Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing a rigorous curriculum, early intervention, social-emotional development and an individualized approach to instruction. Through high expectations and the implementation of these key levers across an extended school-year, our students have consistently celebrated strong gains as determined by MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), the MAP Reading Fluency Reading Assessment and overall academic and social performance in the global classroom.
This year our 5K through 5th grade students were engaged in interactive Spanish lessons throughout the year. Through the integrated platform of Science, Math and Technology, they completed various individual and group projects. With an added layer of instruction, our STEM program delivered highly engaging, creative projects. Students continued to participate in virtual school-wide projects and celebrations like Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Chinese New Year and Women’s History Month. Students then shared their projects throughout the school and community. Our 5th grade students participated in an orchestra program and participated in the district's end of the year concert. Our students still participated in field trips where they experienced hands-on learning opportunities and learned about different authors, entrepreneurs and local business owners. With our school-wide focus on college enrollment, we are proud to acknowledge over 96% of our students have established and maintained a college savings fund with our Credit Union partners for the last eight years, and have saved more than $73,000 towards future college tuition. Our faculty and scholars were honored to host several guests from across the state and nation, such as Governor and Mrs. McMaster who signed a new bill allowing South Carolina School Districts to have more than one Public School of Innovation. Lastly, over the course of the entire year, our scholars focus on our core path to success traits which include, academic achievement, curiosity, gratitude, empathy, integrity, grit, citizenship, self-control and optimism. These traits were integrated into our daily curriculum and addressed and enforced through individual classroom morning meetings.
Through collaboration and teamwork, our teachers continue to learn and instruct on the edge of their craft in order to facilitate high levels of achievement. Through our highly rigorous curricula, Wit and Wisdom and Eureka Math, our teachers supported students with critical thinking, analysis and authentic reading and writing. Teachers also helped students solidify their foundation in reading by focusing on explicit phonics instruction and text that support early decoding strategies. All teachers and staff members participated in over 130 hours of data-driven content professional development. We pride ourselves in identifying each child’s strengths and weaknesses in order to provide exemplary academic experiences. Our faculty provides differentiated instruction based on strong relationships with students and analysis of student MAP, MAP Ready Fluency and classroom performance data. We continue to provide challenging activities for all students, which allows a common framework for organizing resources, collaborating and goal setting.
MSAS recognizes that parents are their child’s first and most important teachers, critical to their story of success. We continue to set the bar high with the expectation of our parents by virtually offering our Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). We hosted a Fall Festival in our neighborhood celebrating our strong start to the school year and family partnerships. With our parent guidance and support – we also hosted a variety of school wide events including Dance for Heart, Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations and monthly Honor Roll and Zero Hero recognition ceremonies. Our proud “first teachers/parents” continue to support classroom educators while providing valuable input to shape the culture of success at MSAS. We also continued to provide health screenings and additional student support services for all our students such as speech, occupational, and other mental health services.
Community partnerships at MSAS continue to play a vital role in our school’s success formula. The Carolina Foothills Credit Union, Denny’s corporation, City of Spartanburg, Mary Black Foundation, University of South Carolina Upstate, Converse College, Spartanburg Community College and local businesses partner with us to provide needed resources which support classroom teachers. The Spartanburg Community College, close in proximity to our school, kindly provides valued space for our both virtual and in-person orientations. As a result of last year’s collaborative partnership of Denny's, the City of Spartanburg, School District 7, and the Meeting Street Network, our students and community continue to enjoy our new neighborhood playground which serves our students during the day and the Spartanburg community during evenings and weekends.
MSA is committed to helping all students develop the world class skills of the profile of a South Carolina graduate. Due to our high expectations in both academics and social emotional skills for both students and teachers, our school was nominated as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. At MSA we focus on the whole child to ensure our students grow up to be world class citizens and leaders.
