On Friday, Sept. 7, 700 Selma City Elementary Students welcomed lady Libby Liberty to their city at an assembly at Selma High School Auditorium.

Together, the students kicked off the Super Citizen Program for 2018. They waved flags, wore Statue of Liberty Crowns and counted down for Libby Liberty to take the stage.

Libby Liberty brought history to life and introduced students to the 10-week civic, character, financial literacy and social studies program.

Students in multiple grades are participating in the Super Citizen Program. The younger grades are taught by an innovative civic education program starring Mr. Palmer (the hand-puppet host of the “Hands on Liberty” DVD series). Upper elementary grades learn from the original Super Citizen Program kit that features DVD-based lessons, class activities and the emotional, unforgettable “Torch Teams” project-based learning experience. In Torch Teams, students team up, nominate, vote for and, ultimately, honor local heroes from stage at their graduation later this year. They learn that “When you honor a hero, you become a hero.”

The purpose of the Libby Liberty character is to create an engaging curriculum for the Super Citizen Program, and headline the Next Great Americans tour, which is part of the Liberty Learning Foundation.

The foundation’s goal is to provide civic education programs and life experiences that improve children, community and country.

According to numbers provided by the foundation, 158,704 students have been impacted by this program through grants and donations.

In Alabama, 472 schools and communities have been impacted by the program and have played a part in test score improvement on average of 35 percent improvement rating.

The program also is part of the Bicentennial Alabama 200 festivities.

Between 2017 and 2019, Alabama 200 will engage residents and visitors of the state in educational programs, community activities and statewide initiatives that teach, inspire and entertain.