Citizens Academy has educational year

Graduates from the second Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Citizens Academy reported learning a lot about how the court system works — even a handful who were repeating the class in hopes of learning more, Commonwealth’s Attorney C. Phillips “Phil” Ferguson said.

The 28 students held a graduation on Dec. 12. Class sessions involved presentations from local prosecutors as well as the other four constitutional officers — the sheriff, clerk of court, treasurer and commissioner of the revenue.

“The feedback we got from the citizens who participated indicated they learned a lot,” Ferguson said. “We had six alumni that came back for a second round. They said they learned a lot the first time, but they wanted to come back, because they felt like they could absorb more hearing it a second time.”

The academy began in 2012 for folks wanting to learn more about the work of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office. Sessions were held after hours in the courthouse, and presenters volunteered their time to enhance the learning of the students.

This year, presentations from the treasurer and commissioner of the revenue, even though they don’t work in the courthouse, were added based on feedback from the first group.

“We think overall it’s done very well,” Ferguson said. “We’re glad we can accommodate them and try to educate the public on some of the things we do. The ones that have taken the time to do it have learned quite a bit.”

Ferguson said he hopes to do the academy again next year but would like to hold it earlier in the year, both for practical and safety purposes for those coming to the courthouse.

“Our hope is we can do it in the month of October,” he said. “It will be a little bit lighter out, and you don’t get hung up with Thanksgiving and starting to get into the Christmas season.”

For more information on the Citizens Academy, visit www.suffolkva.us/cwatty.