CONWAY, Ark. — The Legacy Builders program is a way Simon Middle School can reach young boys and provide them with the skills to become good men.
Assistant Principal Matt Kelly teaches skills to boys, such as how to tie a tie and what it means to be self-aware.
The lessons for these fifth- and sixth-grade boys extend beyond skills that will make being a man easier to learning how to avoid mistakes that can derail their lives.
Speakers come in to explain how they have failed in their lives and how they have come back from failures to become successful.
"Men that come in here and talk to us, it inspires me," one of the boys said. "Men that's been in here, they did drugs. Then they turned their life around."
Kelly started the program because he saw a need that wasn't being addressed. Legacy Builders echoes a national trend in education: teaching more life skills.
"Bein' a man means you're safeguarding all the decisions that you make," Kelly said. "Because what you leave behind is your legacy."
The goal is not only to better the lives of those in the program but to enrich the community as well.
"I hope that they go out into our community and make it better, not worse," Kelly said.
So far, 40 boys have volunteered to be a part of the program.
"Everybody is in this. It's to touch the hearts of these kids," Kelly said. "If it saves one, completely worth my time."
The program is so successful that another middle school is launching the program.