Carolina Springs Middle School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate through a comprehensive development program for all students. As a nationally recognized showcase school for Capturing Kids’ Hearts, we continued to help students develop effective communication and interpersonal skills throughout the 2020–21 school year and to enhance our students’
cognitive development and critical thinking skills through the AVID instructional framework. This year, COVID-19 exacerbated the challenges that some students faced each day. Therefore, we supported and dedicated attention to the social and emotional needs of our virtual and face-to-face students by implementing a daily advocacy structure and the 7 Mindsets curriculum.
We are grateful for the dedicated faculty and staff members who gave selflessly and tirelessly to make the school year a success despite many challenges. Because of their growth mindset, learning continued in a safe and supportive environment all year. Our faculty and staff continued to nurture and develop a strong foundation that will lead to long-term resilience for our students. We are thankful that our faculty and staff shifted their thinking and collaboration in extraordinary ways, both virtually and face-to-face, to
continue having a meaningful impact on the lives of our children. They discovered new ways to present subjects, created welcoming classroom environments, enhanced their ability to provide quality feedback, and kept high expectations for each learner.
In the face of the challenges of 2020–21, we continued to refine our work with the Student Engagement Model by creating learning experiences that leveraged technology in impactful ways. We increased the use of AVID instructional strategies both inside and outside the classroom as students used their knowledge of one-pagers to celebrate and honor Americans during Black History Month and Women’s History Month this year. Our Director of Counseling, Brandy Ludlam, was named the Palmetto State School Counselor of the Year. We added several opportunities to the curriculum this year including American sign language and FriYay Hour, which introduced a plethora of enrichment activities on Friday afternoons for our students once we returned to a 5-day learning model. We leveraged technology to facilitate a “visit” from an internationally recognized author as well as multiple guest speakers throughout the country who spoke to our children about postsecondary careers. We celebrated Lexington District One’s first AVID cohort finishing eighth grade at CSMS this year. Our archery team was invited to the national competition after winning their second state championship. Eleven students competed in the state-level National History Day competition where two students qualified for the national competition and one received the Military History Award. We enjoyed concluding our year celebrating all of our rising ninth-grade students at a drive-through celebration honoring their persistence and achievement.
We are grateful for the community partnerships that make our accomplishments possible and enable us to empower our children to design a better future. CSMS is fortunate to be able to give back to our community by serving as a central food distribution site throughout the summer and the school year, hosting spirit nights at local restaurants to connect with our virtual students and visiting the homes of our
students in need.
While we take pride in our accomplishments this year, the fact remains that we had no way of fully comprehending the importance and interconnectedness of our work with the lives of families and children in our community nor a way to predict the emotional toll that separation from school would create for teachers, parents, and students. In 2020–21, as we experienced not being able to see our students for extended periods of time, we came to fully understand how relationships and learning are intricately intertwined. We will embrace the new school year with renewed commitment and unyielding confidence that we can help our students overcome any challenge that threatens their success.
Brice L.S. Cockfield, ED.D., Principal
Ms. Kim Cash, SIC Chair
