Meadow Glen Elementary School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by creating a learning culture where students have a strong conceptual understanding of content, and can collaborate, communicate, create and apply critical thinking skills. “Together is Better than One,” a schoolwide theme, resonated throughout the school in daily Crew meetings, monthly community meetings and the participation in Building a Better World Day in May. MGES students have a strong sense of belonging and they care about making thoughtful and meaningful decisions by using the schoolwide Habits of Scholarship of perseverance, respect, responsibility and craftsmanship with an ethic of service. MGES students create complex, high-quality work using care and precision with attention to accuracy, detail and beauty.
MGES is in its third year of partnering with EL Education to implement core practices and design principles that promote mastery of knowledge and skills, high levels of character and leadership, and productions of high-quality work in every classroom. Combining these three dimensions together, students gain confidence in becoming leaders of their own learning, developing interpersonal skills, and making a difference in the community and world. These three dimensions promote all four of the Lexington County School District One’s System Commitments and the South Carolina Graduate’s World-Class Knowledge Skills, World-Class Skills, and Life and Career Characteristics.
At the beginning of the school year, MGES created a yearlong work plan that included the following priorities:
- Deepening teacher understanding of the EL Education ELA Curriculum, which combines content, character, high-quality work and service
- Professional development centered around equity, equality, designing effective lessons and assessments, differentiating instruction based on data, and high-quality work protocols
- High-quality work using critique and descriptive feedback protocols for students
- Weekly data review meetings with teachers, coaches and administrators
- Creating flexible student instructional groups based on current data
- Use of EL Education Skills Block, All Block and Learning Labs in the classrooms for flexible student instructional groups
- Deepening the use of Habits of Scholarship learning targets with academic learning targets for grade-level performance tasks
- Connection of performance tasks to service projects and products
- Third grade student-led conferences
- End-of-year fifth grade student-led conferences/passages
- Daily Crew meetings for building relationships in the classroom, grade level and school
- Implementing monthly student community meetings to celebrate learning and the use of the Habits of Scholarship in students
- Implementing monthly faculty and staff community meetings to celebrate academic and Habits of Scholarship success in adults
- Use of daily norm calendars for students to self-assess Habits of Scholarship
- Habit of Scholarship Progress Report for each nine-week period for all students
- Participation in Building a Better World Day
- Creating events for MGES families to learn about the happenings at MGES through Family Academic Nights
MGES teachers and administrators created a schoolwide document entitled, Managing and Supporting Student Behavior. This document contains three important sections for managing student behaviors: Part I — Managing an Active Classroom; Part 2 — Celebrations; and Part 3 — Restorative Practices. The document also includes logical responsive classroom consequences and a discipline ladder for student behavior. The Crew Design Team created fully developed unit plans for daily Crew meetings. Monthly Crew Cup competitions were implemented this year to teach students how to celebrate wins and losses with respect and responsibility.
An impact goal for MGES students is to become ethical people where relationships matter in order to help make our local community and world a better place. Since the opening of MGES in August 2011, we have continued to increase authentic environmental opportunities for students, staff and community partnerships. MGES received a 2019 Champion of the Environment award for our education and action campaign to “Clean the Air, Inside and Out.” MGES was featured in a Champion of the Environment commercial, which aired in the spring. There was a collaborative effort of students, teachers, support staff, administrators and community members to engage in 9 Green Steps Projects this year. Some of the projects included: creating a pollinator garden; installing 10 raised garden beds for an edible garden for kindergarten and first grade; indoor and outdoor composting; and fifth grade sponsoring a “Take Action in the Classroom” schoolwide recycling program. As part of the English language arts curriculum modules, students engaged in performance tasks, which connected authentic real-world learning with service to others. Fifth grade students partnered with Meadow Glen Middle School to collect items for “blessing bags” to support homeless veterans in local shelters. Spread the Love Food and Book Drive provided needed supplies to hurricane victims in three states. Fourth grade students raised mealworms to feed animals at the Carolina Wildlife Center. Second grade provided food and first aid supplies for Harper’s Hope Food Pantry, created by one of our second grade students wanting to help families that may need assistance. Third grade students provided plants to every classroom for the clean air project. First grade students collected supplies for Carolina Wildlife Center. Kindergarten collected non-perishable food items for Mission Lexington.
It is our continued belief, desire and passion to prepare MGES graduates for success in college, career, citizenship and life. By making a strategic effort to combine curriculum, instruction, assessment, culture, ethics, character and leadership in everyday life, our students grow into respectful and productive risk takers in a global society. The quote below from our EL Education and School Designer Dee Duncan speaks to our vision and the vision of Lexington County School District One’s vision to “Empower each child to design the future.”
“Together is Better than One” is the motto this year at Meadow Glen Elementary and it seems to live throughout the building. There is a strong climate of collaboration that is felt by all stakeholders: teachers, leaders and students. There has been tremendous growth in the three dimensions of student achievement, habits of scholarship and articulating what they mean for students of all grade levels. The school’s journey in the core practices is powerful and deeply present everywhere. However, the conversation of the Grades 3–5 Student Focus Group seemed to sum up the power of the journey and its impact on students. The students engaged in a conversation about race and equity with ease and understanding. It was truly amazing!” Dee Duncan, EL Education and MGES School Designer
Cheryl Fralick, Principal
Traci Suber, SIC Chair