Lady Liberty visits U.S. Jones for new curriculum kickoff
Published 10:23 am Thursday, February 20, 2014
Lady Liberty visited U.S. Jones Elementary to introduce students to the Super Citizen Program.
Students at U.S. Jones Elementary will begin the Super Citizen Program following a kickoff celebration with Lady Liberty on Thursday morning.
The program is part of the Liberty Learning Foundation, and locally, it’s sponsored by Alabama Power.
The Super Citizen Program focuses on teaching children character-building, financial literacy and career development with American ideals and civic responsibility.
“Our program teaches students history through three pillars: character development, financial literacy and career development,” said Barbara Sumner, Liberty Learning Foundation’s director of public affairs. “The program goes along with the Alabama state curriculum, so it’s easy to fit into the classroom.”
U.S. Jones student Jones Colgrove sings the National Anthem at the start of the event.
The curriculum lasts for between eight and 10 weeks, and at the end of it, there will be a graduation celebration for the students as well.
U.S. Jones Principal Leon Clark said having this program at the school means a lot for the students.
“Today’s kickoff will get the students excited about what they’re about to start learning in the classroom,” he said. “It will help them have an understanding of the program, which really focuses on giving back to the community. They’ll learn responsibilities about how to help the community and each other, and it will help teach the students that not everything is just given to them in life.”
At the end of the program, students will also work to find and nominate a local hero to be recognized during the graduation ceremony.
During Thursday’s kickoff celebration, Lady Liberty gave students information about how big the real Statue of Liberty is by using student volunteers on stage. Students were able to participate in several songs led by Lady Liberty while being introduced to the program.
Students sing along and participate in Thursday morning’s program.
The focus of the program will be in the fifth-grade classrooms, but all students will benefit from the program.
Diane Brooker, Alabama Power’s local business office manager, said it’s important to Alabama Power to stay connected with the community, especially the young people.
“A program like this prepares students to work for a company like Alabama Power because of how it teaches them community values,” she said. “Alabama Power expects its employees to be connected to the community, and this program teaches students how to be involved.”
