September 2023 - Catherine Findlay, Character Development Executive Director
Constitution Live was founded by a group of APA students led by Elise Christenson from WV3 and Spencer Headlee from D3. They were tired of the divisive political commentary surrounding the airways, and they wanted to create a feeling of hope and healing for the future of our country. Spencer said, “As fellow Americans, let’s first recognize the founding principles, we agree on.”
These students believed we are better together than divided and advocated for the youth of America to be hopeful, not discouraged. They pointed out that change was expected by our founders from the start because the ability to make changes was rooted in its design. Elise said, “Our country was founded
How did Constitution Live get started? They admit, it wasn’t an easy task to get people excited to “Read the Constitution.” They started by identifying some targets. They focused on library events, park gatherings for families and livestream readings at city halls They set to work building contact lists and approaching City Councils, City Youth Councils, neighborhood associations, business organizations like the Kiwanis Club, and community groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution and others, inviting them to get involved.
Thanks to the passage of House Bill 179 during the 2023 Legislative session
The final impact of the first Constitution Live Youth Council (Elise, Spencer, Lisa, Anthony, Elinor, and Ava) is 22 readings of the United States Constitution in September of 2023 across multiple Utah cities and counties, including Riverton, Sandy, Alpine, Salt Lake City, Spanish Fork, Springville, Salem, West Valley City, Cedar City, Draper and Washington County.
The feeling at each of these events was an overall sense of gratitude and heartfelt appreciation for the beginnings of our Country. Healthy conversations were pursued, and audience members from every event discussed their desire to read it again next year. These six APA students set out to be “Builders of our Community,” and they seem to be off to a great start to be “Builders of our Nation” as well. We are excited to see what is next for these amazing students and their desire to improve the world.
September 2023
Thank you to our APA community for your enthusiastic participation in this year's Constitution Day! Yesterday, our campuses came alive, with students, staff, and special guests joining in live-streamed readings of our nation's cherished document. We are truly grateful for your engagement.
Did you miss the event? Click the links below to the live stream recordings.
● 8 am - Draper 3 - 7th - 12th grades
● 9 am - Salem - Kindergarten - 9th grades
● 10 am - Draper 2 - Kindergarten - 6th grades
● 11 am - West Valley 1 - Kindergarten - 6th grades
● 12 pm - Draper 1 - Kindergarten - 6th grades
● 1 pm - West Valley 2/3 - Kindergarten - 12th grades
Please check out the photos from some of our campuses, here -
West Valley 2/3
West Valley 1
Draper 2
We're deeply appreciative of your continued support! Thank you for celebrating the U.S. Constitution!
August 2023 - Dan Bazan, Communications & Marketing Director
Utah State Capitol Constitution Live Reading Kick-Off
On Thursday, August 31st, 2023, an extraordinary event took place on the steps of the rotunda at the Utah State Capitol. In preparation for Constitution Day in September, the Constitution Live Youth Council, led by American Prep high school students Spencer Headlee, and Elise Christenson, organized the first-ever Utah State Capitol Constitution Live Reading Kick-Off.
At the heart of this event was a 45-minute live-streamed reading of the United States Constitution on the Capitol Steps. This reading held additional significance due to legislation passed earlier this year securing the opportunity for future generations of Utahns to read, share, and live the ideals of our U.S. Constitution.
The President of the Utah State Senate, Stuart Adams, opened this special event by announcing that during the 2023 legislative month, the Utah legislature passed House Bill 179, marking the month of September as Constitution and Founders Recognition Month. He expressed that this bill serves as a declaration to our communities, urging them to explore the bedrock of our nation's ideals and the profound principles of liberty enshrined in our Constitution.
The Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, Brad Wilson, echoed the sentiment of gratitude for Utah's inaugural Constitution and Founders Recognition Month. He explained that the first step toward understanding this document is to read it. Speaker Wilson reminded us that our Constitution has endured for over two centuries and remains the single greatest promoter of freedom in the world.
