E. B. Ellington Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by developing real-world, authentic learning experiences aimed at supporting students’ capacity to communicate, collaborate, create, think critically, and contribute to their community and the world.
In today’s ever-changing society, young adults need to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them to meet the demands of a globally competitive world and make meaningful contributions to their community. Ellington teachers intentionally design learning experiences that promote the development of 21st Century skills. By engaging students in authentic learning opportunities, they naturally learn to apply their knowledge, skills, and dispositions in multiple contexts. These lessons consist of experiences that challenge students to think deeply about what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how they can apply their learning. Teachers tailor learning experiences for students through the use of data driven decision making to deliver high quality instruction, meeting students where they are and challenging them to excel. Our teachers provide students with multiple pathways to demonstrate their learning. Whether it be a performance task or the utilization of technology to showcase learning, teachers allow students to choose from a menu of options that best demonstrates their acquisition of new knowledge and new learning.
Community collaboration with our school enables us to deepen and enrich the learning experiences for students. These partnerships provide students with an authentic context in which to apply learned content. This past year we partnered with Charleston Stage, a local community theater troupe. Through this partnership, students had opportunities to attend performances at the Dock Street Theatre and engage with actors during multi-day workshops, bringing to life key South Carolina standards (i.e. main idea, author’s purpose, etc). The culmination of the partnership included a performance of Treasure Island. Moreover, several students were awarded scholarships to continue honing their artistic craft.
Art Pot, a local grassroots organization that works tirelessly to engage our Hispanic community, collaborated with E.B. Ellington to deepen the relationship between home and school in an effort to provide wraparound services and support. The partnership has made a significant impact on families who seek trust and transparency while navigating the complexities of the American public school system. We look forward to growing the relationships with our partners as we move into the new school year.
The mission of E.B. Ellington Elementary School reaches far beyond the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic. While we value the importance of these academic areas, our priority is to provide opportunities for students to use what they have learned in an authentic context. Our established partnerships serve as a vehicle through which students can demonstrate the attainment of new knowledge and forge their own path toward future success.
James E. Dallas, Principal
Ryan Cumback, SIC Chair
