Bibb schools partnering with DA’s office to develop ‘strong kids’ instead of ‘broken adults’
Nnamdi Onyekwuluje, case manager for the School-Justice Partnership program in Macon-Bibb County, talks to a fifth grade class at Springdale Elementary School about making good decisions as they go into middle school.
William Lewis joined a gang in Clayton County when he was in high school.
In his sophomore year, he and other gang members were involved in a fight that left one person with a broken jaw. As a result, Lewis and some of his friends faced multiple years in prison.
Back then, Lewis was given an alternative that some students in Bibb County are being given today — a second chance.
In 2018, the Macon District Attorney’s Office and Bibb County School District adopted the 14-year-old program model used by Clayton County that had helped Lewis.
The School-Justice Partnership program here offers students, who commit minor offenses, an alternative to getting suspended, expelled or arrested. They are instead referred to services in the community, such as counseling, mediation, tutoring and community workshops.
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