Q. Shanté Martin was recently featured by the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) for her dedication to civic education and community service. In the article, “To Serving Your Community, With Love: The North Carolina Bar Foundation’s Civic Education Programs,“ Shanté discusses her involvement in NCBA’s Lawyers for Literacy program which promotes literacy through attorneys reading with elementary-aged children.
Shanté, who has over two decades of experience in education law, initially volunteered to assist students with reading comprehension for a month. However, seeing the impact firsthand, she chose to continue, dedicating weekly time to support students in their literacy development. Her efforts, alongside educators, helped students make remarkable academic progress, with many achieving top scores on their End of Grade tests.
For Shanté, the program is about more than reading—it’s about mentorship, empowerment, and fostering success for students who need extra support. She encourages others to get involved, recognizing the critical need for literacy assistance, especially in the wake of pandemic-related learning challenges.
The NCBA offers other programs in addition to Lawyers for Literacy through their Civic Education initiative, including Lawyers in Schools, which creates awareness about the legal profession through speaking with middle and high school students in classrooms and career fairs.
You can read the full article and learn about volunteer opportunities through NCBA here.
