York School District One continued the journey to become a learning organization during the 2021-2022 school year and began the work of executing the strategies to reach our three bold goals in our Strategic Change Agenda 2022-2027. Those three goals are:
- Create a challenging and supportive educational environment that ensures readiness for all students.
- Create quality opportunities for ongoing learning for students and staff in order to promote innovation and flexibility.
- Build capacity and leadership at every level of the organization.
Using our York School District One Board Priorities as a guide, we established a set of commitments to serve as mutually agreed upon foundational actions needed to meet our goals. These commitments serve as guideposts to direct our work as we live out our daily beliefs in our work with students, parents, and the community. Our mission is to cultivate a service-oriented community of learners who strive for personal growth and excellence as communicators, collaborators, creators, and critical thinkers. As students exit the York School District One system, our goal is for them to achieve every aspect of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, having developed World Class Knowledge, World Class Skills, and Life and Career Characteristics that ensure their readiness for college, career, the military or whatever path they may choose.
During the 2021-2022 school year, the district underwent its' five-year Cognia System Accreditation Review and received high marks, earning an Index of Education Quality (IEQ) of 331.77, which is significantly higher than the network's average IEQ score range of 178.34-283.33. This comprehensive review of the district's leadership, learning, and resource capacities confirmed the district's motto, Connected As One. Our focus on student-centered learning and teachers as designers of high-quality learning experiences continues to be pivotal to transforming student achievement and professional practice in our district. With the initiation of this work, we are beginning to see our student performance on state standardized assessments return to pre-pandemic levels. Yet, we recognize there is additional work to be done. To support teachers in making this transition to a student-centered environment, we have committed to providing meaningful and relevant professional learning experiences. Additionally, we are committed to demonstrating fiscal responsibility in allocating resources and ensuring that we are utilizing resources in ways that are most effective in assisting us to reach our goals. We are encouraged by the progress made during the 2021-2022 school year and are committed to continuous improvement to ensure each student has the opportunity to reach their highest potential.
Our teachers have access to standards-based curriculum resources, utilize evidence-based instructional strategies, and work to address a variety of learning styles. During the 2021-2022 school year, we continued implementing a balanced literacy approach across the district and provided ongoing professional learning support for our K-8 teachers in reading, writing, and phonics in grades K-2. We provided extra help for students who need more time to master standards with our Response to Intervention (RtI) process, emphasized reading and writing across the curriculum, and provided services for students whose primary language is not English. Our teachers engaged in high-quality professional learning activities and experiences focused on student-centered learning. This professional learning assisted teachers in leveraging technology to enhance their effectiveness and improve student achievement. To support the needs of the whole child, we added a mental health therapist to each school, offering services and support to our most needy students. Finally, we began the launch of our new instructional framework, which encompasses six high-leverage instructional practices at the core of the student-centered learning experience and effective teacher practice.
We are committed to learning as a life-long endeavor and recognize the importance of providing students with the opportunity to learn in a safe, orderly, and nurturing environment. Therefore, we will continue to work to personalize each student's learning experiences, assessing and addressing their individual needs while celebrating their successes. Our efforts are centered on the system's clear purpose: to ensure our children have the opportunity to reach their highest potential by finding the intersection of what they are passionate about and what they do well.
A strong and unified board of trustees, a knowledgeable and committed staff, and a district-wide emphasis on serving our students, parents, and community facilitates our district's ongoing improvements. The partnerships and connections we share with all stakeholders are critical to the continued success and growth of the district and, most importantly, OUR students. As we move into the 2022-2023 school year, Connected As One, we can look forward to York School District One graduates who exit our system as productive, contributing members of society with the ability to collaborate, communicate, and think critically, as well as have a clear understanding of what it means to strive for personal growth and excellence.
Education is the shared responsibility of the home, school, and community, and we are fortunate to be in a community that embraces this philosophy. Our School Board, Administration, Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community continue to put children first in our decision-making and planning! Our people make the difference!
Kelly S. Coxe
Superintendent
