Recently, 50 students from the Ironton Elementary School’s Ladies’ Academy had lunch with members of the community.

The event was held so that the fourth and fifth graders could interact in a semi-formal setting using their newly-learned social skills in a real life situation, because getting dressed up and talking to people can be awkward, no matter how old you are. Confidence can be hard to teach in a class setting.

We commend IES Assistant Principal David Ashworth for coming up with the idea of classes that not only teach students how to act in public, but basic car, cooking, and communication skills. While Ashworth has run two Gentlemen’s Academies, he turned over the Ladies’ Academy to Impact Prevention.

And we also commend the people who volunteer their time to attend this event.

Although the firefighters, peace officers, firefighters, businessmen, Bikers for Christ and others all have busy schedules, when asked, they showed up and spent a couple of hours interacting with the members of the Ladies Academy. It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves.

Social graces seem like a lost art these days. We commend everyone involved for bringing it back.