The Profile of the South Carolina Graduate embodies a set of World-Class Skills that we at Rocky Creek Elementary strive to develop in our students every day. In partnership with our families and our community, we provide a strong academic program that meets the needs of our learners, while also facilitating the growth and development of strong social and emotional skills in a supportive and caring environment where every student knows they matter. While the 2020-21 school year was full of unique challenges, our resolve to overcome those challenges was evident in the way our staff, students and families embodied this year’s motto of “Stronger Together.”
Ensuring that we meet the needs of ALL students continued to be our focus at RCE. This became a bit more challenging this year as we started the year with some students learning from home, while the rest came to school for face-to-face learning only two days per week. Our teachers embarked on a professional learning journey that taught them how to utilize multiple virtual platforms in order to keep our students and families engaged in the learning process while at home. In addition, we transitioned to 1:1 technology for all students in K–five and supplied them with either an iPad or a Chromebook, and provided hotspots for those families who did not have internet access at home. While there was certainly a learning curve for our teachers, students and families as we adapted to new learning modalities, the resilience shown by everyone was commendable.
While we faced ongoing challenges and changes throughout the 2020–21 school year, our focus never wavered from ensuring that our students received the academic and social-emotional support they needed. Our teachers continued to focus on small-group targeted instruction in both face-to-face and virtual settings. Learning gaps that could be attributed to the abrupt end of the 2019–20 school year were identified and teachers methodically addressed the needs of their students, often having to go back to standards that would have been taught the previous year. As we monitored the progress of students, those who needed additional support were provided with targeted interventions regardless of whether they were face-to-face at school or learning virtually at home. Leveraging the 1:1 technology, teachers and students capitalized on new opportunities to work collaboratively, to think critically, to show creativity and to practice a variety of methods to communicate. We are proud of the way our teachers redesigned their instruction to meet the demands of a constantly changing environment and excited about the progress our students showed throughout the year.
In addition to meeting the academic needs of our students, it was equally important to address their social-emotional needs as well. As a school, we built time into our daily schedule to start every day with a 30-minute morning meeting. This was an opportunity for the teachers and students to check in with one another, to talk about what was on their mind, to share things they were excited about or concerned about. The pandemic created many barriers to connecting with peers, but purposeful structures planned during the school day, for both our face-to-face and virtual students, allowed for consistent, meaningful interactions to occur. We also added an additional recess to our daily schedule which provided yet another opportunity for students to play and interact with one another. The social and emotional health of our staff and students was a critical focus for us this year, and we implemented a number of strategies that we will carry forward for years to come.
One of our commitments at RCE is to celebrate each other, and we were excited to celebrate with our 4K teacher Mary Jane Britt as she was named the 2021 Lexington District One Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Britt has a passion for teaching our youngest learners and building a strong foundation for their love of learning and future successes in school and life. We are proud to have her represent RCE in this way. In addition to celebrating Mrs. Britt, we also had frequent celebrations with students as they reached their personal goals. There is a bell centrally located in our school and when students reach a goal, they come to celebrate by ringing the bell. You could hear the bell ringing frequently this year as students worked hard and celebrated many accomplishments.
The 2020–21 school year will certainly go down in history as one that presented unprecedented challenges. The staff, students and families at RCE didn’t, however, let that get in the way of making it an outstanding school year. We are proud of the way our school community responded in the face of adversity and continued to fulfill the vision of Lexington District One to “Empower each child to design the future.”
Greg Watchinski, Principal
Shane McDaniel, SIC Chair
