Socastee Elementary School is committed to providing all students with the tools necessary to develop world-class skills and life and career characteristics outlined in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing a safe, nurturing, high–quality teaching and learning environment. At Socastee Elementary School, we frame our work around a solid conviction to “do what is right for children” every day. The Socastee Elementary vision is to love, value, support, and challenge all students to reach their full potential. We believe our responsibility is to foster an environment where children feel safe and nurtured academically, physically, and emotionally. We demonstrate this vision by setting high expectations and providing students with a challenging and supportive learning environment based on best practices for students to grow and flourish and by adopting a culture of continuous improvement for our teachers by providing ongoing professional development. Our mission is that SES students will become caring, productive citizens and lifelong learners. We teach the importance of being respectful, responsible, kind, persevering when things get tough, and living life with integrity.
Our teachers consistently collaborate to ensure SES students have access to effective instruction that is rooted in state standards. Our teachers and leadership team supplement this effective instruction using digital content and other materials such as novel studies, Everyday Math, science kits, Achieve 3000, Aleks Math, small group instruction, and reading interventions. Student engagement has been, and will continue to be, a huge focus in our classroom instruction so that students meet their individual growth targets. In 2019, SES launched a STEM initiative. They are collaborating with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nationally recognized leader in STEM education.
Professional development days are scheduled before the start of school to provide time for the analysis of assessment data and curriculum understanding and development. Teachers meet individually and by grade levels with the leadership team to determine patterns and trends of student strengths and weaknesses as they reflect on their teaching. Teachers need time to grow and learn from one another. Teachers meet twice a week by grade level for common planning and Professional Learning Communities. During Professional Learning Communities, teachers and instructional coaches continuously monitor student achievement and discuss instructional strategies that produce high yield results.
While this report includes information about student performance, numbers alone do not speak to the energy and creative efforts that contribute to that performance. At Socastee Elementary, we work to foster the whole child's development by embedding and promoting life skills throughout our school community. We have high expectations for our students to be the best version of themselves and emphasize quality citizenship in our community and school through our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program.
Parents are encouraged to become active participants in their child's educational journey and are welcomed into our building as volunteers. School events take place throughout the year that showcase our students' many talents while also sharing resources with our school community through Title I Family Nights. We firmly believe that it requires a partnership with our families to promote educational success so our students are able to begin to prepare to be adults ready to contribute to the world. At Socastee Elementary, we passionately believe in building solid and positive relationships with our students, staff, parents, and community by working together through an ongoing collaboration between home and school to promote the highest level of success for each student. Thank you for sharing your children with us as we continue to grow their hearts and minds!
Mrs. Shauna L. Schubiger, Principal
