Shoally Creek Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by initiating a team approach to providing students a quality education in a positive, safe and supportive learning environment. Our dedicated faculty and staff commits to engaging all students in a rigorous curriculum, which provides opportunities to educate and develop the "whole child".
SCES is a proud Title I school that provides resources and opportunities to meet the various levels of needs among all of our students. One of the highlights during our fourth year was obtaining year two certification as a Jon Gordon Energy Bus School. Our school staff, students, and community are committed to the seven guiding Energy Bus Principles that provide common language and values. We experience a more energized and motivated staff and student body who are eager to come to school and engage in a positive culture. The SCES administration, staff, and School Improvement Council (SIC) are working together to utilize recent data and survey feedback in order to establish goals that will positively impact student readiness in all areas - academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. We believe that positive energy, combined with positive people creates positive results.
Student success is encouraged through academic assistance, a wide range of special services, engaging learning activities, and RtI (Response to Intervention). A focus on John Hattie’s study of ‘what has the greatest influence on student learning?’, common formative assessments, data analysis, teacher clarity, and student learning progressions are guiding specific instruction within our classrooms in order to improve the academic achievement of our students. Analysis of a variety of data points and unpacking the state standards for teacher clarity play a critical role in planning and differentiating instruction during our two weekly collaboration meetings with instructional coaches known as Teaching and Learning Teams (TLTs). Small group instruction is the catalyst for addressing individual student needs based on students' strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Within our school, teachers participate in TLTs where they work collaboratively with our knowledgeable math and literacy coaches to review assessments and data in order to identify and meet the needs of their students. Teachers also collaborate with one another in preparing rigorous and engaging lessons based on the SC College and Career Ready Standards. Initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RtI), the “Blue Jay Scholars” afterschool program, iReady Diagnostics, gifted and talented program, and Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) instruction all provide students with support so that they are successful and monitored for academic progress. Teachers also spend time with instructional coaches learning about the components of effective teaching strategies, such as Guided Math and Guided Reading instruction as well as practice scoring text-dependent analysis samples.
Our dedicated teaching staff participates in continuous professional development opportunities at the school and district levels. The Spartanburg Writing Project provides the faculty with best practices in reading and writing instruction, as well as works closely with our first, second, and fourth grade teachers and students. The Student Learning Objective (SLO) process assists teachers in targeting areas of growth at each grade level. From those areas of growth, teachers write goals and submit a plan to target the areas that require improvement.
Technology remains increasingly important for our students. Spartanburg School District Two continues to implement 1:1 technology in our third and fourth grades. Shoally Creek Elementary welcomes the challenges of integrating technology into the academics, as well as meeting the rigorous demands of the SC College and Career Readiness Standards. Technology was highly relied upon during the Distance Remote Learning (DRL) time that we experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the nine weeks of DRL, our teachers and students connected through a variety of mediums, such as ZOOM video conferencing, Google Hangout, Class DOJO, SeeSaw, and BLOOMZ. Instruction and review of grade level standards took place through three DRL packets that provided students with math and reading choice boards, including time spent on iReady lessons.
We encourage and welcome parent involvement as a way to strengthen home and school relations, and are very appreciative of their attendance at our school events. Such events include our PTO Open House, Muffins for Moms, Donuts for Dads, Family Literacy Night, SIC and PTO memberships, Science Fair, Family Spirit Nights, and our Fine Arts events, just to name a few.
Realizing the importance of educating the whole child, our entire staff engages in The South Carolina Resilient Schools Initiative. Being able to understand each child’s story is another means of better serving and meeting the needs of our students and their families. Throughout the school year, SCES students participated in special activities to help them develop academically, socially, and emotionally. SCES staff and students were recognized for their participation in community outreach projects, such as the United Way annual campaign, canned food drives to benefit the Upstate Family Resource Center, and the March of Dimes campaign. Our fine arts teachers host programs throughout the year to celebrate accomplishments in the arts. Mrs. Chastain, our music teacher, hosts grade level performances displaying the musical talents of our students throughout the year. Mrs. Mosseller, our art teacher, provides student artwork to display at the Chapman Cultural Center.
Effective communication among all stakeholders is critical for a positive sense of community. Communication is constantly updated to keep all stakeholders informed through weekly messages, electronic newsletters, teacher websites, call-outs by administration, and a digital message board.
Shoally Creek Elementary is committed to cultivating educational excellence for all students and we are proud of the positive strides we have made during our first four years. Our dedicated team will continue to grow each year in order to meet the needs of all of our students as we prepare them to be college and career ready.
Laura Meyer, Principal
Jason McLean, SIC Chair
