Greenville County Schools Address Underperforming Schools
Greenville, South Carolina – Five schools in Greenville County have recently been classified as underperforming, as determined by the state of South Carolina. During a Committee of the Whole meeting held on Tuesday morning, the Board of Trustees for Greenville County Schools (GCS) discussed various challenges facing these schools, including significant language barriers between students and teachers.
What Schools Are Affected?
The five underperforming schools are: Alexander Elementary School, Armstrong Elementary School, Duncan Chapel Elementary School, Hollis Academy, and Tanglewood Middle School. According to district officials, these schools fall below average on the state’s report card system, which evaluates educational performance. In total, GCS has ten schools designated as underperforming, a figure that represents less than 5% of the 214 underperforming schools statewide.
Why Are These Schools Underperforming?
Several factors contribute to the underperformance of these schools. A significant challenge is the population of multilingual learners. School board member Lynda Leventis-Wells highlighted the difficulty faced by students who do not speak English and may be entirely new to the school environment. “Some of them have never been in school,” she remarked. “Some of them don’t speak any English whatsoever, and they get frustrated, you know? How would you feel if you couldn’t communicate?”
Additional factors include individual student progress and the socio-economic issues present in Greenville County. For example, the high degree of poverty and student turnover can create obstacles that hinder educational advancement.
The District’s Response
To combat these challenges, the Greenville County School District is implementing various strategies aimed at improving student achievement. These strategies include:
- Providing extra academic support
- Offering before and after-school programs
- Addressing specific academic weaknesses through remediation
- Ensuring access to high-quality instructional materials
- Recruiting and retaining excellent teachers
- Engaging in collaborative planning among educators
Tim Waller, a spokesperson for GCS, acknowledged the complexities involved in assessing school performance. He noted that it often takes three to five years to accurately track a school’s progress due to the limitations of current testing methods.
Plans for Improvement
Underperforming schools are mandated to create a Turnaround Plan, also known as a Continuous Improvement Plan. This plan must contain:
- Specific, measurable goals for educational development
- Evidence-based strategies to increase student achievement
- Evaluation measures to gauge the plan’s success
- Collaboration with stakeholders in formulating the plan
- Quarterly monitoring by the school district
Despite the challenging landscape, some schools like Sue Cleveland and Grove Elementary have seen improvements and are no longer classified as underperforming. Additionally, Alexander Elementary School and Lakeview Middle are currently included in the district’s Elevate Plan, which focuses on enhancing student achievement across underperforming schools.
Conclusion
As GCS works toward turning around the academic performance of these schools, the community remains hopeful for progress. The district continues to provide resources and strategies aimed at fostering an environment where students can thrive academically and socially.
