Deerfield Elementary School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the South Carolina Graduate by building a strong systemwide belief in “Success Every Day for Every Child Through Leadership and Learning.” This year we focused on building positive relationships and increasing family engagement within our building that could then strengthen how families support their students’ learning at home. At least one schoolwide extracurricular event was planned for each month, and all of them had a successful turnout. We also focused on social-emotional and executive function skills of students during morning meeting activities with students.
The first “normal” year since COVID provided a sense of relief to many. Our school community was able to use the resilience and perseverance gained over the past couple of years to support ALL students as some returned back in the building full time for the first time in a couple of years. Faculty and staff collaborated during professional development to identify where instructional gaps were during data dives.
As a Title I school, DES staff continued to be a partner school with the Teacher’s College, and staff participated in ten days of professional learning with a staff developer. Those sessions helped deepen instructional support in the areas of reading and writing. Staff focused on small-group instruction and phonemic awareness. Students were assessed using running records, Star360, i-Ready and other common assessments. Our staff also collaborated to build a structured calendar that provided a schoolwide weekly power skill focus with activities to help implement a new behavior matrix with students this year.
Students were able to enjoy a book fair that allowed them to select two books of their choice with the help of Title I funds. Many students and families shared their appreciation for that event. With Title I funds, we were also able to secure all school supplies for the upcoming year to help provide more relief to our families. We know as the upcoming school year begins, families will really appreciate that! We are also fortunate to have a full-time math coach, a family liaison and an additional interventionist as part of our Title I plan.
DES’s German immersion students have continued to grow and learn mathematics and science in German, and reading, writing and social studies in English. This year we will become a Dual Immersion School as we begin to phase in Spanish immersion with our rising kindergarten cohort (as German immersion phases out one grade level at a time). In addition to building young bilingual students, our program continues to send immersion students to middle school each year to continue their studies.
Supporting families and students can be measured by all the learning experiences and opportunities at DES as we implement the belief of building “Success Every Day for Every Child Through Leadership and Learning.” Together we are making DES a place where students, families and staff are both excited and proud to be Trailblazers.
Stephanie Taylor, Principal
Beth Quick, SIC Chair
