Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by continuing to make academic gains while also continuing to build community.
We entered into this school year celebrating a twelve-point gain on our school’s Absolute Rating, among the highest gains in Spartanburg School District 7. We are proud to have earned an “Average” rating (up from “Below Average”).” On SC Ready, in both ELA and math, we exceeded the goal we set for ourselves in our Strategic Plan. We are committed to continuing these gains and earning the seven points needed to achieve a rating of “Good.”
In partnership with our School Improvement Council, one of our primary goals focused on continued improvements to parent communication. Our first step in these efforts was to survey all DMES parents to gain a better understanding of their needs. A result of this survey was learning that the majority of our parents like to communicate via Class Dojo and email. Very few of our respondents replied that the school’s website or Facebook page were their preferred method of communication. As a result, DMES administration adopted Class Dojo as a communication tool and redoubled our efforts to utilize the Bright Arrow system that sends parents both emails and texts. This has been well received by our parents and increased, for instance, the number of people who are reading our monthly school newsletter.
This year, DMES K5-3rd grade teachers began the rigorous journey of LETRS training. LETRS is considered the gold standard of reading instruction, and these teachers will complete the one hundred plus hours over a two-year period. Additionally, through grade level meetings and day-long staff development, DMES faculty and staff continued to train on our district’s four priorities, including our instructional framework, iReady, Fountas and Pinnell reading curriculum, and Responsive Classroom.
An additional boost to instruction was the launch of three separate tutoring programs. During the day, three Title I funded tutors pulled small groups of students to provide extra instruction in reading and math. Second semester saw an after school tutoring effort comprised of DMES faculty, likewise Title I funded. We were also fortunate enough to have numerous community volunteers willing to attend school-led training and tutor 3rd grade children. Students were also able to engage in high-interest academic adventures like 5th Grade Hovercraft Day and STEM days. We continue to have a growing number of children qualifying for our district’s gifted and talented program, and a significant number of our students served on the DMES Student Council and/or were inducted into Jr. Beta Club. In fact, DMES was again named as a National Beta Club School of Merit for our “dedication to academic excellence and commitment to celebrating (our) students’ achievements.”
Among our most successful efforts this year involved learning opportunities for DMES parents/guardians. Led by our school’s parent involvement facilitator, DMES hosted three Triple P Parenting seminars, all of which were well attended. Moreover, two other efforts – Doughnuts with Data and Muffins n’ Measures involved parents coming to school for breakfast and an opportunity to receive their child’s iReady data while school faculty were present to explain what they meant and how they could help their child improve. Other opportunities for parent involvement included Lunch N’ Library, PTO Family Skate Nights, our Veteran’s Day assembly, PTO Hero’s Dance, and Read and Dine/STEM Night. It was good to once again have families in abundance in our building!
Finally, a special point of pride at DMES is that every one of our children again had the opportunity to perform at least once in front of an audience. Among these efforts were our band and orchestra programs, Ukulele Club, rock band, and chorus. We were especially proud of our Black History Program during which our students honored Motown performers. Our students inclined towards visual arts had work entered into the Spartanburg County Fair (including a ribbon winner!), art shows at the Chapman Cultural Center, and in an art show at Drayton Mills Lofts.
In summary, DMES enjoyed a year in which students were increasingly academically successful, in which our children were engaged with the arts, and during which we frequently enjoyed the presence of students’ parents/guardians.
