The Shelley Family
The Peggy S. Shelley Early Childhood Lab School has been established in CCU’s Spadoni College of Education thanks to a gift from the family of the late Peggy S. Shelley of Garden City Beach. The gift was given jointly by Dr. and Mrs. B. Ed Shelley Jr., Dr. and Mrs. Jay S. Shelley, and their father, Billie E. Shelley.
The lab school is housed in the Early Childhood Development and Literacy Center in Kingston Hall. The center will eventually serve approximately 120 children ages 3 to 5 years old. It includes five literacy rooms, four classrooms and an outdoor playground. Children in the lab school will learn Spanish and English in the project-based kindergarten and preschool. CCU’s early childhood education and elementary program offers an after-school program on weekdays from 2:30 to 6 p.m.
Ed Shelley says his family proudly supports Coastal because of a basic family philosophy: “It is much more satisfying to give than to receive.”
“Our family is from Spartanburg, but I have lived in Horry County for 35 years,” Shelley said. “My dad and brother spend a lot of time here as well, so Coastal is now our local college that we support. We feel CCU is a great asset to this community not just because it is a wonderful institute of higher education, but it adds a necessary component of diversity to this area. This diversity grounds our community by offering a stimulating university environment that, along with the other assets that Horry County is blessed with, makes our area a shining light in this region, state and nation.
“My mother felt strongly that reading was a basic art that we all must really master. She taught school and volunteered in educational programs that advanced children’s learning. My family’s sincere hope is that through this learning center, students and children both will understand the importance of education in our society and that somehow, in some small way, Peggy Shelley would continue her lifelong quest to promote the learning process.”