• Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 192,517
    Student Enrollment: 385
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 7.4%
    White/Caucasian: 74.4%
    Hispanic: 7.7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2.6%
    Native American: 1.3%
    Other: 6.6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:12
    % Reduced Lunch: 25%
    % ELL Learners: 9.2%
    Founded: 2005
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Douglas Eppard
  • CONTACT:
    4010 W 82nd St
    Sioux Falls, SD 57108
    605-743-2567 ext. 2001
    douglas.eppard@k12.sd.us
Explorer Elementary School
Sioux Falls, SD
Once we established a belief that we are one family, one school, the goals we set out to accomplish simply began to fall into place.
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Explorer Elementary was named an ESEA Distinguished school as a result of our English Learners (EL) bridging the achievement gap that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to all other students. This success is greatly due to our school culture and the work that our incredible team of educators have established over the past several years. We believe it takes a village to educate every child in our building, and our community has certainly stepped up to the challenge.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
EL students are clustered in each grade level in order to facilitate collaboration between EL teachers and classroom teachers when providing services. Our teachers take great pride in working as a team and leveraging co-teaching models for the betterment of our students. The single greatest contributing factor has been the ability for Explorer Elementary to build meaningful relationships between staff, students, and families to ensure that all needs are being met academically, socially, and emotionally.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funds have supported our ability to provide additional staffing and curriculum support in our building. Because students are able to receive focused attention in small group settings, individual needs are being met on a consistent basis and as a result growth is being observed and achievement gaps are being closed.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
Our district promotes student-centered, data-informed instruction. By providing regular support and training on best instructional strategies, EL-specific strategies, and SEL strategies to all teachers in our buildings, we are able to build a network of educators who are empowered and capable of meeting learners where they are at. Examples of this have included graduate courses focused on EL instruction that are created and sponsored by our district, peer-led focus groups and professional learning communities, presentations by experts in the field, and training on curriculum resources, family communication, and trauma-informed practices.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
The biggest cultural shift has been empowering all staff to believe and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to help each student succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Once we established a belief that we are one family, one school, the goals we set out to accomplish simply began to fall into place. It is incredible to see what a team of educators can accomplish with a common vision.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
We have been able to foster a strong relationship with our EL families with continued communication at open houses and parent teacher conferences, along with daily communication with our teachers. We have utilized translators to help with meetings with parents, staff, and administration to bridge any communication gap, and have openly embraced a desire to see continued language development in both English and their primary languages, both at school and at home. Our PTO hosts open houses, movie nights, bingo nights, block parties, and other events to try and get the community together and promote diversity and inclusion as a strengthening bond in and amongst our families. These have helped our success with building positive relationships with all of our stakeholders.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 192,517
    Student Enrollment: 385
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 7.4%
    White/Caucasian: 74.4%
    Hispanic: 7.7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2.6%
    Native American: 1.3%
    Other: 6.6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:12
    % Reduced Lunch: 25%
    % ELL Learners: 9.2%
    Founded: 2005
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Douglas Eppard
  • CONTACT:
    4010 W 82nd St
    Sioux Falls, SD 57108
    605-743-2567 ext. 2001
    douglas.eppard@k12.sd.us