Two CCSD schools featured in national publication

Ladson Elementary School and North Charleston Elementary School are recognized for their community engagement efforts in this year’s National Network of Partnership School (NNPS) Promising Partnership Practices handbook. In fact, North Charleston Elementary is featured on the cover of this year’s publication.

North Charleston Elementary was the first school from CCSD to be featured in the annual NNPS handbook last year, thanks to their initiative, Painting on Purpose with Parents. This year, the Dolphins earned recognition for their participation and engagement surrounding ReadBowl 2021, an initiative encouraging students and their families to read together. One “team” from NCES actually won the state title for their level (Kindergarten through second grade). The school ended up logging a combined 51,678 minutes of reading.

Ladson Elementary’s Reading Patrol was recognized in the 2021 handbook. The Bulldogs’ program also encouraged reading at home, but with officers and staff from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).  In the past, the program involved deputies reading to children in the school and encouraging them to read for fun at home. COVID-19 changed the effort last year when Sgt. Kathleen McCullough-Mclean, then the School Resource Officer for Ladson Elementary, organized an effort to film deputies reading separate pages of a book, The Biggest Snowman Ever. The resulting video produced by CCSO’s Public Information Office was shared with children and parents at the start of winter break in December. The school also gave copies of the book to children so they could read at home. Students and parents later assessed the program through at-home surveys. The program not only increased students’ enthusiasm for reading but built positive relationships with local law enforcement agencies.