Kelly Mill Med Pro Middle School is a National AVID Demonstration site, a 2020 National Magnet Schools of America School of Distinction and a 2018-2022 Magnet Schools of America National Certified Demonstration Magnet School. Kelly Mill Med Pro Middle School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by accepting the challenge of a new millennium where all students are treated with respect and dignity. At Kelly Mill Med Pro Middle School, students are academically challenged and individually cherished. With the assistance of an awesome learning organization of students, staff, parents, and community, we are challenging ourselves to be the Premier middle school of Excellence in Academics and Character Development. We are very proud of our students’ accomplishments this year. Kelly Mill had 21 Junior Scholars during the 2021/2022 school year. Twice a year our students participate in the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test in math and reading. It has been our most steadfast measure of student progress. For 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 MAP scores, we saw increases in ELA and Math scores with students meeting their growth target. This growth comes from being intentional about using best practices, about maximizing the use of instructional time, and by carefully making data-informed decisions about how to best allocate our resources for student success. The success in ELA was echoed in our 2020 SC Ready results, showing over 5% more students met or exceeded expectations than in the previous school year. We are proud of our students exceeding local averages for ELA .
Our parent and community volunteers play a major role in the success of our school. They have contributed countless hours of their time, and are steadfast in helping make our organization more dynamic and effective. Kelly Mill's PTO is extremely involved in our learning community. Our School Improvement Council is constantly seeking ways to mentor our students for school improvement. Both parent groups believe our mission of preparing global citizens of tomorrow for college-and-career readiness by providing engaging and meaningful experiences.
We incorporate a district-wide instructional model, uphold our district’s instructional expectations, incorporate AVID and STEAMM (new grant -Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math, Medical) concepts and strategies in all subject areas, and provide social-emotional learning through the 7 Mindsets program. Standards-based instruction and our school-wide Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) Program accelerates student learning, supports learners through the use of Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR) structures, as well as encourages inquiry-based teaching methods as part of the culture of our school. As an AVID National Demonstration Site and STEAMM/Med Pro Magnet, we believe in closing the achievement gap for our learners. As students learn differently, our academic approaches are varied and many. Our school wide AVID and STEAMM focus assists all students in preparing for career or college attendance as well as aligning to the 21st century skills needed to move towards the Profile of a SC Graduate. Students are specifically chosen for the AVID elective class that may have a barrier to college attendance. These students may not know how to matriculate the system, may not have a family history of college attendance, may not have study and organizational skills, and may not be aware of the opportunities available to them. AVID advances these students academically and scaffolds tutoring, social skills, organizational skills, study skills and test-taking strategies. All AVID elective students are advanced into one or more honors classes. Through the support of administrators and teachers, these students are able to be successful in the more rigorous courses. We engage in and showcase AVID instructional practices to prepare all students for college and 21st century careers. AVID also assists Kelly Mill Med Pro with our focus on critical thinking and collaboration. We review assessments to ensure every student has the deep learning skills necessary to engage in rigorous performance tasks, monthly AVID and STEAMM Site Team meetings, monthly school meetings, and monthly department meetings. Being intentional, we align our master schedule, the corresponding bell schedule, our partnerships with local businesses and our parents to services that meet the needs of our students and families such as our district’s family services, our Beyond the Bell After-school Program, academic family nights, and Parent University Sessions. We share our campus with an elementary magnet (CFA) program that serves students in grades 2 through 6. Several elementary schools feed into our school, however because of school choice we serve students from all over our district. INC, a magnet program that integrates financial literacy and economics across the curriculum is a part of our school. The needs, backgrounds, and cultures of our community are diverse. Our families speak 10 languages other than English. Our parents are unemployed, employed by the military, employed by small and large corporations, or employed by the service industries. The community comprises several factors ranging from families living with extended families, a high military presence, high-income waterfront homes, to subsidized housing. The diversity of our school affords opportunities for growth culturally and academically, in addition to opportunities in character development. Our staff has worked hard to earn the trust, respect and affection of our community. In alliance with students, parents, and community, we will continue to focus on academic excellence, collaboration, student achievement, critical thinking, parent and community involvement and preparing our students for the 21st century. It is our desire to work with our students, community, and staff to provide relevant and meaningful learning experiences. We invite you to visit our world-class learning environment as we continue to accept the awesome task of educating young people.
Dr. Richard Griffin, Principal
Dr. Cheryl K. Witherspoon, SIC
