By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

Any kind of professional development usually is welcome to a young teacher.

Abby Maska just experienced one of the most helpful kinds -- hands-on.

Maska, a government teacher at Hays High, was one of 25 social studies teachers from across the country who participated in a three-day trip to Washington last week.

She earned the all-expense paid trip when one of her Hays High seniors, Jennifer David, won the Kansas Constitution Bee in the spring.

Part of the first-place prize included the winner's sponsoring teacher to be treated to the summer trip to Washington as part of Bill of Rights' "Kansas to D.C." educator program.

The program is designed for teachers to draw from their own experiences to create lessons and activities for their students.

Teachers from Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Pennsylvania participated in the 2009 event.

It was the fourth trip to Washington for Maska, but she said she never tires of visiting the nation's Capitol.

"It's always good to get to go back and see the things you know you love," Maska said. "Like, I've seen all the monuments before, but they took us on a night tour, and seeing the monuments at night is incredible."

This year's program centered on learning about the lives of George Washington, the first president of the U.S., and George Mason, one of the "Fathers of the Bill of Rights."

So the visiting teachers got to tour the estates of Washington at Mount Vernon, Va., and Mason at Gunston Hall, Va., as well as the National Archives in D.C.

"It was really nice to network with other teachers from the state of Kansas," Maska said. "We shared a lot of ideas of things we do in our classrooms."

Maska said she probably learned as much from hanging out with those teachers as she did from the program's activities.

"I've only taught for two years," she said. "So to be around these veteran teachers who have taught 20, 30 years -- as much as I've learned from the seminars I also learned from those teachers."

Now, with the start of school less than a month away, Maska is looking forward to taking what she learned back to the her classroom.

"That experience will translate in how I'm able to explain or teach things to the students," she said. "I'm really excited to take everything I've learned and add all this new information and improve on what I've done."

TMP's Whitmer ninth at nationals

Rebecca Whitmer never had been to California before this summer.

So she took advantage of the opportunity.

Whitmer, who will be a junior at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School this fall, qualified for the National Leadership Conference of Future Business Leaders of America organization last month in Anaheim, Calif.

Whitmer got to nationals by virtue of her second-place finish at the state competition in Topeka last spring.

In her first try at the FBLA program, Whitmer finished second in the Introduction to Business Communications event at state and also was third in Introduction to Business.

Students can participate in only one event at nationals, and Whitmer chose the former.

It turned out to be a good choice.

She was one of those called to the stage to be honored as a top-10 finalist in her event, and Whitmer brought home the ninth-place trophy.

The conference was just one of the highlights of the trip, however.

Fellow classmate Elizabeth Rupp, who barely missed qualifying for nationals after finishing fourth at state, accompanied Whitmer to nationals.

The two teenagers, along with their teacher, Judy Mitchell, went to Disneyland, California Venture and the beach.