District of Calhoun County Schools Narrative
2021 Calhoun County Public School’s Narrative: July 15, 2021
District of Calhoun County Public School’s Narrative:
“Teaching and Learning” continues to be our focus. We strive to give our students a quality education that enables them to explore rich professions after they leave high school. The Districts’ Honors Academy has many of our students on track to receive an Associate of Arts Degree at graduation through dual credit courses from Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College. Notably, we have become an eLearning and Transform SC School District. These initiatives will keep us focused on excellence in instruction and career experiences for all of our students.
This past year caused havoc to the “Teaching and Learning” Process. The COVID-19 pandemic left many parents, their students, and teachers frustrated with the virtual teaching experience. I want to applaud all stakeholders for working cooperatively with the schools during this very trying time. Many of our students were focused on their studies and competing for honors and awards. Other students were not equipped to deal adequately with the virtual learning experience long-term. We were able to identify students from this past year who needed and were provided additional support through summer enrichment with teachers and other staff. The summer experience concentrated on the academic loss of standards-based pedagogy to bridge the gaps in critical learning.
Our attention now focuses on the return of face-to-face instruction. We believe the return will alleviate many of the tensions and stresses of parents, teachers, and students who have worked under trying conditions during the pandemic. We will also look for those who may experience social-emotional needs and address the trauma they have experienced with the help needed to recover. The pandemic was and is something none of us had ever experienced. We have learned some tremendous lessons and will use what we’ve learned to capture better experiences for all stakeholders during the 2021-2022 school year.
An additional focus this coming school year will consist of a literacy initiative for parents and children/students from birth to third grade. We are extremely excited about the addition of this new initiative. We are working with First Steps, Early Learning, the Calhoun County Library, the Districts’ Director of Curriculum and Instruction with Principals and other staff who make up the Districts’ Literacy Committee. We have submitted our plan for approval to the SDE for funding through ESSER for this critical and needed initiative. This will go a long way to bridge learning loss and allow students, in time, to arrive in our schools ready for learning each year.
As the pandemic has not fully subsided, we have submitted our COVID-19 Safety Plan. We were very fortunate in that the percentage of students and staff with COVID-19 illnesses this past year was very low. Our hats off to those staff who did an excellent job of keeping facilities sanitized and wholesome meals prepared daily. This year (2021-2022) is a refresh for technology and digital devices. Truly, we are most proud to return to a new school year, familiar and optimistic in terms of positive results for the coming year. We plan to do a better job of communicating with stakeholders and are confident that we are ready for a better experience for teachers and students as we continue our “Teaching and Learning” quest. We expect to have a very productive 2021-2022 school year.
Steve A. Wilson, Superintendent
