the new fellows an opportunity to begin building a community of their own.
Through group conversations and firsthand accounts from educators, students, and community members, the fellows explored what it means to teach constitutional rights in ways that connect with young people’s actual experiences. The program concluded with a tour of the Salvation Army Kroc Center on Harrison Avenue and a picnic at Cramer Hill Waterfront Park.
Founded in 1999 at American University Washington College of Law by a group including Jamie Raskin, now a member of Congress, the Project uses constitutional cases and practical civic activities to help high school students understand how the law operates in their daily lives. Rutgers Law School in Camden is home to the nation’s longest-standing chapter after American University’s original program.
At Rutgers, the law students selected as Marshall-Brennan fellows enroll in a year-long seminar examining the Bill of Rights, teaching methods, and questions of social, racial, and educational inequality. Their preparation is both legal and practical as fellows must understand constitutional doctrine, but they must also learn how to make it meaningful to high school students.
“Throughout its almost 30-year history, Marshall-Brennan has always addressed a critical need for civic and constitutional literacy in the United States,” said Jill Friedman, Rutgers Law associate dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest. “In these tumultuous and threatening times, it is all the more essential that young people understand and embrace the power of voting, protesting, and standing up for their own rights and the rights of all people in our country.”
That connection between constitutional principles and students’ everyday lives was at the center of the boot camp. Three Camden educators, Barbara Gardner of Camden High School, Robert Ivone of Camden Big Picture Learning Academy, and Stacey Seidl of Brimm Medical Arts High School, helped introduce the fellows to their schools and students. Their guidance will help prepare the law students for the spring semester when they will teach Camden students about free speech, search and seizure, school discipline, protest rights, and related constitutional questions.
For Ivone, the program’s strength comes from its relevance and the commitment of the law students who enter Camden classrooms.
“Camden Big Picture Learning Academy and Rutgers Law have partnered for 15-plus years,” said Ivone, English teacher and Camden Big Picture Learning Academy career coordinator. “This partnership has been vital to student engagement because the lessons taught and learned are fully relevant to student lives. I have always been impressed with the wealth of knowledge the law students possess and the enthusiasm with which they approach teaching.”
One of the day’s most memorable lessons came from Camden Big Picture Learning Academy senior Zahira Dredden. She captivated the fellows as she described how she and her classmates have benefited from years of Marshall-Brennan and Street Law lessons at their school.
Dredden also offered the future teachers practical advice: find ways to capture students’ interest, listen to them, and take the time to build productive relationships. Her presence underscored one of the program’s central ideas in the fact that teaching is not simply the delivery of legal information. It is a relationship grounded in trust, relevance, and mutual learning.
By the end of the day, the new fellows had gained more than background knowledge about Camden and got a preview of the curriculum they will teach. In the spring, they will arrive with lessons about constitutional rights. But they will also arrive prepared to listen to teachers who know their students, to alumni who understand the work, and most importantly, to Camden students whose experiences give those constitutional questions meaning.
The 2026–27 Marshall-Brennan Fellows are Melissa Buckwheat, Quyentin Estime, Alexandra Franzino, Anna Frasso, Anastasia Kershaw, Priya Khosla, Ahmya McMillan, Anna Pugh, Lucas Sandig, and Naara Silva. Each was chosen through a competitive application process.
They are supported by Michael Young Scholars Melanie Boneta, Shannon Leary, Kylie McGovern, and Erica Schweizer, who completed the fellowship last year and have returned as teaching assistants.
Marshall-Brennan alumni Rachel Tavani ’24, Steven Salinger ’15, and Charles Ray ’10 now serve as project consultants. Ray, a Camden native and professor at Rider University, spent the day with the fellows and shared the story of his upbringing in the city. He introduced Chris Howard ’10, director of risk management at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, and Kameron Clark, also of Harris Blitzer.
Dean Friedman directs the program at Rutgers Law with Adjunct Professor Tue Ho ’22, an attorney in the Medical-Legal Partnership, Health and Independence, and Energy Units at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.
One of the goals of the Rutgers Law Strategic Plan is to deepen connections with our communities through our clinical programs, our commitment to social justice, and strategic partnerships. Click here to learn more about our Strategic Plan.