At Buford Middle School, we pride ourselves in helping all students develop the World Class Skills that are outlined in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. By providing a well-rounded educational experience, combined with multiple opportunities to engage with college and career paths, we foster innovative and creative thinking and learning. Our students begin and end each day with dedicated time provided for use of technology, reading, enrichment, or remediation. This not only gives our students time to increase their World Class Knowledge, but also an opportunity to begin developing their Life Skills of self-direction, perseverance, and work ethic. In addition to the four core classes of Math, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, our students have exploratory classes which build on the arts, careers, physical and health education, and technology. These classes operate on a STEAM based approach, fostering the essential skills of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. Each spring, our students conduct a career fair that includes non-traditional learning opportunities and family nights. As part of our Career pathways education, we provide a military "boot camp" to learn first hand from those serving in the military branches; as well as a mock interview experience (The MIX) where professionals in our community conduct interviews with our students. These experiences provide for the development of World Class Skills such as perseverance, interpersonal skills and communication.
Professional Development:
Our staff has been dedicated to the overall success of our students. All teachers and faculty members regularly participate in on-going professional development. During the 2022-2023 school year, the media specialist trained teachers and staff members in how to utilize Google Classroom, how to set up a virtual platform to best assist students in and out of the classroom setting, and to use educational software, programs, and apps to engage the students in their learning. Our instructional coach and media specialist have provided on-going workshops to support instruction in the classroom, as well as, provided informational workshops and support to our parents. During PLCs with department chairs and the guidance department, teachers have analyzed the MAP data reports to better understand the strengths and possibilities for growth for the students that they teach.
In the 2023-2024 school year, we are continuing to utilize professional development opportunities and PLC’s. We continue to focus on triangulating student data and creating groups that best meet the needs of our students. We have restructured our Jacket Pride time, now known as FLEX, to better meet the needs of the students and will continue to do so, targeting individual students’ needs.
