EDUCATION INFORMATION CENTER OPENING IN WALHALLA LIBRARY

Innovative partnership brings free educational resources for families into the community 

Columbia, SC—Oconee County’s first Community Family Resource Center will open March 29 in the Walhalla Public Library. Designed to make school information from local schools, agencies and community organizations available to families who don’t have easy internet access, CFRCs are physical displays of free materials to assist families as they support their children’s learning and development.

The Walhalla location is one of 15 sites that will open across the state in the next several months. The South Carolina Department of Education has allocated a portion of its federal pandemic relief dollars (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief [(ESSER] funds) to cover the cost of establishing the centers.

They will be operated in partnership with the Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) in the University of South Carolina’s College of Education and local volunteers.

“The Covid-19 pandemic made clear what we’d already suspected, that not all families can easily access important information that can help them support their child’s learning and development,” said Karen Utter, CFEC project director. “To achieve our shared goal of reaching all families, we’ve sited these centers in places in communities where families regularly go.”

Nivia Miranda, a Spanish-speaking member of the Oconee County Public Library board, secured the agreement with Blair Hinson, OCPL director, to house the CFRC in its library headquarters. Reaching the area’s large Hispanic community is one of the library’s goals. Much of the CFRC’s materials will be printed in Spanish.

“We know that connectivity in our rural county isn’t always the best,” Hinson said. “This center will provide reliable information about school and community events, plus services and resources available to families, so that this population won’t have to always rely on electronic means to find that information. It also will encourage parents and children to use the library.”

Among the free educational materials families can get are CFEC’s six-booklet series, “Ready, Set – Kindergarten!” The colorful, family-friendly guides focus on six areas of childhood growth and experience, and are drawn from the South Carolina Early Learning Standards and the South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards. Information about healthcare and social service resources will be included, as well as special events like vaccine clinics.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting will be March 29 from 3 to 5 p.m. Free copies of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” in English and Spanish, will be given to the first 15 visitors. In attendance will be Walhalla City Council Member Sarai Melendez, Oconee County Public Library board members, including Miranda, and Hinson, OCPL director. The Walhalla library is at 501 W. South Broad St.

Eight CFRCs will open March 29. All are located in places regularly visited by families in their daily lives. They include a laundromat, community development center, gas station/convenience store, ministry center and apartment complex.

The Carolina Family Engagement Center (https://cfec.sc.gov/) is a federal grant project housed within the SC School Improvement Council (SC-SIC) at the University of South Carolina College of Education. It is fully funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Its work focuses primarily on underserved families and their students (low income, English learners, those with disabilities, those in foster care, migrants, homeless, and marginalized communities). CFEC makes its tools, trainings, and materials available to all stakeholders statewide through its website and other venues.