Lady’s Island Elementary is helping all students develop World Class Skills aligned to the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by embracing critical thinking and creativity. We offer a curriculum rich with opportunities to form positive relationships with others while immersed in the visual and performing arts.
The 2020-21 school year brought distinct instructional modes – virtual, hybrid, and a return to full face-to-face during the second semester. Our school community transitioned to Zoom, Seesaw, and Google Classroom to deliver continuous instruction while partnering with families to provide virtual and in-person instruction. We utilized social media platforms to showcase school events such as Virtual Literacy Night, Virtual Book Fair, and Osprey News.
Preliminary benchmark data indicates that, like so many other schools and systems, our students have experienced a learning delay from the shutdown in March 2020, but we have worked diligently to close the gap created by this event. We offered an extensive “2.0” extended day experience in Spring 2021 as well as additional intervention during the school day and a virtual afterschool math program for students with identified needs. We implemented the new Ready Math curriculum this year with above average results on benchmark assessments and look forward to additional improvements. Creative writing was added as an additional course for students in Grades 1-5 to offer a unique arts integration experience and to help connect reading and writing to the arts.
Our school joined the cluster in helping to establish a full continuum of the National Honor Society by installing an inaugural chapter of the National Elementary Honor Society. While not all members were on campus in-person, all participated in various community service and community building projects during the school year. Projects included holiday cards for nursing home residents, motivational cards for school staff, critical thinking Easter egg hunt for all students, and the donation of 1,151 boxes of cereal to local food pantries after conducting a STEM investigation using the boxes as dominoes.
We closed the year with a school-wide block party, traditional field day activities, and in-person moving on ceremonies for students. We are proud of the support we received from stakeholders during this unprecedented school year and look forward to working together to help all students achieve at high levels next year.
Marvelle L. Ulmer, Principal
Erica Coleman, SIC Chair