Chicora Elementary School is part of Charleston County School District's "Acceleration Schools Initiative," which focuses on serving our students' academic, social, and cultural needs and works alongside staff, families, and our community to develop and support the whole child. The "Guiding Principles" are the following: Exceptional People: Every student will have a great teacher and a strong school leader; Rigorous Content and Instruction: Every student can achieve their college or career goals; Community Partnership: Every student and their family are proud of their school; School Transformation: Every division is committed to transforming schools with an equitable and relentless focus on leadership, talent management, instructional infrastructure, and climate and culture.
Using this turnaround framework, Chicora Elementary is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by focusing on critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. For the 2023-2024 school year, Chicora continued implementing Bridges for Math and the curriculum Expeditionary Learning (EL) for Reading. Chicora Elementary continued delivering rigorous, standards-based instruction to grade-level students using both curriculums. We continued utilizing our digital platform, iReady, for math and reading. This platform allows our teachers to meet our students exactly where they are and provides data to increase their student's learning gains.
With the partnerships of Leading Educators and the University of Virginia/ Darden University, school leaders and teachers receive monthly professional development to ensure success. They take a bold, comprehensive approach to transform learning and make rapid improvements in closing the achievement gap and providing equity for every student.
This school year, through the implementation of EL, Bridges, and iReady, our students continued to develop skills of perseverance and self-direction to reach their personal goals.
Chicora Elementary School fosters collaboration among our teaching staff. Our teachers work together during Professional Learning Communities within and among different grade levels on thematic units. We also hosted family events such as Coffee with the Principal, Town Hall Sessions with parents, Family Reading and Math Nights, Christmas Concert, Black History Program, and Parenting Programs to meet the needs of our families.
We teach our students to work as team members to support their learning and classmates. By creating a sense of shared responsibility around collaborative work, students can demonstrate the ability to work effectively and respectfully with peers.
As a PBIS and Second Steps school, a schoolwide discipline plan allows students to develop interpersonal skills that will help them throughout their lives by implementing social-emotional learning and guidance lessons. This year, to support our school climate, we implemented the Ron Clark House System, which boosts morale for students and staff.
We are committed to the health and wellness of our students and staff. Our Wellness Team encourages teachers and students to make healthy choices through Wellness Challenges and healthy eating habits. We also created a Wellness/Calming Room for teachers to utilize throughout the school year.
We have a partnership with Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN) and Metanoia. They have supported family nights, allowing for STEM activities that have helped keep our families involved with their children's learning. CPN and Metanoia co-sponsored our summer enrichment program and greatly incentivized teachers throughout the school year. We regularly communicate with parents through Class DoJo, Parent Portal, Monthly Newsletters, marquee, student agendas, school website, and Facebook page.
At Chicora Elementary, we look forward to continued partnerships with our families and communities to support our students in becoming lifelong learners and soaring to SUCCESS!
Monica Smalls, Principal
Angela Page, SIC Chair
