Message From Superintendent
Williamsburg County School District (WCSD) is refining & redesigning teaching and learning. The instructional highlights for 2021-22 school year focused mainly on areas for professional growth. District leaders, administrators, instructional coaches as well as teachers participated in yearlong professional development sessions facilitated by statewide content leaders, S2TEM Centers, district leaders, Montessori certification personnel as well as national leaders in the area of administration & Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). The goal for this year was to continue the professional learning of internal stakeholders to increase teacher and administration quality as planned and aligned with our District Strategic Plan.
Subject specific content consultants focused their sessions on alignment of state standards with instruction. Teachers participated in quarterly workshops for the learning of different content and were given best practices strategies to implement during instructional times. Additionally, grade bands engaged in weekly/monthly lesson planning sessions to build capacity for the learning of what was taught during the workshops.
S2TEM Centers provided Cognitive Coaching certification training for WCSD professionals. The Coaching model will enable our district to establish common language for communication in which will empower others into becoming self-directed, self-governing, and self-modifying as goals are set and met towards meeting the needs of our students. Most administrators, coaches and counselors as well as district leaders have completed certification in this coaching model. In addition to Cognitive Coaching, S2TEM Centers also worked with our district teachers & leaders digging deeper into student centered mathematics and aligning instruction with standards.
District leaders conducted several workshops on Cognia accreditation standards to ensure everyone understood the state accreditation standards and tools. Additionally, principals, teachers and support staff were trained in utilizing the Eleot tool for student engagement. This tool enabled the district to set a path towards high expectations for student success in an effort towards increasing student achievement.
Our Montessori school continues to be the district’s school of choice. The primary (grades Pre-K) school teachers are in year two of training and will be fully certified this fall. The early elementary (grades 1 and 2) teachers will complete year one of training this fall then enter into their second year of training in January. The Montessori curriculum has been proven to give students a sense of empowerment and to show increases in the retention of new skills and information. The curriculum offers children five key areas of study: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language, and Culture. Through repetition and practice, children develop foundational understanding and master the core competencies within each curriculum area which will increase both student engagement and student learning.
To further support and grow our leaders, WCSD offered the district’s first Leadership Academy and Coaches Camp. WCSD’s administrators participated in a week-long academy led by a national consultant of school leadership. The facilitator immersed our leaders in research and how to put research into practice. Our coaches camp was modeled after the same framework.
Finally, SC ACT 213 has required all schools and districts to implement Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). In an effort to monitor our students’ learning more closely we have hired MTSS Coaches. The MTSS Coaches were engaged in a yearlong book study to intentionally ensure that all coaches understood the MTSS framework and has developed a cohesive vision for MTSS district wide. To further ensure that our district is putting MTSS into practice leaders will complete micro-credentials in MTSS to solidify our role in meeting every students’ needs in Williamsburg County School District.
Dr. Rose Wilder, District Superintendent
Ms. Molly Spearman, State Superintendent
