Port Royal Elementary supports all students in developing the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing engaging, South Carolina standards-based instruction that focuses on continuous growth and development. Educators provide differentiated instruction and appropriate interventions to meet each child’s needs on an individual basis. Our mission is to create a learning environment that provides all children with the opportunity to grow academically, physically, socially, and emotionally while promoting college and career readiness characteristics that will foster success in a global community.
During the 2020-2021 schoolyear, both students and staff were challenged through the circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic. All students were provided with a tablet or iPad to engage in virtual learning. As the year progressed, many students returned to our face-to-face model of instruction. Students continued to integrate technology across the curriculum whether in a virtual or face-to-face learning mode. With support through the MTSS (Multi-tiered System of Support), students persevered through the multiple learning modes to strive toward academic goals. Additionally, PRES 2.0, an afterschool tutoring program, was offered to students in grades 3, 4, and 5 to combat learning loss that occurred over the previous school closure period in the spring of 2020.
Port Royal Elementary is a Project-based learning (PBL) school of choice in our district. Through PBL, our aim is to encourage students to build their sense of problem-solving and critical thinking skills through identifying real-world problems to research and actively investigate. Through this process, students work collaboratively, foster creativity, and strengthen communication skills. Examples of PBL units include investigating if chocolate milk is a good choice for school, creating and facilitating a Little Free Lending library on our campus so that children in our town have continuous access to free books, and investigating alternate methods to grow vegetables in a hydroponic garden.
We believe that building social-emotional competencies are equally as important as building academic competencies in developing world-class citizens. We strive to build a positive school culture through our ‘crew’ initiatives and we continue to focus on integrating character traits that build a foundation for life and work. Students practiced the character traits in their daily habits and were recognized at our monthly Crew Rally for outstanding efforts. Students learned the attributes of integrity, respect, perseverance, compassion, acceptance, courage, self-control, responsibility, cooperation, forgiveness, and kindness. During this exceptional year, we innovated ways to connect families with the school through three family night events including a virtual Math Game Night, Reading Takes You Places drive-thru event, and a STEM Pirate Ship Challenge.
Our staff continued its commitment to continuous professional learning to best meet the needs of students. In addition to regular professional learning community sessions, staff members completed professional book studies focused on improving student engagement, Responsive Classroom training, introduction to STEM education, FOSS Science Kit training, Gifted & talented endorsement classes, and Read to Succeed endorsement classes.
At Port Royal Elementary School we continue to focus on our final destination… excellence! Our goal is to continue to move forward; becoming stronger each day than the one before.
Vicki Goude, Principal
Wendy Emerich, School Improvement Council Chair
