Mill Creek Elementary School, located at 925 Universal Drive, Columbia, SC, is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the Graduate by aligning instructional practices with challenging SC state standards.
The mission of Mill Elementary School is to transform lives by closing the achievement gap and empowering all students to achieve their potential and dreams, preparing them for college and career readiness.
Our vision is a commitment to
Technology and Teaching life skills,
Equitable learning Environment,
Achieving excellence,
Motivating students and staff,
Master state standards and
Cultivating responsible citizens and Parent/Community involvement.
Students at this school are making average academic progress from one grade to the next compared to students at other schools in the state. The student demographic ratio consists of 89% African American, 3% White, 3% Hispanic, and 5% two or more races. An attractive student-teacher ratio and robust professional development plan coupled with ample resources support Mill Creek's overarching goal.
Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by selecting several carefully chosen strategies that are implemented to assist children with realizing this overarching goal. First, the school uses STAR Reading and Math with other assessments to assess students' reading and math competencies. The i-Ready Assessment is given to all students with identified IEP goals in reading and math. The Master View Predictive Assessment (MVPA) State practice test is also given twice a year. The BAS Assessment is given to all students to determine reading levels in combination with other methods. Quarterly writing benchmarks are given to all students in 5K-5th grades. Results from these assessments are used to guide instruction in classrooms, monitor student growth, and inform strategic interventions for specific students throughout the school year.
As reading is fundamental to success in all content areas, the Balanced Literacy Model is used. Second, teachers use whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, individual tutoring, and targeted interventions to facilitate growth in student learning. Thirty-minute intervention blocks are provided in ELA and Math to provide individual and small-group instruction on students' instructional levels. In addition, technology use has increased to a 1:1 device-to-student ratio ranging from prekindergarten - to 5th grade. All classrooms have a Smart Board to assist with instruction. These different ways of teaching support students with diverse learning styles in realizing mastery of learning goals.
Mill Creek Elementary continues to place heavy instructional emphasis on developing proficient readers. Children are expected to read independently in class and at home daily. Various incentives are in place to encourage students to read and think critically about the literature they have read. Students across the grade span must reflect on, discuss, and write about their readings.
Mill Creek Elementary leverages Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), and principal-teacher conferences as tools to improve learning for all students, especially children in historically lower-performing subgroups such as African American males and students with special needs. PLC, MTSS, and Deep Data Dive conferences also provide teachers with valuable opportunities to analyze student data and decide on the next steps in the teaching and learning process.
Mill Creek Elementary benefits from a strong network of partnerships representing our community's faith and business segments. The School Improvement Council (SIC) and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) continue to support through the help of teachers, parents, community businesses, and other stakeholders. These partnerships include but are not limited to Westinghouse, McEntire Joint National Guard, Trinity Church, and Temple Baptist Church. Moreover, plans are in place to expand and improve our Foster Grandparent Volunteer initiative.
For the 2024 -2025 academic year, Mill Creek Elementary will no longer be considered a Title One school. As a result, we will lose the Math Interventionist and an instructional assistant. Mill Creek is one of the 8000 schools in the country to be an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) school. Teachers in grades 3-5 have professional training in the AVID program covering culturally relevant teaching, academic language, literacy, and digital teaching and learning. Plans call for Mill Creek Elementary to add a new grade level to AVID each successive school year until students at all grade levels have access to AVID principles. AVID provides professional learning that sticks, resources that drive school transformation, and feedback and follow-up to keep students on track.
Finally, Mill Creek Elementary community members realize that assisting children with developing world-class skills that promote success in a competitive global society requires that everyone continually learn. The principal, faculty, staff, parents, and community partners must establish an example of life-long learning. Adult modeling, coupled with ample opportunities for children to learn in different ways in a caring, supportive environment, is the pathway to achieving this overarching goal for Mill Creek Elementary School.
Eddie J. Whack, Principal
Jamie Chesnut, SIC Chair
