Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing authentic learning in a supportive environment and empowering all students to become responsible citizens and successful learners. Our school continued to foster creativity & innovation, collaboration & teamwork, critical thinking & problem-solving, communication, information, media & technology and knowing how to learn.
For the 3rd consecutive year, students were able to request their elective choice options via a google form, for the following school year. The principal and counselors created instructional videos for parents & students to view, peruse the course options, then make their elective requests for the next school year. An overview of this online process was presented at the New Family Orientation held in the Spring of 2023. During the 2022-23 school year, we continued to offer parents the option of conducting parent/teacher conferences, 504 meetings, IEP meetings and IAT (Intervention Assistance Team) meetings virtually. The majority of conferences were held via a google meet link. More and more parents became knowledgeable and comfortable using this virtual meeting mode, following the pandemic. Students, parents and teachers all utilized Google Classroom with much more ease- referring back to class notes, submitting assignments, posting & reading feedback on assignments, viewing instructional & remedial videos of learning topics and checking when assignments were due.
Our school motto is: One Team; One Direction. Our administrative and teacher teams operate using the same mission and vision. By having a common mission and vision, students are able to see how adults in the school work together to use each other's strengths to have the most impact on student learning. A number of initiatives Muller has implemented are: Content Recovery (Q1, Q2 & Q3- students who fail one or two content classes), meeting with parents to develop Student Success Plans, offering Extended Learning for Math (for students who fail below the 25th percentile in Math), Power Lessons (ELA & Math lessons used during those 1/2 days for students) and Club Days (typically held the last Friday of the month; during the school day). For the variety of assemblies and celebrations to honor our student leaders, the school faculty & staff collaborate in the planning and execution of such celebrations. Our PTO & SIC members always give of their time, help sponsor fund raising events, seek ways to improve our school and show appreciation of our educators.
Muller Road has used the daily Advisory time to help students think critically (AVID strategies) and how to problem-solve (Creating Connections, Teaching Kindness and Capturing Kids Hearts Lessons). Mondays (Mindfulness Mondays) is when the faculty and staff taught about the 7 Mindsets (Passion First, Everything is Possible, The Time is Now, Attitude of Gratitude, 100% Accountable, We are Connected & Live to Give). These 7 Mindsets were originally geared to the Leadership Magnet at Muller, however, all students are capable of learning about these character traits and identifying with one or more of them. In a number of classrooms, it was common to see students leading the 7 Mindsets Lessons. Wednesdays (WICOR Wednesdays) were devoted to teaching students the various AVID WICOR skills- writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, reading (and sometimes technology skills). The WICOR Wednesday Advisory time was a benefit to all students as not everyone was enrolled in the AVID class. Those students who were AVID students, used this time as reinforcement to their AVID instruction and also helped fellow classmates learn more about the AVID domains. Students who were not enrolled in AVID, got to experience new learnings related to writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading. Advisory time on Tuesday & Thursday was used for 'thinking'. Teachers would use this time to reteach, tutor and hold individual student conferences. Students could use this time to ask follow up questions about their learning, participate in tutoring and take advantage of re-takes on major assessments. Advisory time on Friday was used for Creating Connections. Not only did every teacher have a 'Creating Connections' workbook to utilize for teaching ideas, but every teacher had gone through the 'Capturing Kids Hearts' professional development training offered and paid for by the school during the summer of 2022. Teachers learned that the best way to reach a child is by creating and cultivating a positive connection/relationship. If students know you care about them, more often than not, they will work for you and try to give you their personal best. The 'Capturing Kids Heart' professional development also kept things in common among teachers. There were standard questions to ask students when they were off task or not doing the right thing. Teachers also used this curriculum to help create classroom social contracts. In classrooms where teachers did this intentionally, their classroom management was more consistent, positive and offered a conducive environment for learning to take place. Muller Road also is proud to have a magnet program (Leadership at Muller- LAM). Our students in the Leadership Magnet were not only exposed to state standards in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies, but also had requirements to fulfill in regards to Hirsch's Core Knowledge as a part of their leadership curriculum. Leadership students also had extended learning opportunities provided by their teachers on various afternoons during the school year. This time could be used to extend the learning from the school day, participate in field studies, bring in guest speakers or work on a culminating event.
One major mode of communication our school used in the past (Connect Ed) was replaced by a new system called Parent Square. Parent Square messages could be sent & shared with parents, other staff members and students. Another system of communication that parents could utilize was called Let's Talk. Parents could use that communication platform to voice questions or concerns and get guidance on who their question or concern should be directed. Weekly reports kept the school administrative team up-to-date about how many messages had been sent, the response time and whether a concern or question had been closed out. Prior to holding our quarterly awards programs, parents would receive a google document to complete with any questions or errors. This mode of communication helped school administrators resolve any errors prior to the ceremonies. Muller Road had a strong presence online, too, between the school website, Facebook and twitter feeds. Our technology specialist ensured that as new students enrolled at Muller Road, they were given a school email account & device to utilize for their learning. School-wide communication continued with phone calls, conferences (virtual or in-person), emails and postal mailings.
When students know why the learning is important many are more apt to participate in the learning process. We believe that by offering a daily Advisory time with intentional lesson planning & focus, more students can benefit.
As a result of our efforts, we earned many accolades: 18 eighth graders were recognized as Junior Scholars, all students enrolled in Algebra passed the EOC exam, our Lead Teacher was recognized by Magnet Schools of America as Lead Teacher of the Year, recognized as a Magnet Schools of America Demonstration Site, earned National Status as a Beta School of Distinction and Merit Award, increased our Junior Beta Club Membership by 10% over las year, earned AVID Site of Distinction for the 5th year in a row and was re-designated as a National Schools to Watch.
Sean Bishton, Principal
Chris Nesmith, SIC Chairperson
