Minnie Hughes Elementary School, located in the rural community of Hollywood, SC, is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Our school has accomplished this goal by incorporating research-based and proven instructional strategies in the classroom. We provided individualized and small group interventions based on data driven decision-making. We ensured that each child had access to virtual resources by incorporating the latest technology in all of our classrooms. The school provided free MIFI devices for qualified families, issued by the South Carolina State Department of Education. Our teachers engaged in ongoing professional learning communities to accelerate student performance and focused on targeted school wide areas for continuous instructional improvement. As Covid-19 conditions improved, we offered quality after-school programs that were aligned to regular day digital content platforms and supported students with homework four days a week.
During this year of unprecedented circumstances, we incorporated the latest science on safe school operation during COVID-19. The school enforced updated guidelines provided by the Center of Disease Control and the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control to minimize the impact of the pandemic on student learning. The Charleston County School District’s safety protocols were in place to guide safe physical distances, mask requirements, and proper hygiene protocols. To support our students emotionally, we utilized our multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) team to proactively identify and address the varied social and emotional needs of all students.
Minnie Hughes Elementary School has established mutually beneficial relationships with community partnerships, such as the Charleston County Parks & Recreation Commission, St. Paul’s Hollywood Public Library, Trident Technical College, and local churches. Our close-knit community embraced our efforts to educate and provide transformative learning experiences to create engaging, hands-on classroom environments and empower students to develop the in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive.
We continued to provide Talent Development and Personalized Learning opportunities for our students. The school received numerous grant awards, such as Project Lead the Way (PLTW). PLTW introduces pathways into computer science, engineering, and curricular modules to engage students in hands-on activities, projects, and problems; empower them to solve real-world challenges; and inspires them to reimagine how they see themselves. Other awards include Bosch Eco & STEM Grant, Volvo Community Education Grant, Education Innovation Research Grant-Cultural Competency & Responsive Instruction. We also received recognition as 2nd place winners of the South Atlantic Region Colgate Bright Smiles Kid’s Award.
Our school community values the commitment of all of our stakeholders at Minnie Hughes and we know that, together, we can advance student learning, equity, and the success of all of our students.
Mrs. Cindy Smalls, Interim Principal
Mrs. Marsha Aleem, School Improvement Council Chairperson