Nursery Road Elementary School - Arts Magnet facilitates all students in developing the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing rigorous and engaging instruction of the State Standards through the integration of the Arts at all grade levels. As the only Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) site in the district, our mission is to motivate, empower, and support students to accomplish individual goals within challenging arts integrated curricula and to develop successful citizens in a diverse community. Competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Education Magnet Schools Assistance Program and South Carolina Department of Education Distinguished Arts Program have supported opportunities for all students to learn World Class Skills such as creativity and innovation and collaboration and teamwork. Furthermore, we were awarded an extremely prestigious certification for the third consecutive year. In 2021 and 2023, we were awarded Magnet School of Excellence by Magnet Schools of America. We were named a Magnet School of Distinction by Magnet Schools of America in 2022 and 2024.
Creativity and innovation are celebrated in individual classrooms and school-wide. All students experience an expanded Academic Arts rotation that provides them with opportunities to actively participate in Dance, Instrumental Music, General Music, Visual/Media Arts, in addition to Spanish, Physical Education and Keyboarding. Students compose and record music in our Instrumental Music Studio using electric guitars, drums, and MIDI boards, and perform dance sequences that tie into our culturally-relevant Social Studies curriculum.
Our students utilize iPads and Chromebooks to bring learning to life as tools for critical thinking, research, and problem solving. Technology is used to develop Math and Language Arts skills, as well as computer science skills in the form of coding.
Collaboration and teamwork are evident in all classrooms. Our teachers continue to meet every child where they are, using differentiated small group instruction. Through Professional Learning Communities (PLC), our teachers collaborate and seek out research-based best practices to make data driven decisions each day for their students. As a result, we see our students experience academic gains each day in the classroom.
Collaboration and teamwork can be observed on stage during our school-wide Winter Performance, and Creating Original Opera in Fifth Grade where our students bring the South Carolina State Standards to life. This is also demonstrated in every arts integration lesson and through teacher implementation of Cooperative Learning strategies. These Cooperative Learning strategies increase student engagement, student accountability, and promote equity for all students, while decreasing undesired student behavior.
At Nursery Road Elementary School - Arts Magnet, our goal to continue to nurture relationships with our students, families, and community for the success of our students and to ensure they are prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.
Karey R. Fisher, Principal
Tom Klutz, SIC Chairperson
