Charleston Progressive Academy (CPA) is helping all students develop the world class skills expected in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Our school’s mission, “Building Tomorrow’s Leaders,” supports active engagement as we implement Franklin Covey’s Leader in Me (LIM) initiative. LIM provides opportunities that encourage critical thinking, collaboration and communication as it teaches the 7 Habits of Effective People in a student-friendly language and is directly aligned with the world class skills of the South Carolina Graduate. Habits 1-3 in LIM: be proactive, begin with the end in mind, and put first things first are the components of World Class Knowledge in the Profile of South Carolina Graduate. Habits 4 – 6: think win, win, seek first to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw are components of the World Class Skills in the Profile.
As we continue to address and support our learners who have experienced social and academic residual effects of the pandemic, we have also placed a strong emphasis on instruction that supports the district goal of all fifth graders reading on level by 2027. Measures to attain this goal includes implementing the EL Reading Curriculum, LETRs Training for teachers, in school tutoring for Tier 2 students using outside agencies (Outsource and University Instructors), and extended year reading instruction (summer Clemson Reading). We are also utilizing components of Leader in Me, such as the Leadership Binders, Accountability Partners, and Data Walls, all of which help students determine if they are achieving their goals. Teachers conduct data reviews with students monthly. This ensures that strategies students are using are providing the results necessary to achieve their reading goals and that they are on track for meeting the district’s 2027 goal.
Although our focus this year was on academic growth, we continued to beware of maintaining and building positive social emotional relationships with our students. One such area was reducing our chronic absentee rate. Personnel resources of a parent advocate and family coaches assisted students/families who were chronically absent. The initial results show a reduction from the 2021-22 school year of 28.6% to 15.9% for the 2022-23 school year. We will continue to employ these strategies to help us reach the goal of all fifth graders reading on grade level by 2027.
As the first school in Charleston County to become a LIM Lighthouse School, we will continue to offer various leadership opportunities that exemplify collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. This will ensure development of world class skills to increase the readiness for students at CPA. As educators, we know nothing is possible without the support of our parents and the community. We thank you for your continued support as we move into a school year focused on continuous growth in our academia while continuing to “Build Tomorrow’s Leaders!”
Wanda Wright-Sheats, Principal
Tamashia Flowers, School Improvement Council, Chairperson
