Lee Central Middle School’s (LCMS) faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members are committed to our students’ development of World Class Skills as defined in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. In our efforts to accomplish this goal, we strive daily to ensure our faculty is focused and well-prepared to intentionally deliver instructional strategies that will meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of all our students. We provide a nurturing environment that is conducive to the continuous growth of our students and faculty.
We provide educational opportunities that are equitable, developmentally appropriate, and challenging for all students. We work to instill a growth mindset that will ensure that our students grow both in and outside of the classroom by teaching problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills among students.
We endeavor to create and maintain a safe and engaging environment where students and teachers are supported in their efforts to be successful in academia.
We analyzed our Benchmark, NWEA MAP, Data and had ‘data talks’ with our students and parents to be sure they understood where the students were according to the data and where the students needed to be by the next assessment. Students began to take ownership of their learning by the end of the year. We plan to continue this strategy.
Our Media Specialist worked with Language Arts Teachers to ensure that all Lee Central Middle School students had the opportunity to visit the library media center on a regular basis. Library instruction was included in these visits. Book talks were given, and students were allowed to browse the bookshelves and select books to check out. Library cards were made for each student and students were encouraged to have their library cards with them when they visited the library. Students were allowed to visit the library individually and in small groups to check out books and return books. Between last year and this year, lots of outdated and worn books were removed from the collection. The age of the book collection has decreased from 21 years old to 14 years old and will decrease even more with the continuous weeding of the collection and the addition of newer current titles. More books of interest to boys were added this year. Subjects included were the armed forces, motor vehicles, sports, weather, biography, and the STEM books.
Our teachers continue to focus on their individual and collective growth through ongoing professional learning activities within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The professional learning focus within our PLCs included the indicators from the SCTS 4.0 Rubric with a concentrated focus on Instructional Plans, Standards and Objectives, Lesson Structure and Pacing, and Academic Feedback. We also focused on differentiated instruction. The purpose of our focus was designed to ensure planning for instructional delivery, clarity of what was being taught for both students and teachers, implementing and maintaining an appropriate pace during the lesson, and providing timely academic feedback to improve the individual overall academic needs of students.
We implemented the use of the IXL program. IXL embedded our NWEA MAP Data into the program and provided each student with an individualized study plan according to their MAP data. Students used IXL during Response to Intervention (RTI) time for 30 to 45 minutes daily. We plan to continue to use IXL school wide. Student successes are celebrated weekly.
A seasoned educator provided additional support to our English and Social Studies teachers on a contractual basis by facilitating professional development on Literacy Support. Teachers and students were supported with in-class support and some students were pulled in small groups for additional support.
Parent nights were designed to inform parents of our SC READY school data results and their child’s data results. Data talks were held with students and parents, so both understood the student’s current performance level that indicates the student’s mastery and command of knowledge and skills as outlined in the SC grade level standards. Parents were also presented with information to help them better understand some of the student programs students are expected to use daily. The Parent Night Presentations were facilitated by teachers.
We raised expectations for student success by continuously communicating our expectations to students, faculty and staff, parents, and community members. In the future, we plan for our assistant principal of instruction to focus primarily on instructional delivery strategies and our assistant principal of behavior to focus primarily on appropriate student behavior. These strategies will allow us to better demonstrate our raised expectations for student success by providing additional time for our principal to facilitate more data talks with students, teachers, and parents.
We are proud to share some of the activities and accomplishments that have contributed to the development of our students, as defined by the Profile of the SC Graduate. They are:
• Middle School Academic Challenge Team
• PSAT
• Career Day
• Community Projects
• Bullying Awareness Activities
• Cancer Awareness Month Activities
• Read Across America Day Activities
• Quarterly Awards Day Activities
• Red Ribbon Week Activities
• Service Learning Activities
• American Education Week Activities
• LCMS Media Team News
• LCMS Student Government – Leadership Activities
• Student Goal Setting Conferences
• Pi Day Activities
• Women’s History
• African American History
• Family Nights
o Title I / Parent Portal
o Student Programs
o Title I / School and Student Data
• Celebrations:
o National School Counseling Week
o Food Service Day
o Support Staff Day
o Teacher Appreciation Week o Media Specialist Day
o School Nurse Day
