Bieber stages show at a low-income school

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Fifth-grader Jolie Leach says she “was gonna explode” with excitement when Justin Bieber (photo) performed a concert at her Las Vegas school, and vowed she’d never wash her hand after he gave her a high-five.

Leach was one of hundreds who showed clear symptoms of Bieber fever after the 17-year-old teen pop sensation staged a private show last Friday at low-income Whitney Elementary School. The concert was filmed for an episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show and came two months after Bieber promised the school’s 650 students a $100,000 donation.

“He really came for us. I’m so glad that he really came for us,” said fourth-grader Kynedi Harris, holding a fluffy white stuffed dog picked from a truckload of toys Bieber distributed at his show.

Tucked in a downtrodden neighborhood on the east side of Las Vegas, Whitney Elementary has garnered publicity, including a September segment on Degeneres’ show, for providing needy students’ families with food, clothes, money for utility bills — and just about everything in between.

Principal Sherrie Gahn said more than 85 percent of the school’s 600-plus students receive free or reduced-price lunch. The school also has one of the highest homeless student populations in the Clark County School District.

Gahn, who said she used to see students pocketing ketchup packets from the cafeteria in hopes of having dinner at night, told The Ellen Degeneres Show she made a pact with families after she arrived about eight years ago.

“I’ll pay your electrical bill, your utilities, I’ll give you food or clothes, whatever you need, as long as you give me your child and then help raise that child as a person of character,” she said.