AMS students at Prejudice Awareness Summit

AMS students attend the Prejudice Awareness Summit held at Randolph College.

 Contributed photo

On Jan. 8, a group of students from Appomattox Middle School attended the Prejudice Awareness Summit held at Randolph College in Lynchburg.

Over 75 students from middle schools in Appomattox, Lynchburg, William Campbell and Altavista attended the event, which lasted from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. It was directed by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities from Richmond. 

Teachers were asked to select students from seventh and eighth grades, both male and female, who represent a diverse array of races, cultures and religions in their respective schools.

Jorena Simpkins, a health teacher who also works with gifted and talented students at AMS, said she selected 12 students based on leadership abilities, communication skills, open-mindedness, and action-oriented attitudes. Eleven attended the summit. 

The fact that Simpkins has the chance to interact with every student in the school helped to make her selections based on observation. 

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