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Creating a Lifetime of Opportunities
In 2019, Yadkin County Schools, in partnership with the Shallow Ford Foundation, launched the Shore Scholars program at Starmount and Forbush High Schools. The goal is to increase the number of students who aspire to opportunities through continuing education. The program provides a range of activities and services to ensure student access to success in post-secondary education. The program is underwritten by the Wayne A. Shore Endowment Fund and the active support of his daughters Karen S. Hopper and Debrah S. Blase.
Each year there are 10 Shore Scholars at each high school (Forbush and Starmount). Scholars selected are to enroll in the 11th or 12th grade. When a Shore Scholar graduates from high school, an opening is created in the program and a new scholar is recruited, screened, and selected to fill the opening.
At the annual retreat, students select the priority topics to be addressed in the year’s monthly workshops together.
Peer group activities also include college campus tours, participating in local service projects, an arts & culture experience, and a special dinner for graduating high school seniors.
All Shore Scholars enroll in community college classes while in high school through the North Carolina Career and Promise (NCCP) program. This state program covers the cost of tuition while in high school. The Shore Scholars program assists with additional expenses such as registration fees, books, uniforms, and tools that may be required by the college classes.
The Shore Scholars program provides last-dollar scholarships for students in the first 2 years of college. However, these scholarships are very limited. Instead, all students are guided and learn to find other resources and scholarships for their continuing education.
Keeping up with 26 Shore Scholars now enrolled in higher education across the state and beyond is more than the high school mentors could do while also serving in their Yadkin County Schools positions. Through a special grant from the Wayne A. Shore Endowment, the part-time pilot position of a Shore Scholars Advisor was created. Djuna Gallion joined the foundation in August to serve in this part-time role. Her energy, enthusiasm for teens and young adults, and prior experience in education along with having had 3 children pursuing post-secondary education have been invaluable in this role. Djuna retired in 2021 from Elkin City Schools as a Special Education teacher, serving grades K-12. She received her Bachelor of Science from Western Carolina University in NC, and her teaching certification in Special Education from Longwood University in Virginia. Djuna lives in Yadkinville with her husband, James, and has three sons.
Click here to view the promising initial outcomes of the Shore Scholars Program.
See the names of the 2023 graduates listed below:
Caden Abernethy
Emily Brewer
Hannah Hall
Tania Lorenzo
Mairely Maldonado
Dylan Montoya-Rodriguez
Jasmine Rosario
Allison Vazquez
Morgan Beamer
Demi Moore
Carly Phillips
McKenzie Pruitt
Jacob St. John
Caitlyn Whitman
See the names of the new 2024 Shore Scholars listed below:
Group photo of the new shore scholars at this year's Signing Day
Meira Diaz
Cole Freed
Yaret Fuentes
Sarah Godfrey
McKayla Johnson
Shaelynn Reynolds
Katherine Reynolds
Jazmin Rodriguez
Olivia Stevens
Ella Teague
Emily Beavers
Anali Benitez
Valeria Hernandez
Bailey Poindexter
Kaitlyn Roberts
Keira Roberts
Contact Program Officer, Greg Keener
phone: (336) 663-6794, ext 2
cell: (336) 403-0433
email: greg@shallowfordfoundation.org
