Founded in 2016, Meeting Street Elementary (MSE) is the first Public School of Innovation in Charleston County and one of the first schools of its kind across the state of South Carolina. As a neighborhood school in Charleston County School District, MSE serves Pre-K3 through 8th-grade students in North Charleston. The school has an extended day and year, providing hundreds of hours of additional learning for students as well as 16 days of professional development for all staff.
MSE focuses on preparing all students academically for college and career. Our graduates are being prepared to attend the top academic high schools in the region and succeed in the 21st-century global economy. Aligned to the Science of Reading research, our approach to literacy includes utilization of top-rated curricula, assessments, and interventions, and professional development and coaching for staff. MSE also utilizes a top-rated math curriculum and provides program offerings in science, theatre, physical education, and art as the core of the academic experience for all students. In the early grades, there are two teachers in each classroom to help maximize student learning.
Leadership and staff at MSE focus on serving the whole child, constantly reviewing and responding to quantitative and qualitative data on each student’s performance. Meeting Street Elementary focuses on character education and each student’s social-emotional development, grounded in the school’s eight Paths To Success, which include important skills such as empathy, integrity, citizenship, and curiosity. The school provides integrated student support including a medical clinic, a team of interventionists for academic and behavioral needs, and partnerships throughout the community with organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club.
Our staff took every necessary step to ensure that COVID had a minimal impact on both student achievement and social-emotional health. We offered both face-to-face and virtual options for our families, with the majority of our families selecting to send students to school in person. To best suit the needs of our families, we had an open-door policy so that students could make the switch to face-to-face when and if caregivers felt comfortable, and we were able to provide Wi-fi and devices for all of our virtual students. Safety is of top priority, and we strictly adhered to all guidance and protocols such as mask-wearing and social distancing.
Chad Weiden, Principal
Dixie Durant, SIC Chair