Speaker Wilson introduced the founders of the Constitution Live Youth Council, Spencer Headlee and Elise Christenson, who, while organizing this event, set out to unify and heal our country by encouraging citizens everywhere to read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights together.
Spencer and Elise shared a short history of the Constitution, reminding us that our founding document is over 230 years old and that creating it required intense debate and disagreement. They emphasized that the persistence of this document is evidence that anything is possible with civil debate and thoughtful compromise.
We are proud of Spencer and Elise for their commitment to bringing our communities together to read our US Constitution, embrace our individual civil responsibilities, and understand and cherish the rules by which we are governed.
While many of our American Prep students were present to read individual parts of the Constitution, they were joined by peers from various Utah schools, along with members of the State School Board, local government representatives, judicial authorities, law enforcement officers, and emergency service providers.
The reading closed after approximately 45 minutes with a special acknowledgment by Utah State Attorney General Sean Reyes. His words resonated with profound wisdom, emphasizing the imperative of understanding our constitutional ideals and the power they bestow upon us. Attorney General Reyes recounted an inspiring story of combating human trafficking in Haiti, underscoring the importance of action guided by constitutional principles. He extolled that the American spirit that invokes change through collective dedication is regarded as a standard of excellence worldwide. He reminded us to be inspired by the ideals within our founding document and by the American spirit of those willing to support it with action.
The reading of the U.S. Constitution stands as an embodiment of civic responsibility and collective commitment. In unity, our students and community leaders celebrated the beginnings of our nation and the guiding principles that continue to shape it. This event reminds us of our roles as active citizens, bound by a Constitution that empowers us to uphold the ideals it embodies.
We are excited to celebrate Constitution and Founders Recognition Month, in September and encourage our entire APA community to join us for our campus readings on September 19th.
Please click the link below to watch the replay of the Utah State Capitol Constitution Live Reading Kick-Off from August 31st, 2023.
Constitution Live is an organization with a mission to promote the understanding of the U.S. Constitution through public readings in professional and community settings. The Youth Council, founded by Spencer and Elise, aims to foster enthusiasm for constitutional understanding among their peers in the community and facilitate engagement in civic duties.
In a recent example of such engagement, Elinor Brown, an APA Youth Council officer for Constitution Live, met with Riverton Mayor Trent Skaggs in May. Elinor discussed collaborating with the City of Riverton to host a public reading of the Constitution during Constitution Week 2023. It has been scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, Sept 19th at the Riverton City Park.
The Youth Council's community outreach efforts have not gone unnoticed. In June, Council members were invited to present their project in the My Impact Challenge competition hosted by the Bill of Rights Institute at Utah Valley University's summer collaboration! The event offered tiered rewards adding up to $5000 in combined prize dollars.
The My Impact Challenge is a contest that encourages students to actively understand citizenship and offers a chance to win state recognition with prize money of up to $10,000 for winning service projects.
“The My Impact Challenge has taught me how to promote change in my community. I have realized that change isn't something big or complicated; it is actually quite simple and only requires the decision to act. 
Reading the Constitution and encouraging others to do the same has taught me more about the principles that make up our country and the importance they have in my life, as well as in the lives of those around me. I am more excited to take part in my community and now know that people are willing and ready to do things to help.” - Elise Christenson
We are pleased to share that Elise and Spencer took first place! In addition to this amazing accomplishment, they also recruited over 16 students from a variety of schools to join their Constitution Live Youth Council! They held two events and booked 12 future events, with two more pending between July 10th and September 23rd. These events include reading the Constitution or the Bill of Rights at libraries, city halls, parks, and businesses. Please join us in congratulating them both on their accomplishments in competition as well as in their community!
Our APA students have indeed taken patriotic education to a new level, reminding us that our students can inspire strong citizenship and initiate positive change.
Students can join the Youth Council at constitutionlive.com.
Here is a schedule of their events so far.
