The Juanita Gardine school is getting a facelift with the help of the Young Lawyers Committee and the VI Bar Association. The groups are not offering the regular paint job; instead they are offering mentoring and free programs in reading and math on Saturday mornings.
The initiative from the lawyers comes as part of their Law Week activities and the group’s willingness to provide some assistance to the community. “ We wanted to provide something concrete and meaningful to the community and so we thought that an educational program would meet the bill,” said Lydia Logie.
The programs got of the ground last weekend with some hundred students from the school and about nine lawyers participating. The attorneys met with the students and spent quite a lot of time getting to know them. They discussed how they developed their careers and talked about the student’s expectations. The lawyers advised the students to stay in school and told them that getting an education should a top priority.
School principal Lionel Sewpershad said he welcomed the assistance of the Young Lawyers Committee. He said he would be encouraging the lawyers to read the students and to provide them
as much motivation as possible. Sewpershad also said he plans to try to get more teachers, community groups and parents involved in the Saturday program. “We must try to make the program work because the general welfare and education of the students depends on its success,” Sewpershad said.
Young Lawyers Committee members participating in the program are Logie, Diane Russell, Yvette Ross, Maxwell McIntosh, Natalie Nelson, Gizette Canegata, Miles Plaskett, Rhonda Hospedales and James Geocaris. Senior VI Bar Association members participating in the program are Zeke Jennings, R. Oliver David, the law firm of Alkon, Rhea and Hart, Bryant, White, Barnes and Simpson, Coon, Sanford and Amerling and Holt and Russell. |
