We are part of the "Corridor of Shame," but we are not quitters!
Jasper County students are attending all new school facilities. Not so for students along the rest of the Interstate 95 corridor. Students in many of the rural school districts that were seen in the documentary, "Corridor of Shame," are still trying to learn in those deplorable conditions.
"We are not quitters."
Those were the words of Ty'Sheoma Bethea, an eighth grader at J. V. Martin Middle School in Dillon. She said them in a letter to President Barack Obama asking that help be directed to her school, and by inference, all neglected poor rural schools like those in the Corridor of Shame.
She was sitting next to First Lady Michelle when the President spoke to Congress recently to tell how he planned to reshape the nation, including the educational system. He spoke of her and Congress stood and applauded as Michelle gave her several warm hugs.
The President noted that her words reflects the American people's spirit of determination to overcome the nation's current difficulties. Obama cited the conditions in the Corridor as "unacceptable"
Ty'Sheoma has spoken for all of us, including students, parents, and staff, when she said, "We are not quitters." Let us work together for the academic improvement we have dreamed of. Can we do it? Yes, we can. Yes, we will. We are not quitters either.
On this page are pictures taken by Jasper students at the schools they have left behind. Not so for students in the rest of the “Corridor.” These pictures powerfully represent the deficiencies of the state's rural schools and the unmet needs of the over 132,000 students in the 36 districts in the "Corridor" that argued that their school buildings were worse than the “minimally adequate” that is required by state law.
Resources:
http://www.corridorofshame.com/whataboutus/index.php
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7535
