We the People student Allison Stogsdill gets a big hug from her friend, Delaney Herald, after returning from Washington, D.C. May 3. The Brown County Junior High School We the People civics team placed second in the national invitational at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The team was welcomed home with lots of hugs and cheers from parents, friends and school staff. The first-place team was Rachel Carson Middle School from Virginia. The eighth-graders had been in Washington, D.C., since April 29.

Faith, left, and Deede Parry welcomed back the We the People students returning from Washington, D.C. May 3. The Brown County Junior High School We the People civics team placed second in the national invitational at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The team was welcomed home with lots of hugs and cheers from parents, friends and school staff. The first-place team was Rachel Carson Middle School from Virginia. The eighth-graders had been in Washington, D.C., since April 29.

Friends and family raced to the yellow school bus parked in the lower level of the Brown County Junior High School parking lot.

They patiently waited by the bus door for the eighth-grade We the People team with flowers and signs in hand.

Students began stepping off the bus one by one, racing into the arms of friends and family.

The team placed second in the national invitational at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The students, teacher Michael Potts and chaperones returned home to Nashville May 3.

Their school bus was escorted by local authorities.

The eighth-graders had been in Washington, D.C., since April 29, testifying in mock congressional hearings and answering questions about the U.S. Constitution.

This was Brown County Junior High School’s second-straight runner-up finish; two previous BCJHS teams won the invitational.