Scholarships for USC School of Law, Charleston School of Law Students Recognize Commitment to Careers Serving the Public Interest

Scholarships for USC School of Law, Charleston School of Law Students Recognize Commitment to Careers Serving the Public Interest

Clarissa Guerrero

The Charleston Chronicle

Two South Carolina law students were awarded scholarships Thursday, November 1 by the Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ), the union representing 1,400 federal administrative law judges at the Social Security Administration during the AALJ’s annual meeting in Charleston.

“As judges for a public agency which serves tens of millions of Americans, we’re delighted to honor outstanding law students like Kerry Shipman and Clarissa Guerrero,” said AALJ President Marilyn Zahm. “Their accomplishments in public interest law, so early in their careers, shows an outstanding commitment to the highest ideals of our profession.”

Ms. Guerrero, who is pursuing a joint degree in law and social work at the University of South Carolina (USC), is a volunteer guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children in South Carolina. She is also co-president of the USC School of Law Pro Bono Program Board and has served as a law clerk at the South Carolina Center for Father and Families. She is recognized by her teachers and fellow students as “a voice for the underrepresented, the misunderstood and the disenfranchised.”

Kerry Shipman

Mr. Shipman, a law student at Charleston School of Law, has worked as an intern at the Mecklenburg County District Court and Charleston Pro Bono Legal services, and as a law clerk at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina and at the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. He is presently a judicial extern for North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Michael R. Morgan.

Mr. Shipman has pursued his legal career in the face of considerable personal challenges following the death of his mother from colon cancer at the age of 46, as described in the Charleston Post and Courier.  He is presently the legal guardian for his younger brother, a freshman in high school

AALJ members award a scholarship each year at the organization’s annual Educational Conference, recognizing law students with demonstrated experience or interest in pursuing a career in public interest law. The scholarships are made possible by donations from AALJ members and a contribution from LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Students at NUSA Conference get crucial lesson in politics

Students at NUSA Conference get crucial lesson in politics

By Ariel Worthy

More than 100 students at the 43rd Annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Conference in Birmingham on Friday created their own city where technology is paramount and littering and cyberbullying are not tolerated.

The City of Diversity – with the slogan, “Where Everybody Counts and YOU Matter” – was a “tech city” and it even came with an election season to give students a taste of politics.

Birmingham is hosting the 43rd Annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Conference. The four-day event, which ends May 26, features a series of panels, workshops, and collaborative events that encourage networking, camaraderie, and idea-sharing. The theme for 2018 is “Building Tomorrow’s Community Today.”

Creating a city during the youth conference was a lot harder than imagined, said Annissa Owens, a rising junior at Shades Valley High School.

“You have to find neighborhood presidents, city councils, a mayor; you have to find transportation, how to get around,” she said.

However, Owens, 15, said she is grateful for the experience which included her role of getting people out to vote.

“[Citizens] have to get the law they want to be passed, and to do that, they have to vote for whoever they want to be mayor,” she said. “I think my part is important because if you want your voice to be heard you should go vote. So, you can’t get mad when the change you wanted didn’t happen if you don’t vote.”

DeRenn Hollman, 13, who will attend Ramsay High School in the fall, was a mayoral candidate and said his goal was to “make the city more comfortable and like easier for people.”

“I want more technology, and you won’t have to work as hard for things,” he said. “It’s a tech-heavy city, so it’s easy, but the easiest thing to do is to participate in the things the city has going on.”

Running for elected office wasn’t as easy he thought.

“Campaigning is hard because you have another candidate who is just as qualified as you,” he said. “But you also have a team behind you and people who support you and believe in you. It’s still hard to go up there and speak in front of people though.”

The candidates had two major campaign issues: cyberbullying and littering.

“You’re either for littering to be a crime or against littering to be a crime,” Owens said. “You’re either for social media to end because of cyberbullying or you’re against social media to end because of cyberbullying.”

Hollman said, “as a mayor I want some cyberbullying to stop, but I don’t think social media should have to end because of it. Social media is fun but use it responsibly.”

Campaigning taught the students some valuable lessons.

“You still have to go through a lot of different people (such as the legislative branch) and if they don’t like it, they cannot go through with it,” Hollman said. “You can’t just say ‘littering is a crime’; you have to send it to your council to approve it. If they don’t like the law they can vote against it.”

