Deerfield Elementary School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate as well as the life and career characteristics of a 21st-century learner. We embrace the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by staying true to our mission of creating a caring community that develops lifelong, successful leaders and learners.
During this unusual school year where COVID-19 had a drastic impact on our normal day-to-day events, DES received great support from our parents and community. Our staff pulled together to continue to provide teaching and learning. We went from seeing our students participate virtually, in an A/B schedule, 4 days a week, and finished up in a 5-day-a-week schedule. Our Deerfield Family grew this year in more ways than we could have ever expected.
DES continued its work as a Lighthouse school. Staff members of DES have undergone training on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Kids with Franklin Covey. This enables them to equip students with the skills they need through the 7 Habits. These habits will prepare our students for the 21st-century global workplace and community. The Leader in Me philosophy focuses on developing student leadership skills through goal-setting and leadership opportunities.
Out of 756 students, 175 continued to participate in our German partial immersion program. Kindergarten through fifth grade immersion students learned mathematics and science in German, and language arts and social studies in English. All spoken language and print text in mathematics and science are in German, while all materials in ELA and social studies are in English. DES continued our partnership with Germany by being a PASCH school. The PASCH initiative is a global network of some 2,000 schools that recognize the importance of foreign language. The goal is to provide students and teachers with lasting qualifications, and to form a long-term international learning community among German programs both in the United States and abroad.
Students, staff and community members have many opportunities to contribute through involvement. DES continues to put an emphasis on having our children understand how to help our world. Students of all grade levels take part in multiple service-learning opportunities throughout the year. Programs that our students and families regularly participate in include schoolwide leadership roles, Student Lighthouse Team, Watch D.O.G.S. program, Deerfield Diplomats, TNN News Crew, Deerfield Deputies, Veterans Day Assembly, Leadership Day, Leadership Track Meets, Spanish, PTO, Run Hard, BOWS Choir, field experiences and Honors Choir.
Our students and staff continue to take steps to close the achievement gap. Staff has received extensive professional development in the area of special education, ELA and math. Our 1:1 mobile computing model through the use of iPads and Chromebooks allows students to create, evaluate and defend their productivity. Teachers utilize flex grouping to target specific standards across grade levels. Staff works to create personalized learning plans for students to increase knowledge through researched methods. Students at DES are assessed through Star 360 to guide our instruction. Our staff members worked with an outside consulting group to help us strengthen our Data Team process.
Jan Malone, Principal
Beth Quick, SIC Chair
