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Anderson School District 4 Wins SCDE Family Literacy Service Award
Congratulations to Anderson School District Four Family Literacy Program led by Charity Walker which received the 2018 SCDE Office of Adult Education Family Literacy Service Award given to a family literacy program who has continually championed family literacy and gone above and beyond to ensure that students participate in a quality family literacy program. This past school year, 8 teen moms and 1 Adult Education mother were served in the Family Literacy program. One particular teen mom showed the most amount of progress in a short amount of time. When I first met her, she had just broken up with her boyfriend with whom she shared a one-year-old child. She was heartbroken and at a loss of how to proceed in her life. She had envisioned graduating from high school and living with her boyfriend to create a true family for her little girl. We were able to work through this loss together and work on a new future plan. After Christmas break, she did not return to school and I was worried that she decided to drop out. However, we found out that her brother who she relied on for child care had gotten a new job and returned to work. With the support from First Steps, we were able to assist her with child care so she could return to school. Her school counselor was able to enroll her in the Fast Lane program to expedite her progress. With all of this support, she was able to finish her classes within three weeks! She was then able to apply for a job at the daycare where her child was now attending. She has been able to use her daycare experience to learn more about child development and the growth of her own child. In May, I was privileged to get the opportunity to watch her walk the stage and receive her high school diploma! Since graduation she has been working two part-time jobs to help pay for college expenses. She has been accepted at Greenville Tech. where she plans to study to become a legal assistant. I have been honored to be one of the few people in her life to watch her transform from a timid and shy girl to a confident and fearless young woman and know that the best is yet to come!

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