In seeking to strengthen our provision of World Class Knowledge and Skills through rigorous standards, Springdale Elementary’s teacher teams placed a renewed focus on working together to ensure students received a guaranteed and viable curriculum and mastered the essential skills and standards required for success at the next grade level.  Teacher teams met weekly to discuss formative assessment data and monitor student performance to provide appropriate interventions and extensions of the learning.  We continued to dig deeper into the ELA standards to gain clarity on where the standards overlapped and where we would need to fill in any gaps. We also continued to unpack the new Math standards and compared them to former standards to make sure we filled any instructional gaps the new standards may have created. After each MAP window, we identified areas of strengths or gaps from prior years and planned small group instruction to help close those gaps. Our well-developed, school-wide MTSS framework provided additional student support for academics, behavior, and attendance. During weekly planning sessions, teachers specifically plan for real-world applications. Our garden, chicken coop, and in-house field trips are some products of this planning. This year we earned our Green School Certification.

We’ve worked all the more to develop the World Class Skills and Life and Career Characteristics students need to access the World Class Knowledge coming to them in a variety of instructional models. Teachers continued to utilize a blended learning model to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through the implementation of STEMScopes. Students honed their problem-solving skills to more effectively use technology, communicate with their teachers and others, and rely on perseverance and a strong work ethic to complete their school work. Building on their previous technology skills, students adeptly navigated Google Classroom, Zearn, Seesaw, and a host of educational websites and platforms on their district-issued iPads and Chromebooks. Our teachers have continued modeling their commitment to lifelong learning by further enhancing their use of instructional technology through collaboration and professional development in best practices. 

Springdale remains devoted to developing the Life and Career Characteristics described in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.  Springdale inducted 4th and 5th grade students who demonstrated character and academic achievement into the National Elementary Beta Club. A Springdale staff sponsor provided education on community service to Beta Club members. We continued our Dolphins D.I.V.E. behavior characteristics and quarterly recognition of individual students who exemplified showing Dignity, Interacting well with others, Valuing their education, and Encouraging self and others. Dolphin P.O.D.S. (Positive Outreach for Dedicated Students) met monthly to complete activities promoting positive choices, interpersonal skills, and creativity through STEM challenges and group discussions. We continued our work with Unified Buddies where general education students partner with our self-contained classrooms and participate in various activities such as the spring games for the South Carolina Special Olympics. We will continue to work toward completing all requirements in an effort to become recognized as a Unified Champion School.  Our counselor continued our monthly character trait recognition opportunity, which highlighted students monthly from each class, as well as our Dolphin of the Week recognition of two students who are demonstrating the D.I.V.E qualities.  Our SRO has implemented DARE for our 5th grade students as well as our SRO Dolphin of the Year award in which one student is picked from each grade level who embodies what it means to be a positive role model for peers. 

Springdale continues to host a myriad of events, among them Open House, Veterans’ Day Parade, Literacy Night, STEAM Night, and quarterly Award Days. During these events, students and families participate in hands-on activities to strengthen critical thinking skills and build home and school connections. In collaboration with our amazing PTO, we also host Books Over Breakfast, Glow Dance, Fall Festival, Spirit Nights, Kindergarten Meet and Greet, Mini STEAM & Story Nights (parent information evenings), Cookies with Santa, and more. We are grateful for their support in strengthening our school community.  We’ve also enjoyed the opportunity to host USC Methods courses in house for tall teachers (USC interns) to get to work one-on-one with our small teachers (4th-graders) each week. 

We appreciate the support of our Springdale community, including our School Improvement Council and PTO,  as we continue to strive toward excellence at Springdale Elementary. Through this lens, our staff is celebrated weekly and during monthly faculty meetings for helping us meet our goals in the areas of Academics, Culture, and Essential Stakeholder support. With students foremost in our minds, as always, we will look ahead to next year ready to continue building World Class Knowledge and Skills, as well as Life and Career Characteristics, to ensure the success of our future graduates.

Annette Ariail, Principal

Jacquelyn Odom, SIC Chair