As East Cooper Montessori (ECMCS) completes its 16th year as a public Montessori school of choice within Charleston County School District, we reflect on the many achievements. Guided by the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori, ECMCS is meeting the vision to develop world-class skills and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing an authentic, rigorous public Montessori experience for students in K-8th grades. The school continues to awarded for high achievement and is recognized as a model public Montessori program within our county and state.
The mission of ECMCS, in part, is to provide a rigorous Montessori education that guides children toward academic excellence and a lifelong love of learning. Rigorous curriculum expectations are met through learning experiences which capitalize on collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication. The school fulfills its mission by offering an enriched and cultural curriculum that incorporates and extends district, state, and national standards. Students develop their abilities by posing questions, collaborating with others, designing investigations, and gaining skills necessary to express and pursue research interests. Scientific and mathematical aptitudes, appreciation of history and timelines, literacy across disciplines, and the development of a student’s humanity toward the local and global community are all part of the curriculum at ECMCS. The vibrant hands-on approach to teaching and learning through personalized curriculum mapping, interactive technology coursework, Gifted and Talented Immersion Program, foreign language, and high school credit courses in middle school coupled with strong arts programming in music, theater, art, and STEM continue to set the ECMCS experience apart from other programs.
ECMCS intentionally and systematically reviews an area of the curriculum in depth every three years. The practice allows us to ensure we have the latest and greatest materials for students, professional development for teachers, and are up to date on best practices in education. This school year was our first year of our in depth study of our mathematics curriculum. OGAP (On-going Assessment Project) professional development was conducted with all teachers which explores a set of instructional strategies that both enhance the formative assessment process and build teacher content knowledge, curricular knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. The additional resources and training helped bridge at-home studies of math providing real world problem solving opportunities in math, and deepen their conceptual understanding of complex math problems. As we conclude the year, we are excited with our results and will broaden our investments and initiatives for students into next year.
The second part of the school’s mission is to encourage stewardship of the greater global community. All students annually participate in service learning projects. These student-initiated activities have led to students becoming partners with nonprofit organizations lasting beyond their time with us. This year alone, our students have partnered with over 100 organizations serving our community needs and have performed almost 3,000 volunteer hours.
The consistent and professional leadership of the Governing Board and the school administration remains a cornerstone of its financial and academic success.
Jody Swanigan, Principal
Jennifer Gresham, Governing Board Chair