This week Street Law, Inc. launched the second year of its Breakfast with a Legend program in three Washington, DC area schools.  The program’s goal is to educate elementary and middle school students about the law through a series of visits with local legends— individuals who have contributed to the development of justice and equality in Washington, DC, and beyond.

Participating students reap educational benefits such as active, participatory learning and enhanced reading and writing skills.  The program also strives to deepen the students’ connection to their communities through interviews with parents, grandparents, church elders, and other adults involved directly in their lives.    

 

Volunteer lawyers from King & Spalding LLP, Washingtonpost.NewsweekInteractive, DC area law students, and members of the Street Law, Inc. staff work with the students in preparatory sessions to explore the lives and accomplishments of their legends and also provide opportunities for further positive interaction with adults.   

Over the course of the program, the students share three breakfasts with their legend and participate in educational activities about the law and their legend’s life.  Between sessions students keep journals to prompt thinking about their legend and the skills they used during the visits.  

Volunteering as legends for eighth graders at KIPP DC: Key Academy—a charter school in southeast Washington—are the following:
•  The Honorable Karen Howze, magistrate judge, Superior Court of the   District of Columbia
•  Cathy Lanier, D.C. chief of police
•  Linda Singer, former attorney general of the District of Columbia

Serving as Legends for fifth graders at J.C. Nalle Elementary School are these area judges:
•  The Honorable Vanessa Hall, administrative judge, Office of Hearings and Appeals-Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
•  The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring, presiding judge, family court, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
•  The Honorable José López, presiding judge, tax and probate division, Superior Court of the District of Columbia

The Honorable Eugene Hamilton, senior judge and former chief judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is volunteering as a Legend at Seaton Elementary School, where he will work with fifth and sixth graders as well as a class of special education students.  

Breakfast with a Legend is implemented at no cost to the participating schools and does not add to the workload of participating teachers.  Since its inception in the spring of 2007, over 200 Washington, DC, students have participated in the program.

Street Law, Inc. is a nonprofit organization making great strides toward establishing a more just society through practical education about law, democracy, and human rights.  For over 35 years, their programs and curricula have promoted knowledge of legal rights and responsibilities, engagement in the democratic process, and belief in the rule of law, among youth and adults.  Street Law programs can be found in all 50 states and over 30 countries.  For more information visit www.streetlaw.org .  

Contact
Deborah Foster, Senior Program Director
Street Law, Inc.
1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 870
Silver Spring, MD  20910
Phone  240.821.1315
Fax  301.589.1131
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