VALDOSTA – Students at Scintilla Charter Academy got a behind-the-scenes look at Lowndes County government Wednesday with a tour of the county courthouse and the board of commissioners chambers.

Second and Fifth grade students packed the commission room and filled the seats of county commissioners as they learned how local government operates from Paige Dukes, Lowndes County Clerk.

“We brought the students here to the government complex as part of our new curriculum, EL Education that we’ve rolled out this year. One of the components is fieldwork,” said Mandy Avera, Dean of Students and School Support. “We are tying things that are happening in the classroom to things out in the community and tying them back to (Georgia) standards and real-life experiences. That is why we visited today and partnered with Mrs. Dukes to be able to make everything they are learning real and alive.”

During the exercise, students elected their own class representatives to the commission and voted to add a pool to the school campus as their first order of business.