Retired Wilson High School principal Allie Brooks will be honored at the fourth annual School Foundation Celebration, a fundraiser for the endowment supporting Florence School District 1.
The event will be Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Florence Civic Center and will feature a relaxed atmosphere that will allow guests to mingle over a low country oyster roast and barbecue. Several of Wilson High School’s most prominent graduates are expected to attend. And, in honor of Mr. Brooks' love of music, the event will feature popular songs from throughout his service as principal.
A graduate of Wilson himself, Mr. Brooks served as Principal for twenty-nine years and is credited by many former students with much of the school’s success. Brooks also taught mathematics at Moore Junior High School and was an Assistant Principal at West Florence High School.
Brooks received his Bachelor of Science Degree from South Carolina State University, Masters Degree in Education Administration from the University of South Carolina and completed work at the Institute on the Principal and School Improvement at Harvard University.
Mr. Brooks is married to Barbara Faye Eaddy Brooks and has four children, Allie Eugene III, Deanna Fredrica, Thelma Susanna, and, daughter-in-law, Janelle Hargrove Brooks.
Last year the School Foundation funded Language Enrichment Acceleration Program (LEAP) labs at Timrod, Briggs, Lester, and Wallace-Gregg Elementary School, bringing intensive reading skills to all first graders in those schools. The $35,000 grant made such an impact that the district is set to roll it out to all first graders beginning in August.
Begun in 2000, the School Foundation promotes educational excellence in Florence School District 1 through grants for innovative and high impact programs designed to benefit all children. Of the money raised through the Celebration, half will go to the endowment – now greater than $1.3 million – and half will go into the next grant cycle. The next grant will be announced next spring.
Money raised by The School Foundation
· Impacts quality with grants of $10,000 or more.
· Does not go to normal district operating expenses;
· Targets student academics and citizenship, teacher quality, school safety and district leadership;
The foundation has no staff or office and keeps overhead at a bare minimum to maximize available funding.
Donations supporting Florence School District 1 can be made online at the foundation's Web site, www.theschoolfoundation.org, or by mailing to the foundation, 320 W. Cheves Street, Suite 171, Florence, SC 29501. For more information, call (843) 662-9996.
