Flat Rock Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by being “Committed to Excellence.” Our school community serves a student population of approximately 400 students in grades K4 through fifth grade. Our faculty and staff work together to make sure our students are educated in a safe, friendly, caring, and academically challenging environment in order to fulfill this commitment.
Students at our school are encouraged to think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate with others and be creative in their learning. Instruction is driven by South Carolina College and Career Readiness Standards and is delivered in large group, small group, and individualized instruction by a highly qualified and trained faculty and staff using a variety of instructional strategies.
Learning is integrated with the inclusion of literacy being taught across the curriculum. A Balanced Literacy model is used in English language arts classrooms to develop reading and writing skills, and those skills are incorporated into math, science, and social studies. Inquiry skills are used to develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills in all subject areas. Guided Reading, Guided Math, LLI, and individualized instruction is used to address the needs of each student in order to meet their needs in a more effective manner. In addition to these strategies, we have a full time reading interventionist who uses a pull out program to work with struggling readers primarily in grades K5 – 3rd in order to increase their reading fluency and skills. We celebrated literacy with a Fall Family Literacy Night to help our families learn how to help our students with their reading.
We also use a STEAM approach to learning. Students use science, technology, engineering, arts, and math skills to solve problems and create original work. We have a STEM coach who does direct instruction with our students in inclusion and co-teaching models in order to incorporate those skills across all areas of the curriculum. She also assists classroom teachers with lesson planning and professional development in this area. Students in grades 3 – 5 have access to 1:1 technology through the use of iPads with keyboards and regularly use them to facilitate their own learning through research and inquiry, and they also use them as a means of communication, collaboration, and presentation of their work. Outside of the regular classroom, our students had several opportunities to extend their STEM skills through participation in class gardens, Battle of the Books, the LEGO robotics team, and the JetToy competition. Our entire school participated in our first annual Battle of the Books competition. All students in grades 3 – 5 worked in teams of three to read ten (10) of the South Carolina Book Award nominees and compete in a bracket style tournament which also included a bracket for our teachers. Two of our JetToy teams won first and second place in the district competition and competed in the regional competition. One of our teams won second place at the SAE International JetToy competition in Detroit, Michigan. We held a school wide STEAM night showcasing our musicians and artists and provided time for students to participate in classroom STEM activities with their families.
Our school community also partners with several different local agencies to enhance our school environment. Reading Buddies is a partnership we have with Flat Rock Baptist Church. Several members of their church and surrounding churches visit our school weekly to read with selected students. The group provided a book to every student for Christmas as well as a gift card to a local bookstore for each faculty and staff member. We also have a partnership with Michelin and have been ranked the #1 partner school in North America with them for the past three consecutive years. Michelin provides mentors, tutors, STEM coaches, and reading partners to our school. In addition to the relationships they have built with our students and school community, they have provided financially for our school as well through the donation of funds to pay for STEM bins, K4 snacks, and the addition of a landscaped outdoor classroom facility. This year, we were also recognized as a Greenville Drive Michelin Reading All Star Hall of Fame School for our continued and high participation in their reading program. United Way partners with us to provide Snack Pack Back Packs, a weekend meal program, for some of our students.
At Flat Rock, we believe that everyone is capable, contributes, and needs to be connected as we continue to be “Committed to Excellence.”
Emily Grant, School Improvement Council chair
Christy Horton Dodd, principal
