Working with six grade girls who are part of the new All girl middle school "Grace James Academy of Excellence".  

Success Story: Louis “Jenie” Carter           December 30, 2020

GEMS are rare and original, no two are alike

In a predominantly Black neighborhood of Louisville’s West End, there is a school that opened for the first time during the 2020 School year. It is as unique as its’ name and the girls that attend.  The Grace James Academy of Excellence is home to 150 girls.  The school was named after Grace Marilynn James, who was the first  African American Physician on the faculty of the University of Louisville's School of Medicine. Dr. James' practice as a pediatrician afforded her the opportunity to be the first Black doctor at Louisville Children's Hospital during a time when hospitals were racially segregated by law.

Like their name sake. the girls are making history as the first students to attend Grace James Academy of Excellence. The girls are referred to as G.E.M.S. - Girls Excelling in Math and Science.  Their classes all geared toward giving the girls an Afrocentric perspective, which is unique to any other school in the Jefferson County Public School System (JCPS).    The mission and values of Grace James Academy are unique to this school.  

The Values are spelled out CROWNS, which stands for Collaboration, Resilience, Originality, Willingness, Narrative and Sisterhood.  These values are exhibited in the Life Skills "Sewing Fun 101", hand sewing class that 4-H Agent Patrice Thompson, and I offer collaboratively.

A total of eight girls attended the class virtually,  one hour a week for six weeks.  There was only one of the eights girls that knew anything about sewing.  We taught the girls the basic skills needed to sew by hand and the various stitches used.  

In order for the girls to participate fully, they were each given a sewing kit and materials needed to complete two or three sewing projects.  This eliminated any obstacle a girl may have had in not having the money to purchase the sewing supplies on their own.  Since the class was virtual, we incorporated a lot of videos and other technology platforms as part of our class.  

Ms. Thompson discussed how the girls might get involved in creating items to be entered into the 4-H County Fair and Kentucky State Fair.  She also discussed the career path and opportunities that could be spun off of hand sewing techniques they were learning.  

While teaching this class virtually was somewhat challenging, it proved to be very rewarding for some of the girls.  Those that stayed engaged completed all of the basic hand stitches, learned how to sew on a button and even created their own scissors' cover.  The scissor cover was their final project, it was made using felt material and embroidery thread.  

The girls had a willingness to learn something new and different.  Some expressed their happiness in having learned this new skill.  They realized how important this skill would be in the future. During one of our class sessions, one girl remarked she was able to sew up a rip in one of her jackets. Some said they would use these hand sewing skills to make Christmas presents for family members.  

They were sad when the class ended after the six week period and asked about learning more at a later date.