NIET 2020 School of Promise Award: Mellichamp Elementary School, Orangeburg, South Carolina
September 18, 2020
Dr. Candice McQueen, CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), surprised Mellichamp Elementary in Orangeburg Consolidated School District with a $5,000 NIET School of Promise Award for 2020. The award honors Mellichamp’s early success implementing NIET's initiatives to improve teaching and learning.
"Mellichamp's community is inspiring and shows us what is possible when educators collaborate and deepen their focus on high-quality instruction," Dr. McQueen said. "Mellichamp's leaders and educators have built their capacity around engaging teaching practices, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside them to take their work to the next level."
From 2018 to 2019, the school also increased its percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations on state assessments in English language arts, math, and science – and jumped 27.4 percentage points in social studies. Additionally, between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school year, Mellichamp retained all of its teachers – another mark of the positive culture established at the school.
