New school reflects on past, hope for future
By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
In the sweltering heat Monday, a little bit of local history was made.
It was the official ribbon-cutting for the public school district’s newest school – the Robert Smalls Leadership Academy – and several hundred students, parents, school officials, elected representatives and taxpayers were on hand to witness it.
It was in 1993 that the Robert Smalls Middle School was expanded to add students from the former Shell Point Elementary School, becoming the Robert Smalls Leadership Academy for kindergarden through 8th grade.
The new structure, designed to hold approximately 800 students, replaces the 38-year-old campus which still stands adjacent to the building. The older building, built in 1985, will be removed and become part of the new campus parking area and recreation fields. Referendum funding for the $62 million school was approved by voters in the 2019 capital campaign.
The building, located on Robert Smalls Parkway, will officially open to K through 8th-grade students in two weeks. But the history of the building itself and the man for whom it is named was already being celebrated by those in the audience, especially the students who seemed ready to make their marks on the community.
Like Smalls, the former slave who became a U.S. Congressman, there was a feeling in the air that the students who attend classes in the new academy will be “going places.”
As Robert Smalls’ great-grandson Michael Boulware Moore of Charleston told those present, the students and supporters of the school and education in general, should follow his example as a beacon of courage and determination.
Tribute was also paid to the late W.K. Alston who was principal of the all-black Robert Smalls High School from 1937 to 1962.
The new buildings were designed and decorated to commemorate Smalls’ achievements, serving as a daily reminder to the students of the former slave’s accomplishments. The entrance reflects the wooden bow of the boat Smalls handed over to the Union forces in the Charleston Harbor. The hallways are
painted with a mural timeline of local history.
Speakers also reminded those present that funding for the $62 million school project was made possible by voters who supported the 2019 capital campaign referendum, a subtle reminder that voters will be asked again this fall to support another referendum when a new middle school for Lady’s Island will be on the project list.
Reflection on the past … looking to the future. Who knew a new school building could inspire such introspection, such hope?
In another reflection of the changing educational environment, Monday’s remarks were presented bi-lingually reflecting the increasing Hispanic make-up in the district’s student population. All a definite sign of the times.
United Way poverty exercise reminder of hard times for many
BEAUFORT – Here’s a bit of trivia you probably don’t think about often: approximately 28,000 folks in Beaufort and Jasper County live in poverty.
Yep, in this beautiful part of the state where antebellum homes, lovely tree-lined residential streets, sunsets on the marshes and sandy beaches are offered as tourist attractions and invitations to those who want to move here, roughly 10 percent of Beaufort County current residents officially qualify by federal government standards as “poor.”
It’s a percentage of our population some organizations in our community think about every day. Groups like the United Way of the Lowcountry and myriad non-profits, which rely on grants and donations from one segment of the population to help another segment.
The United Way staff, working with the Beaufort-Jasper Economic Opportunity Commission, a government entity that works to help those who need help, last week conducted a poverty simulation exercise for about 80 invited “guests” who got to spend an hour “playing like” they were poor.
But the experiences of dealing with no transportation, no rent money, sick children, overdue rent, drug addictions, and food shortages were no “games” as the organizers reminded the participants. It’s the kind of daily life decisions those 28,000 of our neighbors make on a daily basis.
The United Way plans to offer the poverty simulation to other groups in the coming months. The event should be a priority for anyone who lives here and thinks … “not in MY town.”
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
