Government Comes to Life for Richmond Middle School Students

Published on: 1/09/2008

On November 13 through 14, 2007, approximately 600 middle school students from the Commonwealth of Virginia were given the opportunity to explore the newly renovated Capitol during Students' Day at the Capitol sponsored by the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar.  This program, which started in 2004, was designed to introduce students to our state government and the law through hands-on, interactive learning experiences.  Participating students were provided guided tours of the Capitol Building, Capitol Grounds, House of Representatives, Governor's Mansion, and Supreme Court. 

This year's students were selected from four middle schools within the City of Richmond.  These schools included Boushall, Brown, Henderson, and Hill.  Although all these students live within the City of Richmond, it was the first time for the majority of them to visit our Capitol.  Many of the students were extremely excited about the opportunity and listened closely to guided tours provided by the members of the Capitol, House of Representatives, Governor's Mansion, and Supreme Court staffs.   Chairperson Jayne Pemberton extended a special thank you to Mark Greenough and John Wootton of the Capitol, Jay Pearson of the House of Representatives, Leslie David of the Supreme Court, and Laura Fields of the Governor's Mansion for their time and efforts in coordinating and planning this two day event.  Additionally, she thanked Robin McVoy of Sands Anderson Marks & Miller who was a valuable asset in the preparation of this event.

To assist on the guided tours, student groups were each assigned an attorney or paralegal from local law firms and government agencies including the Attorney General's Office to answer questions and serve as chaperones.  Volunteers included Al Albinston, Mark Button, Star Fleming, Julie Harrison, Christina Hart, Lindsey McGinnis, Kerri Nicholas, Cassandra Reynolds, Leslie Schmidt, Ben Thorp, and Mark Wickersham.   These volunteers were also provided educational activity booklets filled with games and puzzles related to the tour.  Several of the students enjoyed sitting on the lawn of the Capitol working on these booklets.

As in the past, the goal of this year's program was to provide students with an opportunity to visit their Capitol and learn about local government.  Based on the feedback received from the students, the program was a success!  It was very rewarding to watch students travel from venue to venue applying what they were learning.  In particular, the students from Hill Middle School who were eager to answer questions and apply their newfound knowledge of Virginia history.

Given the participation we had at this year's Students' Day, we are already excited about plans for next year.  We hope to open the program to other middle schools around the Commonwealth.  Volunteers are always welcome to this program and are especially needed for planning the 2008 Students' Day.  Interested individuals can contact me at jpemberton@sandsanderson.com.

This article was originally published in the VSB Docket Call Newsletter for the Young Lawyers Conference.




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