Owens said he now sees some things differently.

“Some things are not as easy as it sounds,” she said. “Like getting extra transportation is not as easy as I thought it was. Like getting a new bus. You have to go through voting and funding to get those new things.”

Danny Brister, operations manager for the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office Division of Youth Services and co-chair for the NUSA Youth Conference, said the message for students was simple.

“We told them that we need their impact, their intelligence, we need them to engage,” Brister said. “At the age of 18 a young person can serve as neighborhood president. That’s important for them to know. As early as 16 they can vote in their neighborhood elections. We hope they gain an understanding that it takes a lot of work. We hope they leave inspired to make a change.”

Birmingham is hosting the 43rd Annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Conference. The four-day event, which ends May 26, features a series of panels, workshops, and collaborative events that encourage networking, camaraderie, and idea-sharing. The theme for 2018 is “Building Tomorrow’s Community Today.”

Banneker Students Finish Second in NASA Competition

Banneker Students Finish Second in NASA Competition

Banneker High School students Bria Snell, India Skinner and Mikayla Sharrieff of “S3 Trio,” finalists in the national NASA competition (Courtesy of In3)

After weeks of waiting for NASA to release the results of a youth competition, the national space agency has announced that the girls from Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C. have come in at second place.

Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell, who took part in the competition through D.C.’s recently launched Inclusive Innovation Incubator (In3) project, were the runners-up in the high school category of NASA’s Glog OPSPARC Challenge with their submission from H2NO to H2O. Their idea takes NASA technology designed for water purification and incorporates it into school water systems to remove impurities.

Banneker High School students Bria Snell, India Skinner and Mikayla Sharrieff of "S3 Trio," finalists in the national NASA competition (Courtesy of In3)Banneker High School students Bria Snell, India Skinner and Mikayla Sharrieff of “S3 Trio,” finalists in the national NASA competition (Courtesy of In3)

The eight national finalists for the youth competition were announced in April. The Banneker girls, who calls themselves “S3 Trio,” was the only all-female, all-Black team among the finalists.

But their achievement was not without controversy. Once public voting was opened, the NASA website was bombarded with racist comments against the girls after it was hacked by 4Chan, a well-known hacking group that uses negative language and tampering to assault web activity.

Nevertheless, the final decision on which team would be the winner was based on NASA’s scientific rubric. The winning team, from Cormnando High School in Henderson, Nevada, won a $4,000 stipend to visit NASA Goddard for a workshop and awards ceremony in their honor.

For its part, In3 says it respects the process and the outcome. The incubator hopes that participation of the Banneker team in the challenge has sparked interest for other non-traditional groups to enter future challenges.

The Banneker team and the In3 staff see a bright side from the results.

“We are elated that the In3 Team, India, Bria & Mikayla placed second in the NASA OPSPARC challenge,” said Aaron Saunders, CEO of In3. “As first-time participants, this is an amazing accomplishment. We salute NASA for their outreach to students interested in STEM education.”

When the hacking incident was uncovered, the work of S3 Trio received national and local attention. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she would give the Banneker team $4,000 to continue work on their project. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to support funding a college education for the three 11th-graders.

So far, the campaign has raised nearly $25,000 of its $30,000 goal, with renowned television executive Shonda Rhimes donating $14,500.

Saunders said the team of Bria, India and Mikayla shows what In3 can do.

“Their accomplishments are the result of access, support and innovation to the community,” he said. “India, Bria and Mikayla are always winners in my eyes. Their future is written in CODE!”

Foster Elementary families receive help during time of need

Foster Elementary families receive help during time of need

DALLAS— Clothes, food and household essentials provided by Buckner International fill a normally empty room at Stephen Foster Elementary School.

The room was twice as full earlier this week, but students and families have steadily taken and used these essentials while their homes remain without gas or water due to the recent gas leaks in the area. And while it’s otherwise been business as usual at Foster Elementary thanks to tanks of natural gas provided by Atmos Energy, the donated items have been crucial for the school’s families.

“The students and their families obviously didn’t expect to have their gas shut off, so they’ve been very thankful to have any kind of support during this time,” said Buckner International Director Candace Gray.

