St. James-Santee Elementary-Middle School is helping all students develop the world class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing a safe, caring, and academically challenging learning environment. The faculty, students, and staff of St. James-Santee Elementary-Middle School have made improvements in all areas of school culture, which has strengthened our core instruction and placed an emphasis on rigor and student outcomes. St. James-Santee Elementary-Middle students, parents, teachers, and administration still maintain a pursuit of excellence in all areas of education, which is evidenced by our school’s mission of one that “prepares for success and not settling for anything less.”
St. James-Santee Elementary-Middle School is a rural school on the northern boundary of Charleston County. We are located in beautiful McClellanville, South Carolina, and we are surrounded by the Francis Marion National Forest. Our school is known for its small class sizes and ability to individualize learning to make our educational experience more personal for each student.
This year, we implemented mathematics intervention for students in third through fifth grade to focus on academic achievement in mathematics. We continued to collaborate with the I-Beam mentoring program for the third year and provided intervention for students needing assistance in reading, and the continued partnership with the East Cooper Faith Network will allow this program to continue to pair mentors with our students until the time they leave our school; sixty- seven percent of our scholars were served. Our science department also collaborated with SeWee Environmental Center to provide opportunities and learning experiences on and off campus.
Our school continues to use the PBIS model for school wide behavioral expectations. Our students are prepared to be a Helpful, Excellent Attitude, Responsible, Outstanding Scholar (HERO). Students still have the opportunity to participate in HERO activities during school and receive daily and weekly recognition, along with scheduled, incentive-based events and rewards on a weekly and monthly basis. We take pride with the increase of social media and parent communication. Parents received weekly notifications of activities and events. Teachers also increased the use of performance notification through the use of multiple parent notification systems reaching over eighty-five percent of our parents.
Our school has always been committed to the students, families, and the community we serve. With growing and active partnerships, we hope that all of our stakeholders will continue to be involved in the lives of our students as they reach for new heights in the coming years. The expectation at St. James-Santee Elementary-Middle School is to become a model school for academic achievement in the near future, as we prepare students for high school and beyond.
LaCarma McMillan, Principal
Charika Weston, SIC Chair
