Kenneth Clement boys surprise Valentines (Photo gallery)
CMSD NEWS BUREAU
2/14/2019
Kenneth W. Clement Boys' Leadership Academy is thankful for support the school receives from the central office, and students said so Thursday with Valentine's Day roses.
A group of 25 fourth- through eighth-graders were returning from a City Hall visit with Mayor Frank G. Jackson when Principal Derrick Holifield had the bus stop at the District's East Professional Center, located at East 79th Street and Superior Avenue. He had the boys pass out roses to women in departments like Early Childhood Education, Attendance, Food and Nutrition and Information Technology that provide assistance the kids might not realize they receive.
The young gentlemen were a hit as they went department to department, delivering roses and announcing themselves with a greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day from Kenneth W. Clement Boys' Leadership Academy." They also gave the flowers to women they passed in the hallway.
Holifield said the occasion was an opportunity to teach the boys a lesson in gratitude.
""Sometimes, our scholars don't understand all the components it takes to run a school," he said. "I want them to know it's not just the people in the building but outside the building, too."
Kenneth W. Clement is one of five single-gender schools in the District. The others include Warner Girls' Leadership Academy, Valley View Boys' Leadership Academy, Douglas MacArthur Girls' Leadership Academy and an all-male high school, Ginn Academy.
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