Bryan County Schools Superintendent Dr. Sallie Brewer was recently named as a member of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, appointed by the State Bar of Georgia.
"I was invited to serve as a public member and there are only two of us in Georgia. We are appointed by the Supreme Court Justice," she said Wednesday, Feb. 20. "It was an honor for me to join and I look forward to serving on it."
The commission’s members are predominately judges and representatives from the law schools throughout Georgia, who meet together three times a year in Atlanta.
"I’ve only been to one meeting, which was last week. They report on programs in law schools designed to ensure professionalism within the legal profession," Brewer explained.
Gerald Edenfield of Statesboro is Bryan County Board of Education’s lawyer and the president of the State Bar of Georgia. He could not be reached for comment.
"In our school system, we benefit from Mr. Edenfield’s firm and they have been working with us for many years," Brewer said. "I think the legal and educational professions are intertwined in very positive ways and I look forward to being a member."
Brewer said one example of the relationship between law and education came during the first meeting, with a video Edenfield played for the commission.
The video, narrated by a chief justice and two U.S. Supreme Court justices, was about training people to serve on a jury and illustrated the importance of the trial-by-jury system in America.
"I think it would be very helpful in the classroom, especially for our social studies classes," she said. "That was an immediate tie to my position as superintendent; I saw it a resource that I would like to bring into our schools."
Brewer is also a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders.