4th & 5th Rs Has Run Its Course

For the second consecutive year, the 4th & 5th Rs high school course is history. In 1991, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Barry Loncke (ret.) and School District Superintendent Dr. Rudolph Crew started the 4th & 5th Rs or "Rights and Responsibilities under the Law." Instead of a government class, this five credit, one semester course in the social science subdivision, an elective, aimed to educate 9th and 10th graders in danger of dropping out or in trouble with the law. The class taught these students not only about 'reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic,' but about their legal rights and responsibilities, the 4th and 5 'Rs.'

As proposed by the Unity Bar and approved by the Sacramento Unified School District Board, the class had an intense curriculum. After a one-week introduction, the class included 6 weeks of criminal law and procedure, 2 weeks of courts, 1 week of corrections, 2 weeks of consumer law and torts, 3 weeks of family law and domestic violence and 2 weeks of employment and housing rights.

Volunteer legal professionals representing Sacramento's culturally diverse community had primary responsibility for facilitating the class and acting as role models for the students. Attorneys made their presentations on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. McGeorge School of Law provided law student/ mentors to help high school students prepare for Wednesday mock trials. The high school teachers ran the class on Fridays and other days when guests were not present.

The pilot program began in the summer of 1992 at John F. Kennedy High School and then moved to Luther Burbank High School. The program followed Roger Stock, the original coordinating teacher, from Burbank to Florin High in the Elk Grove School District, when he transferred there. From the fall of 1996 to the spring of 2004, Robert Tabares, Mr. Stock's substitute, became the regular teacher for the 4th & 5th Rs.

News articles about the program appeared in the Sacramento Bee on April 30, 1992 and in the Daily Recorder on July 16, 1992. In 1993, the Unity Bar received a grant of $1,500 through the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Partnership Programs and an award from the ABA for "Outstanding Program by a Small Bar Association." Then-Municipal Court Commissioner Robert Schleh, a past president of the Sacramento County Bar Association (SCBA), encouraged SCBA to endorse the program and enlist as many volunteers as possible.

The Unity Bar, then comprised of the Asian Bar Association, La Raza Lawyers, Wiley Manual Bar Association, Women Lawyers of Sacramento (WLS) and, later on the Barristers' Club, ran the program for many years. Joanne Lowe from the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento and Joan Stone from WLS were the original scheduling coordinators. Each semester the Unity Bar organization sent attorneys to cover the various curriculum topics. WLS incorporated this responsibility into the Publicity/Community Relations Committee. However, other Unity Bar organizations did not establish a continuing role and many of the original founders and coordinators went on to other projects.

In 1996-1997, WLS added El Centro High School at Juvenile Hall to the program. The class met once weekly for six weeks each semester. WLS also provided speakers on request to William Daylor High School, a continuation school for pregnant and parent students.

The 4th & 5th Rs also expanded to include students seeking higher education and those gearing up for participation in the Gordon D. Schaber Mock Trial Competition. The program continued to meet at Florin High School. By 2000, WLS had the sole lead in coordinating presenters for the classes. In the fall of 2001, the program had presenters for 25 classes and in the spring of 2002, the program had presenters for 21 classes. WLS tried to pass the coordinating responsibility on or share the lead with the other Unity Bar organizations.

As one of the presenters from 1995 through 2004, I enjoyed participating in the class and watching it evolve over the years. Like most presenters, I had a great time and found the experience very rewarding. Despite the addition in 2003 of the Operation Protect and Defend program that similarly garners participation from the Unity Bar, there may yet be an opportunity to recreate the 4th & 5th Rs course in the future.

November / December 2005