Wilson High teacher earns S.C. Bar honor

From local reports
Published: May 21, 2008

Wilson High School social studies teacher Yvonne Rhodes has been named the South Carolina Bar’s 2008 Law Related Education (LRE) High School Teacher of the Year. A $1,000 award from the bar will be presented to Rhodes during an awards ceremony Thursday at the school.
Rhodes was selected for the LRE High School Teacher of the Year Award because of her ability to communicate a deep respect for the law to a far-reaching group of high school students during her 17 years as a government and history teacher at Wilson High School.
Rhodes volunteers as the Fourth Congressional District Coordinator for the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program. Rhodes gives her time to assist in teaching the program to new and interested teachers from across the state and assists with the state competition.
Rhodes was instrumental in establishing the International Baccalaureate American Government and Economics classes at Wilson High School. Under her tenure, students have won multiple state championships in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition and competed in the High School Mock Trial program.
The LRE High School Teacher of the Year Award was created in 2005 to honor a South Carolina teacher who best exemplifies the LRE commitment to help students better understand their roles as democratic citizens.
Winners are chosen based on their implementation of LRE curricula and/or programs and commitment to the principles of LRE. This award is made possible through an IOLTA grant from the S.C. Bar Foundation, and recipients may use the money for any purpose they see fit.
Wilson High School senior Tsung Yu Tsai is one of 12 winners of a High School Mock Trial scholarship. Nominations were solicited from teachers, students and lawyers in the LRE school network across the state to recognize achievement and the impact that mock trial has on the lives of the students who participate. The selected recipients of the $500 mock trial scholarships must have participated in mock trial at either the district or the state level of competition to qualify for the scholarship.
The S.C. Bar’s LRE Division, which was developed to improve the ability of teachers to instruct law related education, has been a part of the bar since 1976.
The S.C. Bar, which has a membership of more than 12,000 lawyers, is dedicated to advancing justice, professionalism and understanding of the law.