On behalf of Forestbrook Middle School, Horry County Schools and the Horry County Board of Education, I am pleased to present our 2020-2021 State Report Card, a summary of progress in upholding our commitment that all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Our students, parents, teachers, and administration faced unprecedented challenges this school year as we embraced a “new normal,” developed, and implemented innovative methods for providing effective instruction in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Forestbrook Middle School engaged in Hybrid learning for the majority of the year, and were able to return to full face to face instruction in March of 2021. Throughout the many challenges we faced while navigating new instructional methods, we were successful in continuing to provide the highest quality of instruction to our students. We celebrate the many accomplishments and achievements that validate the talents of our students, as well as the professional commitment of our staff.
At Forestbrook Middle School, we have a proud tradition of excellence that is associated with being a SC State Department of Education 2019 Palmetto Gold/Excellent Ranked School, Palmetto’s Finest and National Blue Ribbon award winner. Academically our students have continued to perform at high levels in all areas. In addition, our students and faculty have continued to excel both in and out of the classroom. We have provided opportunities for student success beyond the classroom through our clubs and activities designed to enhance the middle school experience and to foster individual talents. This year we have continued to implement effective personalized learning with Google Chromebooks and have supported our students’ social and emotional needs through implementation of the Second Step curriculum. In all aspects of our school, we embrace our motto of “Excellence, Every Day, Everywhere!”
Despite the many challenges of Covid-19 we continued to support the Forestbrook community in many ways including food distribution during school closures, Backpack Buddies food support program, the Angel Tree Project which support 30 families for the holidays and the Polar Plunge in support of the Special Olympics. Our students, faculty and staff continued to build community through participation in Veteran's Day and Black History Month writing and art contests, participation in Socastee High School athletics and Fine Arts community events and school based concerts, Red Ribbon Week events and many virtual clubs and activities throughout the year. We continued to celebrate our Alpha Beta Awards each quarter along with our weekly Student of the Week celebrations for students who exemplify our motto.
The faculty and staff of Forestbrook Middle School work tirelessly to support students academically during this unprecedented year. We continued to support our ESOL program for our multilingual students through daily elective courses tailored to their language acquisition levels. We offered Extended Learning for more after school tutoring support than we have ever been able to offer before! In addition we provided Honors Enrichment tutoring for our Gifted and Talented students enrolled in High School Credit courses. We are proud to have ten students named as Junior Scholars, one student won the SC Council on the Holocaust Award for her National History Day Exhibit on the Nazi Book Burnings, and one teacher won the SC Ingle Teacher of the Year Award at the National History Day event as well.
The 2020-2021 school year proved to be a historic one. One that will continue to impact education as an institution in ways yet considered. Throughout this challenging school year, Forestbrook Middle School and HCS held firm to the commitment of our core values. We continue to look for innovative ways to inspire new possibilities within our students. Most important, we will always uphold great reverence for the sacred trust our parents and community have placed in us to prepare a new generation for college, careers, and citizenship.
Melissa Rutenberg, Principal