Gray said the organization immediately reached out to Foster Elementary after the gas leaks in the area. Many of the clothes and supplies come from the non-profit’s Humanitarian Aid Center. Also, Buckner International has used their mobile laundry unit to wash clothes for the students and their families.

“We are very thankful to Buckner International for the support they have given our families during this time,” said Foster Elementary counselor DeLauren Kruzel. “Having access to household essentials and clean clothes gives our families a much greater piece of mind.”

Fairfield Elementary School Students Excel in Nursing Program

Fairfield Elementary School Students Excel in Nursing Program

By Ariel Worthy

Ten students sat with white lab coats, stethoscopes around their necks, waiting to receive pins and certifications for their work in nursing academy.

These weren’t college students, though. They were students from Robinson Elementary School in Fairfield in grades third through sixth. This is the first year the school started its Exploratory Nursing Program, and on Tuesday, students received recognition for their work.

Nursing programs students with BBNA members (in red) and teachers pose with their certificates

Jennifer Coleman, a professor at Samford University School of Nursing and member of the Birmingham Black Nurses Association (BBNA), said she was impressed with the students’ level of knowledge of healthcare.

“These children were giving out information that we give our college students . . . the future of healthcare is in good hands; I see some healthcare leaders, some CEOs of healthcare organizations.”

Coleman, who was joined by Deborah Zimmerman and Martha Dawson – also members of the BBNA – visited the school when the program began in December, and said students were very hands-on.

“We talked about nursing, healthcare, the importance of activity, exercise, nutrition, we taught them CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation],” Coleman said. “One of our nurses let them all stick her finger to check her blood glucose. They asked questions, and we realized how amazing they were. They were asking such high-level questions . . . they surpassed our expectations. They’re so smart, inquisitive.”

Students were also taught how to take blood pressure, listen to heart rates, and check blood sugar levels for diabetes. They presented information about hypertension, health and wellness, how to test for the flu, how to properly wash hands and how to perform CPR on adults and infants.

“If your family member is not responding to you and on the floor, you have to know how to do CPR,” said Ophelia Acquah, a teacher at Robinson Elementary School, who developed the program. “There might not always be another adult around.”

Parents were also impressed with the results. Lakecia Coleman (no relation to the professor) said her 11-year-old daughter Ja’Nia, who received her pin on Tuesday, has always talked about being a doctor or nurse.

The program helped her daughter become passionate about pursuing the healthcare field, Lakecia said.

“She’s been questioning all the family on their health,” Lakecia said. “She’s been looking into it more now. One of her uncles is a diabetic, and she’s been asking a lot of questions since she got started in the program. My husband recently had surgery so she’s been on all of us about our health.”

Healthcare is a good field of work, but it’s more than a career, she said.

“[Ja’Nia] wants to be healthy and she wants our family to be healthy,” Lakecia said. “So, she’s going to be on our backs about it until we get it together. We’re going to be in good hands with these young people leading the way.”

Ophelia Acquah, a teacher at Robinson Elementary School, developed the program to introduce students to a diverse field, she said.

“Most of the career academies are in the high schools, but the pace the world is going, the kids need to be exposed at an early age – the earlier the better,” said Acquah, who has no background in healthcare but a passion for finding solutions to needs. “A lot of times students in low-income areas are forgotten, but it’s my responsibility as an educator to find a need and fix it.”

The program went beyond health and included math, Acquah said.

“[Students] had to apply what they learned from the professionals to what they learned in the lab and decide what is the problem affecting the students. They came up with weight,” she said. “They learned math calculations and how to find averages and how to find research. They worked together. They worked as a team to put the slides together.”

Students read articles, researched, and checked for accuracy with their sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. They also had labs for four weeks and “worked with their classmates as if they were nurses,” Acquah said. “One of the kids said ‘my patient’ so they had patients that came into the lab and had their weight and blood pressure checked.”

Students were asked take notes on findings, she said.

“They noticed that their peers weight fluctuated, not because they gained weight, but because they had heavier clothes on,” Acquah said. “So, these were things they considered and looked at in their research.”

Professionals also spoke to the students. “They had a dental hygienist come to class,” Acquah said. “We had a doctor of psychology from Lawson State Community College teach how to conduct their research. That’s how they designed their surveys.”

The program has been a success.

“I had some students that came to me saying ‘next year I don’t want to be a patient, I want to be a nurse,’ Acquah said. “And I hope that we do have more who are passionate about this next year.”

