Red Bank Elementary School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by empowering them with the skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. We strive to meet every child at his or her academic level.
The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready standards are explicitly translated and unpacked for the students so that they become adept at goal-setting in order to become proficient in their learning. We advocate for the transparency of the learning expectations for our students and support the use of innovation and technology.
At RBE, we continue to implement a personalized, competency-based learning model. Because we recognize that every child learns in different ways and at different rates, all children are supported to reach levels of proficiency before moving on to additional learning that is based upon other foundational skills. As a Title I school, we use school data to determine where our funding will have the greatest impact on student learning.
As a faculty and staff, we work to meet students exactly where they are in their learning through the use of formative student data. Teachers as well as teaching interventionists work together to track student progress, with the support of instructional coaches in order to provide “just right” instructional strategies, promoting student growth. Being intentional in providing personalized learning opportunities contributed to an overall rating of “Excellent” on the 2019 School Report Card, indicating that “school performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate.”
Reflection is an integral component of the learning process at RBE. As a result, students are able to set goals surrounding what should be learned next, to identify strategies they will use to work toward the goals and to then track the strategies that lead to success. Tracking their learning through a data notebook or a digital platform makes students knowledgeable of the learning progressions and allows them to celebrate their growth.
Through the S.C. Department of Education and its Office of Personalized Learning, RBE continues to receive support in our personalized, competency-based learning system. Five educators participated in professional learning customized to our school through the Ongoing Support Cohort during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 school years. We were able to do limited work on a virtual platform. In recent years, RBE hosted visits from multiple schools throughout the state who hope to learn from our team as they work toward school transformation. SCDE also hosted Inquiry Labs at RBE, attended by educators interested in learning about personalized, competency-based learning. We were selected as a host school for the TransformSC Bus Tour for the 2019–20 school year, which allowed business leaders, educators, students, parents and policymakers to visit schools that are transforming public education. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, we were unable to open our school to such events, but look forward to being able to do so as the global pandemic comes to an end.
Student agency and leadership remain central to the work we do at RBE. Action research is used to develop tools and strategies to increase student agency in multiple ways. Learner profiles and pathways have been developed to support flexible learning environments which allow our students to be partners in the learning. Standards-based reporting has allowed RBE to provide authentic feedback in meaningful ways. Our school emphasizes equity for all students. Because our students come from a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences, we recognize the importance of ensuring that ALL students are learning at high levels.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions this school year, our students were served in a “family model” for face-to-face instruction while some of our population opted to attend virtually through LOOLA. While we began the year in a hybrid model with two days of face-to-face learning and three days of virtual learning, we were eventually able to return to a “four-plus-one” model and, finally, a full 5-day-per-week model. In a “normal” year, our students would be invited to apply for leadership roles in their classrooms and throughout the school for committee positions, and to lead all programs and assemblies. While we were unable to do so this year, we look forward to a return to normalcy in the 2021–22 school year.
Lexington District One has identified eight Power Skills through our strategic plan that are integral to the way we work and learn together at RBE. These skills enable our students to learn the characteristics that will support them now and throughout their lives. The Power Skills are: accountability; critical thinking; collaboration; communication; interpersonal skills; integrity; perseverance; and a willingness to take risks. The inclusive culture at RBE demonstrates a sense of collaboration and respect for all. Our students continually strive to be their best selves and help others to do the same. At RBE, our schoolwide Code of Cooperation reads: “We encourage each other. We learn every day. We never give up. We are strong leaders. We are Red Bank.”
RBE continues to benefit from the support of business partners such as Michelin and our local faith community. Relationships and community are an important part of our school culture. We were also fortunate enough to receive several grants this school year, including two Michelin Golden Apple Teacher Grants, to purchase books for our students. We were named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School which also provided funding for bocce ball courts. Through a grant funded by Children’s Trust of South Carolina, we completed two 14-week cycles of the Strengthening Families Program which provided a meal and evening instruction for local families. The program provides learning activities to build a stronger, more effective family unit. While this program is typically delivered in a face-to-face model, we were able to continue its implementation in a virtual setting.
We appreciated the support and patience of our families as we transitioned through the different instructional models we implemented due to COVID-19. RBE staff worked diligently to provide continuity of learning throughout the year in order to promote proficiency in learning. Our teachers were able to participate in various virtual learning opportunities to become innovators of new ways to enhance instruction. We were also fortunate to serve as a community food pickup site, allowing Lexington District One families to drive through for weekly meal pickup. Our school also housed a summer reading camp for approximately 170 students from four Lexington District One elementary schools.
Our regular school year ended with a wonderful socially distanced drive-through parade; families decorated their vehicles and drove their students along the parade route while being greeted and cheered on by our entire staff. We celebrated the naming of a new teacher and staff member of the year, and honored our RBE family during Teacher Appreciation week in a variety of ways.
Although we have had many trials and were faced with much adversity this school year, our successes, our perseverance, our teamwork and collaboration are what we will remember most at RBE. This will make us stronger as we move forward next school year. As always, we will continue to strive to lead, to learn, to love and to pass it on at RBE.
Janet B. Ricard, Principal
Melissa C. Dooley, SIC Chair
