JACKSON TWP — It took an act of Congress, but one teacher in the Seneca Valley School District will spend a month this summer watching how the Constitution really works.

Jennifer Mitnick, an eighth grade civics and economics teacher at Seneca Valley Middle School, was awarded a Congressional Fellowship from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation in Washington, D.C.

The foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to improve teaching about the Constitution in secondary schools.

"It's just a wonderful opportunity to observe the workings of Congress in person," Mitnick said.

In 2002, Mitnick was named the Junior James Madison Memorial Fellow for Pennsylvania.

For a month, she attended a summer institute on the Constitution at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The fellowship also funded Mitnick's master of education in learning and teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2003.

After teaching for three years, all James Madison fellows are allowed to apply for the Congressional fellowship, Mitnick said.

About 10 to 15 fellows apply every year but only one or two are chosen nationwide, she said.

Goals of the program include watching how the U.S. Constitution works in practice by observing Congress and working in a congressional office and bringing that knowledge back to the classroom, Mitnick said.

She chose to work with U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, because he represents Fox Chapel, where she lives, as well as the taxpayers of Seneca Valley.

"One of my goals is to learn more about how he represents local issues on the national level," Mitnick said.

"When you actually get to meet the people that have the power, that make the laws ¿ it makes it so much more real."

Altmire is looking forward to Mitnick's arrival.

"As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I play a role in shaping education policy. Jennifer's firsthand experience as a teacher will provide me with a valuable perspective as she helps my office evaluate legislation," he said.

"I hope Jennifer's time on Capitol Hill will provide her with a quality experience that can help her make Congress come alive for her students when she returns in the fall."

From Altmire, Mitnick will look for examples of legislation he is pursuing that has relevance to her students' lives.

"I get the sense that often they learn the process of how a bill becomes a law but they don't internalize it," she said. "They see it as a chart in the textbook."

Modeling the type of critical thinking she expects of her students will hopefully motivate them to learn, she said.

"If an issue connects to their lives, they can see that government isn't some faraway group of people. They really do make a difference," she said.

When she returns to the classroom, Mitnick hopes to have many more answers to write in the question binder filled by students.

"I'm most looking forward to getting official answers to all the hypothetical questions my students ask," she said.

"There's only so much that fits in my textbook."