J.H. Williams students earn trip to New Orleans

Administrators at J.H. Williams Middle made a promise to students at the beginning of this school year, good behavior will be rewarded.
Students who held up their end of the deal saw that promise fulfilled last weekend when school administration and staff took more than 200 students on a trip to New Orleans.
“We met last summer as an administrative team,” Assistant Principal Kimberly Etie said. “We talked about what we could do to entice students to maintain their behavior all year long. We decided on a big field trip to New Orleans.
“Any kid who could go through the whole year without a major office referral would be invited to this trip.”
When it came time for the trip, 307 students qualified for the trip.
“That’s more than half of our students,” Etie said with a big smile.
Some of those who did qualify did not end up making the trip for various reasons. For the 213 students who did travel to the Big Easy, it was easily a time to remember.
“It was just so awesome,” Eighth grader Ricola Levy said. “The aquarium was my favorite part. It had so many different things to see.”
Tre’Michael Ursin, a seventh grader, liked the Audubon Zoo.
“I like the realistic design of the zoo,” Ursin said.
While the zoo left an impression on the youngster, the trip to New Orleans stirred up his emotions.
“I was amazed and a little overwhelmed,” said Ursin, who had never been to New Orleans. “I teared up a little bit on the bus because I was proud of myself and excited about what was coming.”
Getting to New Orleans took some help. The school held the J.H. Williams Spring Jam at the Red Barn in March. The event raised around $10,000 to help fund the trip.
“We had a huge turnout,” Etie said. “We had an auction and numerous bands play for us. We had wonderful support. The Riverfront (restaurant) stepped up for us. They furnished most of our materials and food. The community came out and supported us.
“It was wonderful.”
Etie offered a special thanks to J.H. Williams’ Dean of Students Ryan Abshire and Literacy Integration Specialist Alana Benoit.
“They really took over planning and organizing most of this,” Etie said. “They really deserve a lot of credit.”
Principal Dana Primeaux, Assistant Principal Lysonia Robertson and Etie all attended the trip.
“I had parents comment that they couldn’t believe all three administrators went,” Etie said. “Parents said that was important.”
Support from the school’s staff played an important role, too.
“We had 28 staffers who volunteered their Saturday to spend with these kids,” Etie said. “They saw the value in this. One thing we always talk about here is making investments.
“I thought that was a huge gesture from our teachers.”
A happy by-product of the trip will likely help in any investment for the students going forward.
“We organized the groups randomly,” Etie said. “We had 10 kids per teacher. Kids were hesitant when we introduced them to who their team was on Friday. They didn’t know all of the people in their group. They spent all day with them on Saturday. I had students and parents tell me that they thought it was great.
“They made new friends that they would have never given time to.”
Levy agreed.
“It created some good vibes,” she said.
Those vibes will continue because the trip is not a one-time deal.
“We are going to do it every year,” Etie said. “We are hoping to have even more students next year.”
There is only one way to make it happen, though.
“To earn something like this you have to try your best,” Ursin said.