Pate Elementary School continues to be a school of excellence preparing all students to have world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing a safe atmosphere of collaboration and respect in a challenging learning environment. We provide such an environment by being a school that nurtures life-long learners who become positive role models in society. We are a school where faculty and staff are devoted to the success of every child through meaningful collaboration and on-going professional development in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Professional development is essential to Pate teachers as we seek new ways to learn innovative and effective strategies. All certified staff members participate in biweekly Professional Learning Communities, collaborating as grade levels to analyze student data through common assessments, as well as an instructional support in the classroom. All classrooms have two or more hours of uninterrupted time for our ELA blocks, along with a Reading Recovery Teacher for our first-grade students, and a full-time Literacy Coach for all grade levels. All students are issued IPADS and use them throughout the day for research, differentiation, and interventions. Dream box, Prodigy, EPIC, Seesaw, Pebble Go, ABC Math, Splash Learning, Freckle, Brain Pop Junior, Kahoot, EGGS, Exact Path, Study Island, Starfall, and AMIRA are some of the apps used to support student learning in all classrooms, 4K-2nd grade.
The character education program is evident in the daily activities of the school. Each day the Code of Ethics is recited, character words of the week are emphasized, and character-building activities for parents and students to do together are provided in the monthly newsletter. In addition, a school-wide theme of We Rise by Lifting Others is used to instill in our children the qualities of good citizenship while increasing self-confidence. This provides an avenue for teachers to emphasize positive and appropriate school behaviors, to demonstrate empathy skills, and to increase self-confidence in all students. Student excitement is evident each day as the students and staff members receive accolades for exhibiting these character traits through High Flyers, Lift Ups, and Balloon Books.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to provide face-to-face workshops for our parents. However, we provided numerous opportunities for parental involvement to continue virtually at our school this year. We live-streamed our Awards’ Days, our end of the year Boys’ and Girls’ Club presentation of The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, and fine arts’ musical performances. We also live-streamed our “Pie in the Face” fundraiser to raise money for our clubs. Special events for parents were planned and included: Family Science Night, Universal Family Math Night, and Parent Interventions thru Martha Stewart Behavioral Counseling Services and our Community-Based Parent Liaison Program. However, we were unable to have these due to the pandemic. Our school did recognize our school veterans by having a Veterans' Day Parade, socially distanced outdoors and provided our students with a “mini pumpkin patch,” socially distanced outdoors in lieu of our annual Pate Fall Festival. In addition, our students planted and took care of an outdoor garden. We are also increasing our networking with our community, homes, and school through REMIND, ZOOM, Facebook Live, and email, as well as local sponsorships for our Boys’ and Girls’ Club.
We believe that the success of Pate is the result of the support provided by our parents, community, students, and faculty. We have high expectations of our students and ourselves as we develop our future South Carolina graduates and world leaders.
Elizabeth McCluskey, SIC Chairperson
Shannon H. Fraser, Principal
