“Soaring to Excellence!”—our theme for the year has defined our journey as we have prepared students with their development of the world class skills and life and career characteristics necessary to fulfill the profile of the South Carolina Graduate. The mission of LCECC is “Building Excellence: Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day.” Our vision is exemplified through EXCELLENCE: Engaging Instruction, ‘Xcitement for the Arts, Community Involvement, Expectations to Excel, Love of Literacy, Enthusiasm for Learning, Nurturing Environment, Collaborative Culture, and Experiencing of Success. LCECC continues to provide a safe learning community, foster positive home-school relationships, and encourage the development of interpersonal skills for our students. We also encourage our staff to be lifelong learners and further develop their teaching practices to meet the needs of every learner.
On-going staff development is provided for engaging learning activities for our students. Research-based strategies such as Balanced Literacy and diagnostic small group instruction for Reading and Math are implemented daily. Academic-based programs implemented include Reading Counts, i-Ready, Everyday Calendar Math, and a hands-on Science-based curriculum. Learning experiences are collaborative, including Kagan-based cooperative learning strategies and technology-rich experiences using iPads.
LCECC is an Arts in Basic Curriculum site and we focus on the following four C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. We use the Arts as an avenue to reach every child. This year, we were able to provide multiple experiences through Arts-focused field trips, collaborative units of study, and Artists-in-Residence. We have built partnerships with Moore’s Botanical Gardens to provide STEAM-based, innovative opportunities. As a result of Arts-rich experiences as well as tailored, data-supported instruction, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores increased an average of 17 points school-wide in ELA. Likewise, student performance on i-Ready increased an average of 54 points school-wide in ELA.
The integration of Arts activities also increased parental involvement. Performances such as Toys, The Living Museum, and the Baillie Players’ adaptation of Snow White provided an opportunity for students to showcase their learning for their families. Other family-based events that were held included Curriculum Nights, Sweetheart Dance, Trunk-or-Treat, Character Parade, Goodies with Grands, Hat Parade, and May Day. The School Improvement Council and Arts Steering Committee continue to collaborate in the development of other community/parent-based events. This year has been filled with fantastic accomplishments that will serve as the cornerstone for our students’ future educational success.
Mary Howard, Principal of LCECC and Helen Gardner, President of SIC
