At Mossy Oaks Elementary School students develop world-class skills and characteristics to expand their life and career capabilities as described in the SC Profile of the Graduate. We are proud to be a Title One school whose purpose is to expand our students’ understanding of their world and increase their expertise in our STEAM curriculum. We were recertified in 2021-2022 as an Arts Focused School, an approach to help students explore their strengths and interests while expanding their competencies. Furthermore, we received a Med Tech Magnet grant to help expose students to STEM practices in the medical field.
Our expectations for learning and development challenge both teachers and students. Our instructional coaches expose teachers to innovative teaching practices in weekly professional development activities. Our school determines goals and explores strategies collaboratively to improve the educational program for our students. Our current priorities include increasing our scores on i-Ready and SC Ready. We utilize the data from these and other assessments to inform the instruction given to students.
We provide specialized, intensive interventions for students in subgroups (struggling readers, special education students, ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and the like) which we believe serves another of our goals—closing the achievement gap. We intend to do so by instituting the following practices:
1) increasing training for teachers to make small group instruction more effective
2) using effective reading assessment tools (running records, literacy with fidelity, and technology resources especially the one-to-one devices) to engage students more fully.
At MOES our teachers use effective research-based instructional practices to hone their craft by participating regularly in professional development. Utilizing varied computer applications, strategies, materials, and methodologies, teachers differentiate their instruction appropriately for each student. We provide students with a curriculum rich in technology use: all students in pre-kindergarten through grade 5 have personal electronic devices for their daily use.
For students needing further help in academics and/or behavior, our school utilizes a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in which teachers work collaboratively with interventionists and instructional coaches to provide our students with appropriate comprehensive support. We believe students are best served by meeting them where they are academically and “growing” them from there. For academically or artistically gifted students, we provide enrichment activities, tailored to those skills.
The success of Mossy Oaks Elementary can be attributed to the teamwork of students, parents, community members, and staff. This coalition fostered the development of an Outdoor Classroom for students which is now designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. We further engage community members through Clemson Extension classes related to the design and upkeep of rain gardens. As we build our repertoire of arts-infused, STEM//STEAM lessons, our students become prepared for successful careers in many fields, especially med-tech.
