Independence Elementary School is dedicated to fulfilling our district's goal of delivering academic excellence to ignite each student's highest potential. We accomplish this goal through our action plan, which accelerates student learning outcomes by focusing on Tier I instruction and impactful leadership with our staff through observation, coaching, and feedback. In alignment with our school's mission, we believe that nothing is more important than our children. We are fully committed to the social, emotional, and academic growth of every student. Our school fosters a safe, challenging, caring, and supportive environment where teachers, parents, students, and community members collaborate to ensure all Independence students build a solid foundation for life. We strive to make learning experiences at Independence both fun and engaging, while holding everyone accountable for reaching their highest potential.
This year, Independence Elementary was honored with the Palmetto Gold Award, a distinction that reflects the hard work, dedication, and collaborative spirit of our entire school community. This recognition affirms the impact of our continued focus on Tier I instruction, coaching, and student growth.
We also continued to highlight student leadership by providing numerous opportunities for growth. To further support student achievement, we maintained our expanded staffing model, including Interventionists and district-internal substitute teachers, to ensure that students receive consistent, targeted support. We continued to offer professional development opportunities such as Leader in Me and training on various interventions.
We believe in the power of collaboration with our district colleagues to enhance teaching and learning. Rock Hill High School students continued to volunteer in various capacities to mentor and tutor our students, while our community partnerships with Catawba Baptist Church, Omega Psi Phi, and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternities continued, with members reading to students and opening car doors during morning arrival. We continued our partnership with Winthrop University, hosting many aspiring teachers in our classrooms. Several of our teacher leaders were again selected to lead breakout sessions at the district's PLC Conference, further supporting professional learning.
Our students continue to be given numerous opportunities to develop their leadership skills through participation in clubs and organizations throughout the year. These include our school musical, Basketball and Bowties, The Junior Lighthouse Team, Patriots Council, Beta Club, Science Club, Recycling Club, and Safety Patrol. Additionally, our students excelled in competitive academic activities, such as the Oratorical Contest. Notably, one of our fourth-grade students represented our school and district in the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee.
As we look forward to the 2026-27 school year, we are excited to continue our Leader in Me journey. We will work closely with stakeholders to build on the successes we have experienced this year.
Adrienne Young, Principal
