• Category 2

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 4,974
    Student Enrollment: 421
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 42%
    White/Caucasian: 56%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 2%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 76%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Wendell Sumter
  • CONTACT:
    301 Dearborn Street
    Great Falls, SC 29055
    803-482-2214
    wsumter@chester.k12.sc.us
Great Falls Elementary School
Great Falls, SC
Our journey with building a professional learning community began four years ago. Each year we have developed the process of our main goal: student success.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
To ensure that families are involved in the success of Great Falls Elementary, Parent Coffees are held to share data and goals of the school. We have a mentor program called the A-TEAM where male role models come in weekly to spend time with students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. Also, monthly parent workshops are held to tutor parents in technological skills and to assist them with helping their children at home.

Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
One of the most successful school activities to date, besides seasonal programs where students perform or receive awards, was the State of Our School Symposium. The evening event was a reception style occasion which included performances by the school’s chorus, presentations by the Student Council, a guest speaker, and a data presentation by the principal. This was one of best events ever held at the school with over 150 parents and community leaders in attendance.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Significant change transpires with purposeful guidance through shared leadership and teamwork. It must be developed through consensus, continuously monitored, and tailored to suit the needs of the students and school community. The challenges that students and their families face become the areas of opportunity for the school to reach out and help students’ families chart a course for the best future possible. Improvement does not occur in isolation and is not accidental but is the product of hard work, dedication, and an on-going commitment to excellence.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
As a continuously developing Professional Learning Community our yearly goal is to be better than we were the year before, to find and create opportunities that lead to lasting success for our students. This means success not only as measured in terms of testing outcomes such as the PASS or upcoming ACT-Aspire but also in terms of moving each student forward as a 21st century, life-long learner.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The Professional Learning Community Model is the single most important factor in the success of our school. Although it is “portable,” it is developed incrementally and is unique to the needs and talents of within the school. It builds reflective practice and develops a culture of collaboration. It means being flexible and responsive, and willing to rise to the challenge.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
Learning to function as a Professional Learning Community is the broad umbrella under which our continuous improvement can be grouped. It has guided us in our decision-making, in planning next steps, allocating resources, refining practices, assigning personnel, and planning for the highest degree of student success as we move forward. The PLC model is the initiative that has had the greatest effect on student achievement. This model entails the school working as a professional learning community where every faculty member is not only invested in their individual class but for every student in the school. The teachers meet to share and analyze data and to develop smart goals to address specific student/teacher needs.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title 1 funds have been used to reduce the student to teacher ratio in grade levels with critical needs. This determination is made each year based not only on student population but also student achievement results. Our Title 1 funds are also dedicated to purchasing supplemental classroom materials, additional instructional technology, and student academic and behavioral incentives.
The funds have also been very instrumental in increasing community and parental involvement in our school. We have parent coffees, community coffees, monthly parent workshops, a yearly parent symposium with special guest speakers and a parent resource room.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
At Great Falls Elementary, we have grown teacher leaders from within our PLC. Wherever appropriate, these teacher leaders present strategies for enhancing student achievement. Such presentations include Technology Tuesdays, Best Practices, Peer Coaching, Vertical Planning, and Response to Intervention. Our Reading Coach keeps teachers current on literacy initiatives and updates on State regulations. Our Administrative Team researches current trends and shares research-based strategies.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Bill Gates is credited with noting, “Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.”
At Great Falls Elementary we concur. We dedicate our time and energy to using multiple points of data to reflectively improve our practice: school-wide, in each grade level, and with each teacher. Each week, our Data Team Meetings are pivotal and serve as a forum where our Administrative Team, Reading Coach and grade level teams review student achievement data and other pertinent information together. Data points include district benchmark tests, grade level common assessments, MAP testing results, PASS scores, Fountas and Pinnell Running Records, and discipline statistics. Often the data is disaggregated by student subgroups and by individual teacher.
Our Data Cycle begins with pre-tests in each subject area. Teachers use this information as a launching point for instructional units. Our Data Teams work collaboratively to analyze information and to determine next steps for best practice in instruction. This includes discussing a plan for students who are performing below grade-level, on grade-level, and above grade-level. The Data Cycle continues with the teams reviewing post-test information and sharing strategies to provide intervention for struggling students as the teaching and learning process continues. Mastery learning is the goal for our students. Professional reflection is the goal for our personnel.
Our students are also part of our Data Team at points in the school year. They are invited to the Data Room to discuss grade level goals at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.
Our Leadership Team, led by principal, Mr. Sumter, urges teachers to support all classroom decisions based on what impacts student learning and to provide the data to support those goals.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our journey with building a professional learning community began four years ago. Each year we have developed the process of our main goal: student success.
During the 2009-2010 school year we began holding grade level team meetings school-wide. The teams worked to create common assessments and testing norms. Once assessments were given, the results were analyzed and teachers shared strategies to provide intervention for struggling students and enrichment for proficient students. Grade level teams met with administration to present data and discuss student progress.
Since 2009, our faculty, staff, and administration have participated in several professional development sessions related to PLC and had the opportunity to attend the Professional Learning Community’s Institute to further enhance its implementation at Great Falls Elementary. To focus our school-wide PLC, Explicit Direct Instruction, from DataWORKS, has been implemented in all classrooms to improve student engagement, as well as to hold all students accountable for their learning. Highlights of the program are the calling-on of students by selecting students' names randomly to respond to questions, so that all students are held accountable in a process called Checking for Understanding. In addition to EDI, differentiated instruction is taking place in every classroom with focused, data-driven teaching taking place throughout the day.

Our PLC continues to grow, and we continue to add new tools to support both corporate and individual professional development. This year, the district and school have added Edivation as a resource for contemporaneous development and a means for focused reflective improvement.
In 2012, Great Falls Elementary earned a “B” grade and met AYP under NCLB. As a Title I school once in the Plan for the Restructuring phase, this was significant. Similar to many other schools in South Carolina, our Spring 2013 PASS scores dipped. Our report card dropped to a “D.” We analyzed our data, regrouped, and worked together to improve to a “B” and to become the district’s highest performing elementary school.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 4,974
    Student Enrollment: 421
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 42%
    White/Caucasian: 56%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 2%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 76%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Wendell Sumter
  • CONTACT:
    301 Dearborn Street
    Great Falls, SC 29055
    803-482-2214
    wsumter@chester.k12.sc.us