The Junior State of America (formerly the Junior Statesmen of America), abbreviated JSA, was an American non-partisanyouth organization. The purpose of JSA was to help high school students acquire leadership skills and the knowledge necessary to be effective debaters and civic participants. JSA was sponsored by the Junior State of America Foundation Inc. (JSAF, a 501c(3) non-profit corporation), which also operated the JSA Summer Schools. On August 2nd, 2024, it was announced that the organization would be closing and ceasing operations on August 31, 2024. In response, a new organization named Civic Leaders of America was formed by former JSA students on August 10, 2024. [1]
Overview
As a student run organization, students managed every aspect of the organization, from the local chapter level to the regional level. The members elected local, regional, and state leaders to organize JSA conventions, conferences, and political awareness events.
As an organization, JSA was organized by regions congruous with the geographic regions of the United States. At the high school chapter level, chapter presidents organized local activities and meetings. On the regional level, mayors and vice mayors organized regional one-day conferences. On the state level, Student governors and lieutenant governors organize overnight conventions and other activities. On the national level, governors were in communication with each other planning convention themes and steering the direction of the organization.
The JSA program included debates, "thought talks," problem solving, and a variety of simulations designed to provide members with an informed viewpoint and the ability to analyze important issues. Simulations include, for example, writing mocked legislation, debating and voting on it, Model Congress (with a Senate and House of Representatives), crisis simulations, and other activities. JSA provided an opportunity to meet other students from outside their home communities who shared similar interests; furthermore, debate conventions usually included various evening activities like dining downtown or impromptu debate.
In addition to the school year program, JSA held multiple one to three week Summer School sessions for JSA members and other high school students. These were held at multiple locations across the nation including Stanford and Georgetown, and week-long symposium on state and local politics are held in several states.[2] (In years past, JSF has held Summer School sessions at Yale, Northwestern University, University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Princeton). Sessions include college-level courses on political science, economics, history and public speaking. Students from all over the world, (most notably England, France, Turkey, Micronesia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hong Kong) attend Summer School.[3] The revenue from these programs helped fund the school-year JSA program.
History
JSA was founded in 1934 by Professor E. A. Rogers at the Montezuma Mountain School in Los Gatos, California, as an experiment in self-government.[4] Students at the Montezuma Mountain School set up their own three-branch government, complete with a student court, police force, executive officer, and legislative branch. The students would draft, pass, and enforce their own rules.[5]
The JSA has had liaisons with other similar organizations outside of the United States. For example, throughout the 1980s the Pacific-Northwest State developed close ties with the British Columbia Youth Parliament (BCYP). The Southern California state also added the American School in Honduras as a chapter in 2006 and the school's chapter attended the annual Congress convention. There are two active chapters in St. Kitts and St. Thomas, USVI. Puerto Rico has traditionally one or two chapters. All Caribbean chapters attend either the Northeast State or Mid-Atlantic State conventions.
Since its inception in 1934, more than 500,000 student members have participated in the JSA.
JSA closed down on August 31st 2024. The reasons cited for closure included reduced student participation and increasing costs[1]
The JSA consisted of 10 states which correspond roughly to the geographic territories in the United States: the Arizona State, Mid-Atlantic State, Midwest State, Northeast State, Northern California State, Ohio River Valley State, Pacific Northwest State, Southeast State, Southern California State, and the Texas State. Each state was broken into one or more regions. If a state contracts below a certain operational level, the Council of Governors may vote to make the state a territory. The Council may also break states into multiple territories if they become too large to be effectively managed.
The Mid-Atlantic State was composed of chapters from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina.[15] The Mid-Atlantic State was divided into the New Jersey Region (NJ) and the South Atlantic District (PA, MD, DE, VA, NC). The New Jersey Region was the most populated JSA region in the nation. Winter Congress was held in Arlington, Virginia, while the Spring and Fall State Conventions rotate between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Woodbridge, New Jersey.
The Mid-Atlantic state had the largest number of voters in its 2024 election with over 12,000 participants. The MAS also set recent records for most delegates in a Fall State, Winter Congress, and Spring State Conventions.
The Northeast was composed of chapters from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.[15] It boasted two regions, the New England Region (VT, NH, MA, RI) and the Empire Constitution Region (CT, NY).
Winter Congress was held in Arlington, Virginia, while the Spring and Fall State Conventions rotated between Boston, Massachusetts, Stamford, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island.
NorCal was composed of chapters from California, Nevada, and Utah.[15] It had four regions: the Golden Gate Region, the Central Valley Region, the Greater California Region, and the East Bay Region. NorCal was the oldest JSA state in the country, dating back to the founding of the organization in 1934.
Fall and Spring State were held in San Jose, California, and Winter State was held in Sacramento, California.
