While the school year looked very different from a “traditional” year at Pleasant Knoll Elementary, our school was still able to help all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the Graduate by developing and supporting a sense of community for each child, parent, and faculty member through purposeful learning experiences. The staff at Pleasant Knoll Elementary is committed to ensuring all children learn at their highest potential. During the 2020-2021 school year, our staff united around our theme of the 5 C’s. During a COVID year, it was more important than ever to function as one school community. Our school was able to offer a full face-to-face model for the entire 2020-2021 school year. As a school community, we focused our time and energy on integrating and modeling collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication and caring. The most important focus for our faculty and staff and families during the 20-21 school year was on the social and emotional health of our students.
Over the course of the year, 248 students were recognized for good character and being good citizens through our “Panther Pride” positive recognition program. PKES students regularly participated in classroom community meetings and classroom guidance lessons that highlighted the importance of developing good interpersonal and communication skills.
Mentoring and coaching were utilized to support district and school initiatives such as Lucy Calkins Reading and Writing, Discovery Education Techbook, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, and Professional Learning Communities. Our reading coach conducted guided reading learning walkthroughs and provided specific feedback to teachers. Our coaches also developed teacher-friendly frameworks/reflection tools for guided reading and student engagement strategies.
In our efforts to maintain continuous improvement, our PLC Leadership Team facilitated training that provided our staff with frameworks aligned with best practices within Professional Learning Communities. To support the work of PLC’s, PKES continued to provide an enrichment block in the master schedule so teachers could provide students with enrichment and/or remediation based on student need.
With the help of the PTO, School Improvement Council, and all stakeholders at PKES, we look forward to continuing to work together to provide a safe and purposeful learning environment for our students.
Chad Allen, Principal
