About Us

Shelby Scholars Began Long Before It Opened its Doors in 2004. The name, Shelby has been synonymous with the Village of Robbins for more than a century. Hodges Shelby was a well-known entrepreneur and pillar of the community. He had contracts with the city to plow roads, plant community gardens, and hosted neighborhood events. He was such a skilled laborer that he built his own house in the Village. Feeding people was his passion; his signature cookouts and barbecues were well known throughout the neighborhood. 

Shelby's legacy of outreach and meeting the needs of others continues through his granddaughter Cicily Gant, who launched Shelby Scholars, an affordable, high quality, early childhood education program, serving the Robbins community for over 16 years.

Shelby Scholars began in 2004 as a home-based center. Leveraging her 7 years of experience as a classroom teacher, Cicily launched the center when her own children were small, believing that providing high-quality education begins at home. "I felt the need to be at home with my children. I couldn't teach other children and not have the time to teach my own... I didn’t have the luxury of staying at home and the best alternative was to have a home-based center. "

Shelby Scholars offers more than affordable, high-quality education. The program offers faith based and family values, provides resources such as diapers and wipes to offset costs for low-income families, and provides daily meals and snacks to all students. Shelby is a proud partner with the Easterseals Head Start Initiative and enjoys the distinction of being a Silver Level Excelerate Illinois school for their high-quality standards. Shelby Scholars is compliant with all State requirements for COVID safety protocols; and has provided seamless continuity of education throughout he pandemic by providing Chromebooks and e-learning to their kindergarten students.