Janice Butler: “We are overjoyed and humbled”
When the South Carolina Legislature passed and Governor Mark Sanford signed into law the SC Release Time Credit Act, June 2, 2006, the new law permitted school district boards of trustees to award high school students a maximum of two Carnegie units for the completion of released-time classes in religious instruction taken during the school day.
The leadership of Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County made a proposal to the Greenville County School Board to allow high school students to receive course credit for attending Released-Time Christian Education classes at an off-campus site.
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007, the Greenville County School Board voted unanimously to give the course one unit of credit. Trustee Pat Sudduth, during the discussion of the course credit, expressed his desire to see a time in the future when the students could receive two units of credit.
Blue Ridge High School students will pilot the new Bible course for credit in the fall of 2007, said Janice Butler, Executive Director of Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County. Expansion to other schools will occur at a later time.
The title of the semester course is The Bible - Why and How to Study It. The course of instruction will cover “basic Christianity” topics and stay away from denominational teachings. It appears that students, with parental consent, may enroll to take the course five days a week for 90 minutes a day for one semester. For enrollment details, please call (864) 236-0450.
The pilot Bible class will be held off school campus at the Blue Ridge Baptist Church. The course will be taught by a certified teacher who is also able to teach Bible. The teacher will be hired by and will be under the supervision of Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County.
“We are overjoyed and humbled about the opportunity of offering public high school students Bible classes for credit,” said Mrs. Butler. “This new development gives us more opportunities to provide our services to high school students and their families. It also gives this community more chances to support public schools.”
Mrs. Butler listed several benefits provided by the for-credit course:
- The demand that exists for religious instruction for public school students during their school day.
- Opportunities to strengthen community collaboration to improve school services.
- Opportunities for adults and students to correctly respond to and address incorrect behavior such as bullying.
- A legal, acceptable way for the school district to accommodate parents who desire their children to be involved in religious instruction during the school day.
- Credit for the educational experiences that high school students receive during their participation in the proposed course.
- Moral and character education for public school students.
“We appreciate the school district’s willingness to accommodate parents who desire their children to participate in religious experiences during the school day,” Mrs. Butler stressed.
“Our organization values the positive relationship we have with the Greenville County School District. The district has accommodated our parents for ten years now, and we look forward to continuing our positive working relationship with the district in the years to come.
“As our organization moves forward in our services to public school students with the support of churches, businesses, and individual members of this community, we pray that more parents will take full advantage of Released-Time Christian Education. After all, it is all about influencing our children to embrace God and His principles for living. Together, this community has what it needs (from God) to do what He wants us to do for Greenville County’s youth - TEACH THEM TO LIVE THE BEST LIFE EVERYDAY AND EVERYWHERE.”
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