Governor Kay Ivey pays a visit to a newly announced bicentennial school

LAMAR COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) – South Lamar High School has a new distinction. One that will link it to a special moment in Alabama History.

The school was selected as a 200 Alabama Bicentennial School.

In 2018, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced the 200 Alabama Bicentennial Schools. The goal is to get students involved in the history of their state, and the future of their communities.

On Monday, students at South Lamar school had something different to tell their parents when asked, “what happened at school today?” They had a special visitor on campus, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey.

The Governor’s visit was part of the Alabama Bicentennial Schools, a program designed to bridge communities and show inclusion for everyone.

Principal Lisa Wright said becoming an Alabama Bicentennial School was competitive.

“We had to apply for a grant and it had to be a community project. We did the banners that are out in the front of the school and it has our South Lamar logo in the middle and it has the Kennedy and Millport dates that they were open because we are a combination of two schools,” said Wright.

Students even dressed up as famous Alabamians who left a tremendous impact in the community, one student was dressed as Governor Ivey herself.

“To know that the history class came up with the project so it was an exciting moment for them. We won a $2,000 grant that made us an official bicentennial school. We are just really proud that the governor chose us to come to especially being a bicentennial school. We have been really excited that she was going to visit us, we never had a governor visit our school,” said Wright.

Student body president Herachio Washington said he’s thankful his school was chosen.

“That’s the first time the governor has visited a school in Lamar County and it was actually really humbling and really honoring,” said Washington. “I was proud to be able to be the one to shake her hand. It’s a really big accomplishment because for a lot of us, our whole families have come to school here. We just really take pride in our school because our school has a lot of things that many schools don’t have.”

“Getting to incorporate that into our school is such a proud accomplishment that we get to hold. High school and elementary have definitely been more incorporated throughout the years,” said government student ambassador Alex Trull.

Wright said she looks forward to students and educators working closer together on more activities for the school system.

“I hope in the future that it helps these kids put a-lot into some of the projects that we do and they can learn from them and what can come out of it. With Alabama being here 200 years, our kids need to know what Alabama was years ago and that has shaped our community,” said Wright.

The State of Alabama will celebrate it’s 200th Birthday on December the 14.