Butler Academy, or BA for short, opened its doors as a tuition-free public charter school in July, 2020. We currently serve grades K through 7th, and will add a new grade every year until our academic community includes a lower, middle and upper school with grades K through 12th. When it’s all said and done, BA will serve a total of 600 scholars each year with approximately 45 scholars per grade level. BA is an entry point to all things possible, including better tomorrows for our scholars and their families.
Our school is helping students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by creating an enthusiastic culture of learning in which every student is expected and positioned to succeed academically. As a Compassionate School (also called an trauma-informed school) we are focused on helping our teachers and support staff understand fundamental brain development and function, learn pedagogy, recognize the importance of self-care, correctly interpret behaviors, and manage negative behaviors successfully with compassion. We view the emotional wellbeing of our entire learning community as the primary catalyst for academic progress.
Each year our educators participate in professional development workshops that improve our understanding and expertise in working with diverse groups of students, including students from middle to lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Historic inequities and trauma rob too many of our scholars of an equitable education. Teacher education, developed expertise and our school culture ensure that our scholars never feel alienated by their differences, thereby eliminating another possible barrier for academic achievement.
At BA, scholars are expected to demonstrate the BRAVE Scholars core values: Belonging, Respect, Accountability, Vision, and Excellence. We use these core values to teach specific behaviors that can be improved over time and rewarded. Once we’ve met our scholars' social and emotional needs and have supported them in character development, we challenge them with a rigorous academic curriculum. We are committed to providing a sure path to college for our scholars. We work hard for them, fight for them relentlessly, and believe that all kids are capable of greatness. From the very beginning, we set out to equip our scholars to perform at the same high levels as their peers in wealthier communities. Our scholars have big goals. It is our job to help ensure they achieve them.
Our curriculum for every subject and grade level is chosen based on best practices and the demonstrated success of schools across the nation similar to ours. Our instructional coaching model ensures that the chosen curriculum is followed with fidelity and that our teachers have the support and resources they need to deliver instruction effectively. Our teachers receive feedback and analyze student data on a weekly basis to drive our daily instruction and long-term planning.
We also believe strongly in partnership. At BA, we recognize that a scholar’s education is a responsibility shared among parents, families, the community, our teachers, and administrators. We’re all in this together. Creating positive school, home, and community partnerships is essential to fulfilling the shared responsibility of high-quality and inclusive academic opportunity and achievement. We view our families as essential partners in carrying our successful connections, communication, and experiences. We continually plan and implement effective parent and family engagement activities to improve scholar achievement.
To help meet our partnership goals, families are asked to volunteer at least 10 hours per school year. They are also invited to attend our weekly Friday Celebrations, and other school-wide gatherings designed to showcase scholar achievements (whether academic or otherwise). Families also receive a weekly newsletter to help them stay informed and connected with our mission, vision and operation protocols.
Finally, it is worth noting that BA is a year-round school. We believe that students thrive when they are continually engaged, academically and socially. Our year-round calendar provides this opportunity over a larger fraction of the year. We have 2-week fall and spring interims, which provide teachers with regular opportunities for both rest and professional development, which results in a more engaging experience for the students upon return to regularly scheduled classes.
All of these components combined serve to drive our common vision that BA will become the cornerstone of a community that seeks to unite school, community and family in the provision of a high-quality K-12 whole child education. This starts with the social and emotional well-being of our entire learning community, and ends with our school being a beacon of academic excellence across our county, state, and nation.
