Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the profile of the South Carolina Graduate by implementing our vision of “In partnership with our community, we work to develop the global citizens of tomorrow - citizens who are prepared to lead and excel in their chosen pathway.”
A primary focus for our stakeholders has been to provide a consistently strong social-emotional environment for each student, their families as well as our staff. We use the 7 Mindsets Social-Emotional Learning Platform as our base by teaching weekly lessons about topics such as “Everything is Possible” and “100% Accountable”.
As an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) School, we have increased rigor school-wide by using strategies that challenge our students to expand their thinking. These WICOR strategies focus on writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading skills. Over 90% of our staff has been trained in AVID and we continue to make professional development a priority for our new staff. Our new Lunch and Learns were productive and will be instrumental to our growth moving forward.
Our reading curriculum provided opportunities for more structure and our Reading Counts program continues to promote the love of reading. Benchmark data and the work with our instructional coaches and content specialists helped address the academic needs of our students. Trips to the Koger Center for the Arts, Camp Leopold Field Study, Force and Motion Field Study to Carowinds, our Black History Assembly with the Buffalo Soldiers, and our PTO sponsored Gator Fest allowed our students opportunities to learn and grow without the confines of the pandemic. In addition our school wide focus on Disability Awareness Month gave our students the opportunity for a school wide book study using “Just Ask” and culminating with a “Meet and Greet” with peer buddies and students. We are a Special Olympics Unified Champion School and are in the process of applying for National Banner Recognition as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School.
As we reflect on the 2022-2023 school year, we celebrated Mr. Jeff Wiliams’s retirement, welcomed our Interim Principal, congratulated Dr. K. on her new assignment, and wished Dr. Watson the very best with her Columbia College journey. We continued to grow as a learning community due to the outstanding work of our faculty and staff, the support of our community, and the guidance of Richland District Two.
Dr. James Ann Sheley - Interim Principal
Dr. Sherisse Jackson - SIC Chairperson
