Thirty-one attorneys from New Rochelle and neighboring communities - most of them members of the New Rochelle Bar Association - have been visiting the schools weekly for the past month to offer the lessons in the Lawyer in the Classroom program.

This year, lawyers focused mainly on the Fourth Amendment, using an actual U.S. Supreme Court decision that upholds the authority of school officials to search students. They were able to present a practical guide to protections guaranteed to all individuals and when authorities may conduct a search.

"When it's a reasonable search, whatever they find in there they can submit into evidence," attorney Brian McCloskey told students at Jefferson Elementary School in one lesson.

For about the past eight years, the program has given fifth-graders throughout the District a real-world look at the lessons they learn about government. Before the program begins, the lawyers take a two-hour training course that includes a review of the curriculum and the four detailed lesson plans, which were prepared by Corey Andrews, a teacher at William B. Ward Elementary School.

"I think it's a great lesson," said Jefferson student Melony Escobar. "We actually get to see how the law works."

The program this year is organized by attorney David Lacher, a vice president of the New Rochelle Bar Association who served 25 years on the New Rochelle Board of Education before stepping down in 2017.

"It's an opportunity for the students to get a broader exposure to civics," said Lacher, who is teaching the lessons to three classes of students at the Daniel Webster Magnet School. "Our volunteer lawyers get as much out of their exchanges with the students and teachers as they give. And this is a true equity program, since every fifth-grader in the entire District receives the identical curriculum, even at very nearly the same time."

Every fifth-grader receives a certificate of completion, signed by Interim Superintendent Dr. Magda Parvey and Bar Association President Ronald Zezima. Certificates for nearly 800 students were printed and donated by Frank Miceli of Minuteman Press in New Rochelle.

Faculty advisors said it was the students who pushed for the chapter of Rho Kappa to start up again.

"There's a hunger to connect to our past and hopefully to influence the future," said Jon Beck, an advisor along with Tim Orlando.

"It helps to re-define the importance of history," junior Tiniya Martin, a member of the society, said after the May 30 ceremony in the Linda E. Kelly Theater. Students lit four candles to represent the society's values of truth, knowledge, wisdom and service.

Honor society chapter projects this year included converting the hallway to the school library into a history gallery, which displayed exhibitions on the 100th anniversary of World War I's end, notable African Americans during Black History Month and Holocaust remembrance. The students' appreciation for history has been strengthened by discovering how deeply New Rochelle's past is connected to that of the nation.

"A look at New Rochelle history is a look at the country's history," City Historian Barbara Davis told them in a keynote address at the ceremony.

They learned about the many contributions that waves of immigrants have made, both locally and nationally.

"We are a country of immigrants and we contribute to the success of this country," said senior Daniela Sandoval, another member of the society.

Social Studies Department Chairman Gustavo Barbosa lauded the students for bringing the Social Studies Honor Society back to the school.

"Today's ceremony is very special to us, and you are a special group," he said. "You were instrumental in bringing history to our school, and creating opportunities for our school community to interact with important historical events."