Donna Edwards Vows to End ‘Unethical’ Campaign Contributions to School Board

Donna Edwards Vows to End ‘Unethical’ Campaign Contributions to School Board

Donna Edwards already has her sights set on cleaning up the Prince George’s County school board in her bid for county executive.

If elected later this year, the former U.S. congresswoman said she would ban the school system CEO and top-ranking school officials from donating campaign contributions to board members.

“Our education leaders are bold enough to put up political contributions that can influence their hiring and contracting decisions,” Edwards said Thursday at a press conference outside the school administration building in Upper Marlboro. “It may not be illegal, but it is unethical.”

Edwards’ comments were triggered by revelations that two school board members, Carolyn Boston and Sonya Williams, received such donations for their election campaigns.

According to finance reports, schools system CEO Kevin Maxwell donated $500 to Boston, the school board vice president who served on a committee to evaluate Maxwell’s performance.

Boston, who couldn’t be reached for comment, eventually returned the money.

Williams received $3,000 from Delegate Dereck Davis (D-District 25) of Mitchellville, according to campaign documents. The money from Davis, who is married to schools Deputy Superintendent Monique Whittington Davis, came from his terminated campaign from Congress two years ago, campaign records show.

“I’ve known [Davis] forever,” said Williams, a civil engineer who has served on the board since 2014. “It is not unethical or illegal for any politician to support another politician’s campaign. My goal on the school board is for us to be great by choice.”

Although the Maryland Ethics Commission monitors and approves regulations based on the legislature, state law allows school boards to manage its own ethic rules and committees.

Michael Lord, executive director of the state’s Ethics Commission, said Prince George’s received approval for its ethics regulations at least three years ago. He said any school complaints, however, are handled by the county, not the commission.

“It is all done on the local level,” Lord said.

The donations to Boston and Williams surfaced after two parents, Keisha Chase and Yolanda Rogers, wrote a letter last week to alert the state’s ethics commission.

“The culture of pay-to-play, kickbacks, you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours must end if we are ever going to provide a quality education for our children,” the letter said.

Chase and Rogers have children who attend DuVal High School in Lanham. Parents received letters from Maxwell last month informing them several staff members had been removed for violation of grading and graduation procedures.

The parents now plan to bring their concerns about the campaign contributions to the state Board of Education and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

Bowser Vows to Rectify DCPS Graduation-Rate Scandal

Bowser Vows to Rectify DCPS Graduation-Rate Scandal

WASHINGTON INFORMER — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser promised Thursday to get to the bottom of the graduation-rate scandal engulfing the city’s public schools system, particularly at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast.

In a letter to city residents, Bowser pointed out the schools system’s progress over the past decade, but acknowledged the “devastating news” she had to deliver about the system after reports surfaced late last year of inflated graduation rates at Ballou.

“The OSSE investigation revealed poor student attendance, a culture of graduating students despite poor attendance, training and technology failures within DCPS, and pressure to pass students in order to meet or exceed graduation goals,” Bowser said. “Misapplied policies and a desire to help our most disadvantaged students led to a series of failures we must now overcome.”

She said her plan to combat the issue includes commissioning a third-party investigation by a private firm overseen by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education; publicly presenting facts as they became available; holding those responsible for wrongdoings accountable; and setting a clear and deliberate course to fix what has been broken.

Bowser said the short-term steps to regaining the public’s faith in the schools system include appointing a chief integrity officer at DCPS; holding the system leadership accountable for attendance/grading and school-level failures; and referring the investigative reports to the D.C. inspector general for additional evaluation.

“As we confront our challenges, I want to be very clear that we will not tolerate any forms of cheating in our school system,” the mayor wrote. “When this occurs, it jeopardizes our students, our taxpayers, and our future as a city.”

She said information on other upcoming changes, including updates to the DCPS grading and credit recovery policies and the implementation of end-of-course assessments for core courses by the 2022 school year, can be found at attendance.dc.gov.

“But we won’t stop there,” Bowser said. “Beginning with the Class of 2018, we are working to ensure that every DCPS diploma has the value that our students deserve. DCPS is already in the process of conducting comprehensive reviews of student transcripts and ensuring that schools have support systems and aligned accountability systems to properly follow attendance, grading, and credit recovery policies this semester. This will inevitably lead to some tough conversations with our students and families. Seniors will be informed whether they are on track to graduate, and if not, what options they have. We want every student to succeed, and we will have the appropriate supports in place to help them do so.

