Category: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Growing from Good to Great

The 2022-2023 School Year started with a bang! Thanks to Children’s Services Council of Broward (CSC) funding, we were able to open Firewall programs at SEVEN new elementary schools. This is allowing us to impact an additional 800 students every day. Each school was inspected and became licensed, thus ensuring that the classrooms and staff were equipped for their first day.

With brand new supplies, games, and manipulatives, our elementary students are enjoying a time of recreation and fun after a full day of sitting at their desks. Our students also receive an hour of homework help and academic support as well as participate in engaging lessons from Firewall’s T.H.I.N.K. curriculum and the evidence-based, social-emotional PATHS curriculum.

CSC funding has allowed us to expand from serving only 4th and 5th graders at the elementary level to serving Kindergarten through 5th graders. We are so excited for what lies ahead as Firewall continues to grow to serve more Broward students and their families through daily homework help and tutoring, social-emotional learning, STEAM lessons, nutrition and physical education, cultural arts activities, and so much more!  We truly are growing from Good to Great!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

When thinking about Christmas time, everyone pictures their own special traditions and the ways that make it feel like Christmas to them. The holiday season looks different for everyone. Some enjoy the season by receiving gifts and spending time with their loved ones, while others enjoy it by giving. We love seeing our students smile, especially when it’s caused by people who through their actions, are applying our principle of “Keep Giving Back”.

This year, one of our board members, Aaron McKee, and his wife Toni, purchased board games for every one of our student’s at Walker Elementary School for Christmas. Walker Elementary School is located within Fort Lauderdale’s 33311 zip code where the per capita income is $15,490 and the average household income is only $43,220. The need is great in the neighborhoods surrounding the school which is why Firewall chose to serve Walker and it’s students. In fact, the school is located in an area that has a higher rate of childhood poverty than almost 97% of U.S. neighborhoods, and many of these children attend Walker. The smiles on the student’s faces are enough to show how much this meant to them.

It is our mission to help the students who are a part of Firewall Centers achieve academic success, build character, and transform into servant leaders. It was such a great opportunity for the students to see one of our board members and his wife serving and blessing them this holiday season.