Carolina Park Elementary is a school where TEACHERS choose to teach, FAMILIES want to send their children, and most importantly, STUDENTS love to attend each and every day.
Carolina Park Elementary (CPE) is a school where TEACHERS choose to teach as our professional learning community fosters practices that include mutual respect, high expectations with support, a collaborative climate and choice-based professional development. We pride ourselves on providing an education that aligns with the World Class Skills outlined in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. CREATIVITY & INNOVATION drive all that we do. Intentional scheduling allows for grade-level and team planning, peer observations with reflective feedback and relevant professional development which are all important components established at CPE. We believe in treating our teachers as professionals and we trust they use best practices in their instruction to meet the needs of their learners.
Carolina Park Elementary is a school where FAMILIES want to send their children. Our teachers are masters at meeting high expectations with quality instruction. Our authentic practices allow students to show their work creatively, learn through highly engaging lessons, and apply relevant real-world experiences. We believe in frequent and open communication with our families that celebrates student accomplishments in the classroom such as publishing parties in writing, student performances, and art shows. We strive to build a strong community culture at CPE which includes school-wide family events, and several opportunities to get involved in the education of our children. We are proud of the safe and positive school culture that exists here at CPE. The warm, caring, child-centered climate is evident the moment you enter our school. Families want their children to attend our school because we actively involve parents through our SIC and PTO in decision-making and problem-solving. We all share a common belief that all of our challenges must be solved by answering the question, “What is in the best interest of the children we share?”
Carolina Park Elementary is a school where STUDENTS love to attend each and every day. We have created a fun learning environment in which students are challenged and feel safe to make mistakes. CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING is another area in which our school’s philosophy and practices directly align with the World Class Skills outlined in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Our teachers provide lessons that are differentiated, arts-infused, hands-on and relevant, providing real-world context. Student choice is apparent in all classrooms and a workshop model permeates reading, writing and math content areas as children create their best work. Children have the opportunity to utilize technology through one-to-one devices providing content on a variety of skill levels as well as enabling students to explore high interest areas. Opportunities like our Glow Hop, Color Run, talent show, Park Palooza Arts Festival, P.A.C.K. meetings, student musical, various clubs and athletic teams all provide children with additional avenues to connect with classmates and shine outside of the classroom.
Our concentrated efforts in providing a high standard curriculum that challenges children to critically think and problem solve has led to excellent assessment results. FastBridge (kindergarten and 1st grade) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP for 2nd through 5th grade) are the two assessments we use to measure student growth. Our FastBridge results showed that our students substantially outpaced peers, as on average we grew 19 percentile points in reading and 25 percentile points in math from the beginning to the end of the school year. The majority of our students (64% in reading and 60% in math) met or exceeded their individual growth goals from fall 2018 to spring 2019 as measured through MAP assessments. This data provides validation of our ability to both hold our students to appropriate expectations for high achievement and also to ensure that our students are making growth each year.
We have experienced continued success in our second year through hard work, a shared vision and collaborative teamwork. Carolina Park Elementary has quickly become a school where teachers choose to teach, families want to send their children, and most importantly, students love to attend each and every day.
Michael Antonelli, Principal
Cheryl Zimmerman, SIC Chair
