Laurens Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by embracing individual differences and cultivating “whole child development.” We believe that developing and empowering the “whole child” can fundamentally prepare children for a rapidly changing world, positively counteract the effect of industrialization, and shift the pendulum towards progressivism.
Laurens Elementary School is firmly committed to providing students with the requisite knowledge, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving skills. Not only do we offer the traditional educational program, but we also offer the Montessori program. Our teachers purposely create and maintain classroom climates in which creative thinkers are respected, new ideas are encouraged and appreciated, conformity is not imposed and diversity is celebrated. These strategies help our students not only become more versed in creative thinking but also situate them in environments that foster creativity. In addition, we utilize various technological resources that facilitate the development of creative thinking and the formation of creative habits.
Twenty-first-century learning requires teachers to engage in instructional practices that prepare students for college, careers, and citizenship. By supporting and investing in our teachers, we strongly believe that we can effectively provide evidence-based, process-focused, well-resourced, and results-oriented curricula. The powerful collaboration that characterizes our professional learning community is a systematic process that allows our teachers to carefully analyze and improve their instructional practices.
With our mission statement as our guide, our school community eliminates all barriers and politically correct hyperbole to ensure that our students achieve the pinnacle of academic success. We believe in collaborative, diverse, and inclusive classrooms. Our teachers purposely create and maintain classroom environments that encourage respectful and equitable participation, cross-cultural communication, and focused engagement. By intricately integrating these critical facets into their daily routines, our students successfully adapt to the complexities of mainstream society.
Laurens Elementary School is an active model for leaders and learners. We actively assist with developing the ideal characteristics within the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. We have developed systemic structures to ensure that our students obtain the twenty-first-century learning skills for college and career readiness. Our role as a school community is to cultivate more innovative learning experiences to assist our students with developing those essential skills, making sound choices to support their learning, and being accountable for their own academic experiences.
Carlos Littlejohn, Principal