“Starting at Ballou, DCPS will host resource fairs to connect more students and families to the supports they need to be successful in school, including on attendance,” she said. “We want to hear directly from students about what obstacles they face so that we can help them overcome those challenges. And, going forward, it is critical that we continually instill in our students that there is nothing more important to me, you, or our city than their individual success.”

Bowser touted DCPS’s achievements over the past decade, including recognition as the fastest-improving urban school district in the country based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, as well as increasing enrollment numbers following years of decline.

SEN. DOUG JONES ADDRESSES MLK UNITY BREAKFAST, TALKS OF EQUALITY AND JUSTICE

SEN. DOUG JONES ADDRESSES MLK UNITY BREAKFAST, TALKS OF EQUALITY AND JUSTICE

The Birmingham Times logo

By Ariel Worthy

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — During his 20-minute speech Jones spoke about the importance of justice and equality for all and why the American Dream and Dr. King’s Dream should be a shared vision.

“Together we have a responsibility to continue fighting for the American dream, Dr. King’s dream,” Jones said. “…to ensure that Alabama and our nation live up to the ideas of equality and justice.

“That doesn’t just mean justice in a courtroom,” he said. “…it means that children growing up in every community should have the same opportunities to succeed.”

The senator spoke in a packed Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center (BJCC) North Exhibition Hall filled with city leaders, organizers, activists, and citizens celebrate King Jr. Day.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Birmingham City Council President Valerie Abbott, Jefferson County Commission President Pro-Tem Sandra Little Brown and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox were among the officials on the dais.

But it was Jones who commanded the attention of the audience, many of whom helped get him elected to the Senate.

“I’m here today [as Senator] and it’s because you believed in me,” he said. “You believed in Alabama, you believed in this country, and you believed enough to devote your time and energy and enthusiasm to make my election possible.”

Jones said the breakfast is a chance to remember the sacrifices of not only King, but other foot soldiers who fought for justice. “People like Rev. (Joseph) Lowery, Jimmie Lee Jackson, the great Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph Abernathy and my dear friend and colleague, John Lewis,” he said.

He also honored women who fought for freedom and justice.

“(These men) stood shoulder to shoulder with courageous women like Coretta Scott King, Recey Taylor, Rosa Parks, Virginia Foster Durr, Amelia Boynton (Robinson) and Annie Lee Cooper,” he said. “And in today’s climate we need to make sure that we recognize the courageous women of the Civil Rights Movement.”

Jones pointed out the critical need of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which he supports and the first bill he sponsored was to make sure funding remains in place for the program.

“Taking care of our children is not just an investment for their future, it is an investment in all of our futures.”

He talked about how “those who speak the loudest and gain strength through fear rather than consensus and compromise” let CHIP expire putting 150,000 Alabama children at risk.

“They refuse expand Medicaid, threatening the health of 1,000,000 Alabamians and the security of our rural hospitals,” he said. “They watched as children from certain zip codes got access to better education, and they did it generation after generation.”

He also pointed out that a lot of the rhetoric causing division is coming from the White House especially “when the President of the United States uses language that is not only beneath his office, but the antithesis of the values that we hold as Americans,” Jones said. “Every time we are faced with what seems like insurmountable difficulties we have risen to the occasion to confront it head on, and make no mistake, we will do it again.”

The senator pointed to the gains made by foot soldiers and King when faced with obstacles.

“Reject hatred, violence and fury,” he said. “We need to listen and learn from one another. We need to seek common ground even when it seems impossible.”

Jones concluded his speech by saying change in America will require “foot soldiers of today to make change.”

“It’s up to us, it’s our challenge,” he said. “After standing on that stage on Dec. 12 [election night] I know you know what to do.”

Jones said he didn’t have all the answers, “but I know that it will take more than gathering for breakfast once a year.”

The breakfast also included a unity candle lighting, a dance tribute from dancer Deitra Streeter to the song Rise Up by Andra Day, and 9-year-old Sergeant Jones who eloquently quoted King’s “I Have A Dream” speech from memory and with the crowd joining hands and singing “We Shall Overcome.”