Theodore Lester Elementary is a public suburban school in Florence, South Carolina that serves a diverse population of 445 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. There are twenty general education classes, nine Autism self-contained classes, one orthopedic (OD) self-contained class, and one other health and impaired classrooms. Ethnicity composition is 1% American Indian, 56% Black or African American, 2% Black or African American/White, and 28% White. The school overs a wide range of specialized services to support learning. Such specialized services include three certified occupational therapist, one full-time and two part-time certified physical therapists, three autism consultants, two speech teachers, and two nurses.
Faculty and staff are committed to helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by focusing heavily upon teaching strategies designed to improve students' critical thinking and communication skills. Students’ strengths and weaknesses are identified through STAR Reading and Math assessments and Linkit which are aligned to all state standards. These tests Inform teachers of students reading and math intervention. Reading and Math interventionists were added to the school's instructional staff to provide Tier II and Tier III intervention support to students identified as in need of such services.
During the 2018-2019 school year Florence One Schools (F1S) initiated one-to-one computing, allowing each student to have their own individual electronic device. This gave many students access to online learning resources at home that might otherwise nor be available. Theodore Classroom teachers participated in ongoing Google Classroom professional development in order to ensure proper use of the 1:1 technology. They learned how to develop video tutorial lessons that could be shared with their students via Google Classroom.
We believe that it takes all of us—the community, parents, teachers, staff, and students—working together to help each child develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills necessary to be life-long learners. Theodore Lester Elementary faculty and staff are grateful to the parents and community members that donate their time and resources to support our students.
Suereese Anderson, SIC President
Janette Williams, School Principal