Ohio River Valley State
The Ohio River Valley (ORV) includes chapters from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee.[15] The state contains the Southwest District and North Central District. Fall State was held annually in Columbus, OH. Winter Congress was held annually in Washington, D.C. Spring State was held annually in Florence, Kentucky. The ORV government was composed of a program director, a governor, a lieutenant governor and a cabinet. The cabinet contains ten different departments, with 10 directors and 20 specialists.
The Pacific Northwest has chapters from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.[15] The state has three regions: the Great Pacific Region (western WA), the Inland Empire Region (eastern WA, ID, MT, WY), and the Oregon Region (OR).
The Texas State compromises of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.[15] Their Fall and Spring State conventions are held in Houston, Texas, but pre-pandemic, their Fall State conventions were hosted at the Texas Capitol Building in Austin, Texas.[17] Texas State's Winter Congress was hosted in also hosted in Houston,[18] but was previously located in Washington, D.C., with the Mid-Atlantic State. Their state elected officials include the following:[19]
The Texas Junior State was organized into two regions and two counties, with mayors serving as leaders of regions and administrators serving as leaders of counties:
Gulf Coast Region (GCR)
The Gulf Coast Region consists of the Gulf Coast of Texas, with Houston serving as the center of the region. The 2022–2023 Gulf Coast Mayor was Dorothy Okoro.
Alamo Capitol Region (ACR)
The Alamo Capitol Region consists of the center of Texas, encompassing cities such as Austin and San Antonio. The 2022–2023 Alamo Capitol Mayor was Khushi Patel.
Panhandle Metroplex County (PMC)
The Panhandle Metroplex County consists of the Northeast quadrant of Texas, encompassing cities such as Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth. The 2022–2023 Panhandle Metroplex County Administrator was Gabriel Bo.
Rio Grande County (RGC)
The Rio Grande County consists of the Southern tip of Texas, encompassing cities such as McAllen and Edinburg. The 2021–2022 Rio Grande County Administrator was Lauren Marquez.
Fall State and Spring State are statewide overnight conventions at regional hotels and convention centers. Both consist of debates, thought talks, and special activities, including political fairs and a casual dance. Fall State was one night, students typically arrive at the hotel on a Saturday and return home the following day. Spring State, by comparison, usually takes place over three days, students arriving at the hotel on a Friday and returning on Sunday. At this longer spring convention JSA members in attendance elect regional leaders for the upcoming year. Both Fall and Spring State conventions are highlighted by prestigious keynote speakers, with past speakers including Pat Robertson, Ralph Nader, Colin Powell, Jahana Hayes, Tom Malinowski, Fareed Zakaria and Joe Trippi.[20]
Winter Congress convention
Winter Congress was structured similar to the United States Congress: students are divided into Senate and House of Representative committees. Student delegates pass bills in committees and then in floor sessions of the Senate and House. If a bill passes both houses, it becomes JSA law.
Regional conferences
There are also smaller, regional conferences and chapter-conferences ("chapter-cons") which occur on a local level. Regionals are run by the Mayors and Vice-Mayors of Regions along with the Regional Cabinet members that they appoint. Chapter-cons are usually hosted by chapters at individual schools and are not officially JSA-sponsored events.
Elected positions and cabinet
As a student-run organization, each JSA state holds elections yearly at the Spring State conventions to elect student elected officials who serve one-year terms. Each state elects a Governor and Lieutenant Governor, as well as various other offices that differ from state to state. These officials each appoint a small cabinet that helps them run the organization by completing tasks such as organizing convention logistics, writing debates, producing publicity materials, founding new chapters, and running websites. There was also a National Cabinet appointed by the Council of Governors. JSA officials and cabinet members are typically extremely dedicated to JSA, and often spend many hours per week doing their jobs.
Summer programs
After the school year was over, JSA and JSF offer numerous summer programs. The biggest programs, which are held at major universities, are Summer Schools, which are conducted by the Junior Statesmen Foundation and offer students an opportunity to study local, state, or national government at an advanced level. These programs are meant to prepare young leaders for active participation in public affairs.
Summer institutes are also held in different regions, such as the summer symposium of Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, Princeton University and University of Texas. These events are four- to five-days long and venture into politics, world studies, history, national security and discussions of current events. Princeton's event was nicknamed "Princetitute." These events used to be known as symposia.
Every summer, the newly elected governors each choose a select few from their states or territories to attend the Montezuma National Leadership Summit (affectionately known as "Zuma"). The summit was held in early-to-mid August at Presentation Center in Los Gatos, California, the former site of the Montezuma Mountain School where JSA was founded in 1934. Students who are selected to attend this summit learn more about the history and national dynamics of JSA. Being selected for attendance was considered one of the ultimate JSA honors, and many of the students that attend lead future years of the Junior State. Subsequently, two or three students are selected out of class to become a National Montezuma Foundation Student Advisor, working with the Junior State Foundation to preside over budget and funding allocations for the National Montezuma Summit.
^Author Unknown, Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, June 5, 1997, "Six FSM High School Students Selected for 1997 DOI Junior Statesmen Summer School," http://www.fsmgov.org/press/pr06059a.htm
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