Mt. Zion Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by implementing strategies and programs that build our students' creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills.
Our mission, working in partnership with students, staff, parents, and the community, is to ensure that all students are provided a high quality education through a curriculum that utilizes approaches based on content advancement, analysis of abstract themes or concepts, development of complex thinking processes, and transformation of learning into creative products.
We have partnered with Kiawah Cares to develop a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiative at Mt. Zion, with teachers completing training for Project Lead the Way Launch, as well as implementing multiple STEM challenges this school year. Our teachers have also been trained in Ongoing Assessment Practices (OGAP) in order to further their knowledge about teaching math conceptually, and how students build and develop their conceptual understanding.
Our school responded to COVID-19 challenges by implementing new safety procedures, increasing social distancing, and modifying instructional procedures, classroom setups and opening up additional spaces for instruction. We worked with our volunteers, local churches, and the Kiawah Seabrook Exchange Club to increase access to outdoor areas through providing towels and building an outdoor classroom area. These changes and adaptations have allowed our teachers to continue to implement best practices while keeping students and staff safe.
Faculty and staff will continue to develop students’ ability to read and write creatively and critically by implementing small group reading and writing under the guidance of the University of Florida Lastinger Institute through our partnership with Trident United Way. We are also working to further develop our students' background knowledge by implementing content-rich reading and writing opportunities throughout the curriculum.
The faculty, staff, and parents look forward to seeing the results of the strategies designed to increase students’ ability to read and write critically and to think creatively and problem solve.
Anna Mims, Principal
Ashley Burke, Chair
Erin Rojas, Co-Chair
