Stiles Point Elementary School is helping all students develop the world-class skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by ensuring that each child’s progress is known, tracked, and plans have been made to ensure that individual student needs are met. Only then can we ensure that each child reaches their full potential.
Our instructional focus has always been on problem-solving, critical thinking, and participating in creative, collaborative processes and teamwork. Our students and teachers work together to create optimal learning experiences. Our special area and classroom teachers collaborate throughout the year to create a positive and effective learning environment. Our fifth grade teachers work with the middle school teachers, in our feeder pattern, to create the best transition for our students into middle school. We continue to address state standards through interrelated studies, understanding that real life does not come in fragments of math, social interaction, history, and geography. Our focus on critical thinking and problem-solving has resulted in an overall rating of Good on our state report card, while consistently outscoring state and district averages in math, reading, science, and social studies.
We continue to work diligently in developing our students socially and emotionally, especially during this time where COVID-19 has had such an impact on our traditional routines. Teachers and students have been asked to step considerably out of the norm into uncharted terrain. In order to lessen the impact of Covid-19 on our learning community, we rearranged the structure of our elementary grade levels. In grades 3-5, our teachers were arranged in teams, not just departmentalized. This is the first time we have had team-teaching all the way down through third grade. We did this for two reasons. We wanted our teachers to be able to hone in on certain content, to give them more time to be experts in what they were teaching. Also, we had to amend our structures to allow for some of our teachers to teach virtually at most grade levels. By working in small teams, we believe that our teachers were able to focus more on the exact needs of our students and work more diligently in closing the gaps created by instructional time missed due to Covid-19. We worked with our students to help them grow academically and socially so they could become citizens that can lead our community in the future. They will remember this difficult time that they have worked through. And, in the future, when they face something like this again, they will know how to address the issues because they have overcome similar obstacles before. They will be problem solvers. They will remember that we are all stronger than the challenges we face.
Stiles Point Elementary School also engages students in communication, information, media, and technology. All students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade have received 1:1 digital devices (iPads and Chromebooks). Our teachers deliver instruction that demonstrates positive digital citizenship and the skills needed to engage responsibly when using the Internet and various types of social and educational media platforms. In order to accomplish this, many of our teachers have completed professional development courses in digital learning, such as obtaining Google Educator Certifications and participating in the multi-year Innovation and Digital Learning Cohort provided by the Charleston County School District. Teachers also were trained in the use of Canvas, a platform that proved very beneficial during Covid-19. Teachers and parents were able to use this platform for the communication of academic and behavioral expectations.
Stiles Point Elementary School continues to thrive due to the expertise of the teachers and staff and the dedication and determination of our parents and community in supporting our efforts!
Michael Ard, Principal
Samantha Goldberg, SIC Chairperson