7/10: Patriot Camp Bill of Rights reading - Murray
8/12: Boy Scouts of America Crossroads of the West Constitution Reading - Draper
8/31: Charter Schools Utah State Board Room Constitution Reading, 5pm Salt Lake City
9/9: Hunter Library Constitution Reading with Representative Judy Rohner & Former Representative Elizabeth Weight - West Valley City
9/14: Freedom's Light Festival - 9am Bill of Rights reading, Bountiful
9/15: Washington County Constitution Reading
9/16: DAR Pony Express Chapter Constitution Reading -1:30 Alpine Country Club, Alpine
9/16: Neighborhood Pepperwood Pavilion Constitution Reading - 11 am, Sandy
9/17: West Valley City - Bill of Rights Reading and the first reading in Spanish
9/19: Riverton City Constitution Reading, early evening City Park
9/19: 2nd Annual Bluffdale City Reading, 8:30 am City Hall
9/19: American Preparatory Academy's 5th annual reading - Draper, West Valley, Salem
9/22: Springville City Constitution Reading, TBD
9/23: Payson City Constitution Reading, 2pm Memorial Park
September 2022 - Catherine Findlay - Character Development Director
approximately 4,000 students.
Our estimates indicate that approximately 10,000 individuals including students, staff, families, and special guests were exposed to the U.S. Constitution through the efforts of our American Prep community. We hope that this celebration inspires others to hold an annual Constitution Day reading and that this program continues to grow in future years.
We encourage you to watch the replay of our readings, linked below, and remember that we are stronger together than we are divided. We believe that by reading the U.S. Constitution, we can become more knowledgeable and better able to respectfully debate and participate in our Democratic Republic form of government.
Thank you to everyone who joined the livestream and read along with us. If you were unable to watch your campus' livestream, please click one of the links below to watch a campus replay from Constitution Day 2022.
- 8 am - Draper 3 - 7th - 12th grades - Complete
- 9 am - Salem - Kindergarten - 9th grades - Complete
- 10 am - Draper 2 - Kindergarten - 6th grades - Complete
- 11 am - West Valley 1 - Kindergarten - 6th grades - Complete
- 12 pm - Draper 1 - Kindergarten - 6th grades - Complete
- 1 pm - West Valley 2/3 - Kindergarten - 12th grades
Here are some pictures of our campuses and Bluffdale City celebrating their Constitution Day readings.
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September 15th, 2022
American Prep wishes to express immense gratitude to our entire Utah community for joining us today in celebrating our nation's Constitution. Each campus successfully broadcast a livestream of students, staff, and special guests reading our most important founding document. Thank you to everyone who joined the livestream and read along with us. If you were unable to watch your campus' livestream, please click one of the links below to watch a campus replay from Constitution Day 2022. 
This month, American Prep celebrated our 3rd Annual Constitution Day Celebration on Thursday, September 15th. On this day, we read the Constitution at each of our six campuses, every hour from 8 am to 1 pm.
We encourage all families to continue to discuss our founding document and use the tools we shared with your students. APA students received an American Ideals bookmark, a Constitution Day tri-fold full of information, including a family quiz and a Q.R. code for more activities. After reading the Constitution, all students will received a sticker or button celebrating their accomplishment. Click here to access Constitution Day activities.
Our Constitution has been amended 27 times, giving all Americans the Bill of Rights, voting corrections, and other revisions. These changes demonstrate the claim that the U.S. Constitution is a living document. It’s the oldest and shortest written constitution of any major government in the world. The entire U.S. Constitution can be read in about 45 minutes.
We believe in “The American Dream,” founded on the ideals of Liberty, Equality, Democracy, Respect for the Rule of Law, and Patriotism. These ideals, which historically united immigrants from a variety of cultural backgrounds and beliefs, are found in our country’s founding document, The U.S. Constitution. We proudly promote the reading and understanding of this great document as a reminder that we are stronger together than we are divided. By reading the U.S. Constitution, we aim to become more knowledgeable and better able to respectfully debate and participate in our Democratic Republic form of government.
APA has worked with the organization Constitution Week to share our resources as builders. Visit ConstitutionWeek.live for more information on how to hold your own family, neighborhood, or community reading of the Constitution: it only takes 45 minutes.
