Reality Town became a reality Tuesday morning when schoolofficials and community leaders were sold on the program and agreedto cycle every high school freshman in Lincoln County through theworkshop.

Approximately 500 ninth-graders from city and county schools andBrookhaven Academy will attend the late January program, designedto stress the relationship between academic and financial success.Students attending the program will be given a “salary” based ontheir first semester grade point averages and be asked to purchaseutilities, transportation and other necessities of life from aseries of booths set up by local businesses. Grade-makers should beable to “live” comfortably in Reality Town; those lacking will havetrouble making ends meet.

Such is the kind of real world teaching that should be done moreoften in public education, said Brookhaven School DistrictSuperintendent Lea Barrett.

“That’s something I’ve wanted to see us do for kids for a longtime,” she said. “Talk about personal finances, help themunderstand taxes and insurance. We need to do more real-worldactivities with our kids so they’re better prepared when theygraduate.”

Pending parental permission, Barrett said all 217 freshmen atBrookhaven High School will attend Reality Town, scheduled forJanuary 20, 21 and 22 at the Lincoln Center. They will be joined bythe ninth-graders from Bogue Chitto, Enterprise, Loyd Star and WestLincoln attendance centers – another 200-plus freshmen from thecounty schools.

“We’re going to play a role in it,” said Lincoln County SchoolDistrict Superintendent Terry Brister. “We’ve gotten away fromthose things because we’re channeled more with our basic subjectareas and so tied up in passing state tests. This is so vital tous, and it’s part of everyday life.”

Brookhaven Academy Director of Student Services Teresa Reed isthe catalyst for bringing Reality Town to Brookhaven. She has seenthe event in action in Kentucky, and was the voice that persuadedMississippi Scholars officials to look into the program.

Now, Reed is making arrangements for the academy’s 45 freshmento attend.

“I’m hoping this will be an activity that will be exciting forthem, and bring some awareness that their GPA, right now in ninthgrade, is important,” she said. “A lot of times, kids in ninthgrade don’t realize the grades they’re making now factor into theiroverall GPA for high school. They think, ‘That’s four years awayand I have plenty of time.'”

Dr. Greg Paczak, a guidance counselor at the all ninth-gradeRosa Scott School of Madison, will be helping Lincoln Countyorganize the workshop.

“The bottom line is we’re helping students reach theirpotential,” he said. “If there’s anything we can do here… thenwe’re going to be glad to share it with others.”

Emily Henderson, president of the Junior Auxiliary ofBrookhaven, which is sponsoring Reality Town, said Reality Townwould be open to ninth-grade level home-schooled students as wellas those from the public school. She said any parents of freshmanlevel home-schoolers could get involved in Reality Town by callingthe Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce at601-833-1411.