Shannon Forest Awarded Greenville First Steps Grant

Shannon Forest Christian School Awarded Greenville First Steps Grant

GREENVILLE, SC – The Early Childhood Program of Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) was recently awarded a generous grant by Greenville First Steps, a subsidiary of United Way.  The grant will be used to fund the creation of a new, PK3 and PK4 classroom specifically for students who qualify for a public PK education, but were rejected due to budget constraints.  According to First Steps, one in seven South Carolina children are assessed as not ready for first grade and their families do not have the resources or opportunities to effectively change the situation.

The Greenville First Steps grant will allow Shannon Forest to welcome 15 new children to campus starting Monday, October 31, 2011.  “This is something I have wanted to do for a long time,” said SFCS Early Childhood Administrator Emily Watkins.  “This is fulfilling the mission of our school.  It is what we are called to do.”

The students will be selected through an application and interview process and must meet certain criteria.  The new preschool students will attend class FREE of charge from 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon. (There will be a small fee for those needing after care until 6:30 p.m.) The day will include lunch and a snack.   A special curriculum called High Scope will be used in the new classroom, but the children will be integrated in all other programs Shannon has to offer in the participation of music, Spanish, chapel services, recess and more.

“This represents the very heart of what we want to be at Shannon Forest,” said SFCS president, Bob Collins.  First Steps helps to empower Greenville County’s families to better prepare their children to start school and the rollout of the program at SFCS is directly in line with the school’s Mission Statement.  “The purpose of Shannon Forest Christian School is to support the Christian home and church by providing a quality education from an evangelical, Biblical perspective in order to equip and challenge students to influence culture and society for Jesus Christ.”

Shannon Forest is located on a spacious, 50-acre campus in the heart of Greenville’s Eastside.  The school offers a complete educational program for children in PK3 through the 12th Grade.