The American Public Policy Special Emphasis (APPSE) class at Wauwatosa West High School placed fourth out of 48 teams at the national We the People competition. The result stands as one of the program's finest achievements in its 19-year history.
The competition, held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel outside Washington, D.C., brought together approximately 38 state champions and 10 wild-card teams from across the country for the prestigious civics competition, which challenges students' understanding of the U.S. Constitution through rigorous research presentations and a competitive question-and-answer format.
What makes this year's result extraordinary is the backdrop against which it was achieved.
In February, West APPSE teacher Chad Mateske suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. The event occurred at one of the team's own fundraising events, a pickleball night organized to help cover the cost of the trip. Mateske was out of the classroom for six consecutive weeks. With their teacher recovering, the 26-member student team never wavered.
"These kids kept their eyes on the prize," said Mateske. "This truly has been an amazing group and the year has been nothing short of phenomenal."
The team was supported during Mateske's absence by 12 teaching assistants, who were program alumni, as well as their mentor coaches. A three-month calendar paced out from January kept the academic preparation on track. Students conducted extensive research, held meetings with constitutional scholars, Congressional staffers, and even CIA analysts who are program alumni, and held before-school, early morning practice sessions in the week leading up to nationals. Mateske received medical clearance to work with the students, either in person or online, for only the final two weeks before the trip.
Simultaneously, the program faced the challenge of funding the trip for all students, a goal the team met by raising $113,000 in just 10 weeks. The grassroots fundraising effort included a letter drive (the single largest source of revenue), candy bar and coffee sales, raffle baskets, bake sales, a painting night, a band night, an Indian dinner event, a yoga event and the pickleball night. The effort was led primarily by parents already committed to specific events, with support from the Activities Office.
"It really was a communal effort," Mateske said.
The team traveled to the competition with 26 competing students, 12 teaching assistants, three mentor coaches, and one additional chaperone. Their first goal upon arriving was to crack the Top 10 after the opening two days of competition, a milestone described as genuinely difficult, given that the same seven or eight programs nationally tend to dominate those spots year after year. They not only broke through but finished 4th, tying the program's best-ever placement.
Since 2021, the Wauwatosa West APPSE program has finished inside the Top 10 earning 4th, 9th, 5th, and 4th places at nationals, a record of sustained excellence over a six-year window that few programs in the country can match.
For the Mateske family, the Wauwatosa community also has proven to be exceptional.
“The community has really stepped up in so many ways through these last two and a half months both in helping our program but more importantly in helping my family,” Mateske said.
From financial contributions and gift cards to a meal train that continues to run nearly three months post-surgery, the outpouring of support the Mateske family has received has left them deeply grateful for Wauwatosa’s communal spirit.