To help all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, Pleasant Hill Elementary School focuses on critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity and supporting Lexington County School District One’s system commitments, including the vision to “Empower Each Child to Design the Future.”
In 2022-23, the PHES theme was “Get Ready, Reset, and Grow,” as we emerged from the pandemic. Interventionists and coaches collaborated to provide professional learning focused on improving student literacy, meeting with teachers throughout the year to make goals and create action plans for striving readers. A book study, The Joyful Teacher, offered strategies for our teachers to feel empowered and make a positive impact on our students. Our coaches offered additional book studies for English language arts and math teachers; many participated on a voluntary basis. Teacher leaders also presented a variety of professional learning sessions throughout the year; teachers chose where they wanted to grow. Coaches continued to provide professional learning for our instructional assistants to expand their knowledge of emergent reading, high-frequency word reading and writing, resulting in our kindergarten assistants being better prepared to assist students in increasing their literacy skills. PHES trained an additional teacher in Reading Recovery, enabling us to serve more striving first grade readers. Our coaches also provided additional support for students by presenting test-taking strategies with a Treasure Island theme with each grade 3 - 5 class participating in three sessions for reading, writing, inquiry and math, and a modified version presented to students in primary grades.
Our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) celebrated and honored each student and their family, starting the year by lining one of our halls with school community members’ family pictures. The annual International Fair, where dance, food and crafts from various countries were enjoyed, achieved overwhelming participation. “One for All” Cultural Heritage Month activities throughout the year included a live production of “The Art of Step” for students and staff as part of Black History Month, performed by the University of South Carolina’s Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
To meet Lexington County School District One’s system commitment that “all students, regardless of circumstances, advance on time, prepared to graduate and ready to enter college, the military or industry with certification,” PHES provided opportunities for students to actively engage in instructional activities, developing a schoolwork plan that focused on increasing student achievement in reading. i-Ready Classroom consultants and instructional coaches provided intense professional learning on meeting the needs of all students through differentiated instruction and personalized pathways, which enabled teachers to help students meet their “typical growth goals” and “stretch growth goals.”
Our focus on behavior and mental health learning continued with daily “morning meetings” designed to connect and build relationships with one another, with time built into the daily schedule. In these meetings, teachers presented lessons around the district’s power skills such as perseverance, accountability and communication. School counselors connected with classroom teachers to make sure students’ social and emotional needs, as well as academic needs, were met. PHES created a schoolwide behavior plan, “Supporting Student Behavior,” implemented by all. Our Leadership Team met monthly to analyze data and determine strategies to support our students, providing support and resources to families.
Our PTA connected with community members aligned with Lexington County School District One’s system commitment, “Our schools are service-oriented centers of learning, committed to family and community partnership,” with monthly events such as Bike Night, Fall Festival, Bingo Nights, and Let’s Glow Cougars for families to enjoy together at our school. During our Merry and Bright Curriculum Night, families participated in activities and crafts that focused on all academic subjects. More than 1,100 people attended this event! First graders read with senior citizens at the Columbia Presbyterian Community in Lexington County. Students from Lexington High School volunteered once a week as part of their Students in Action Program. Through one-on-one mentorship, the high school students assisted our kindergartners in letter identification, formation, and sounds, enabling our young learners to grow their phonics skills. PHES also partnered with student volunteers from the Lexington High School National Honor Society who “buddy” with students in each grade level to support reading, writing and math instruction. In addition, PHES partnered with Lexington County Public Library to provide free books to some of our striving first and second graders. PHES partnered with USC, benefiting from the placement of several interns at our school and enjoyed having Teacher Cadets from Lexington High School and Pro Team students from Pleasant Hill Middle School.
The PHES School Improvement Council (SIC) surveyed families at the beginning of the school year to determine “stars” and “stairs,” outstanding accomplishments and areas for improvement. Based on the results, our SIC pursued ways to improve our school, including improvements to our playground area, determining and sharing information about our school meal program, and seeking ways to make our car rider line more efficient. This resulted in working with the district to design a new playground structure to be installed on campus in the summer of 2023, producing a flyer to share information about our school meal program, and determining an additional route for parents/guardians to pick up their students at the end of the school day, reducing pick-up times by up to 15 minutes.
PHES students served our school and community through different outreach programs, such as collecting coats, backpacks and food items and making cards for local senior citizens. Our Service Learning Committee, including student Service Learning representatives, collected books for the Salvation Army tutoring program and collected items needed by the Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter. Our fifth graders served as Safety Patrol members, and representatives from each homeroom at every grade level served on our Principal’s Cabinet to allow their voices to be heard. Our students and staff are involved in many projects to restore, protect and conserve, as we continue to be a Green Steps School. A DHEC Recycling Education Grant enabled expansion of our paper recycling program, which added the collection of flexible plastic this year. After collecting 500 pounds of “stretchy” plastic, PHES was awarded a bench from the Trex Corporation.
During the 2022-2023 school year, we celebrated Jenny Taylor, elected PHES Teacher of the Year, and George Sligh, elected PHES Support Staff Member of the Year. Our school nurse, Karen Cousins, was named Lexington District One Nurse of the Year, and Principal Margaret Mitchum received the Dr. Gloria Talley Reading Recovery Advocacy Award. PHES received a $5,000.00 Innovation Grant from the Lexington One Educational Foundation to purchase games that increase students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers received grants from our PTA that support classroom instruction. Our students celebrated the addition of an artificial turf soccer field that our PTA added to our playground area during the winter break. Students also celebrated the return of PTA-funded field studies this school year. Throughout the year, we celebrated student achievements.
We thank all who worked with us this year to support us in so many ways, including students, parents/guardians, staff, community members, PTA, SIC and Central Services staff. We are grateful for all our stakeholders that supported us in 2022-2023.
Margaret B. Mitchum, Principal
Crystal Levine, SIC Chair
