Alcorn middle school home of the bold and mighty knights! “Excelling academically and socially through respect, resilience, and integrity!” Dr. Carla g. Mathis, principal

WIFE, MOTHER, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, GRANDMOTHER Who is dr. mathis? WIFE, MOTHER, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, GRANDMOTHER

family

Devoted to scholarship and service Dr. Carla Illizabeth Grant Mathis Degree: Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership/Curriculum and Instruction Dissertation: English Common Core Curriculum and Student Academic Achievement: A Time Series Quasi-Experimental Study Dissertation Chair: Dr. David Proudfoot

Professional background Richland School District One, Columbia, SC Newly appointed Principal 1 year Freshman Academy Administrator Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte, NC 13 years – High school English teacher 2 years – Academic Facilitator and Credit Recovery Coordinator 1 year – Dean of Students

Professional Background Chester School District, Chester, SC 2 years – Reading teacher Rock Hill School District, Rock Hill, SC 2 years – English teacher and AmeriCorps Service Learning Coordinator

ALCORN’S VISION And Mission VISION AMS is devoted to preparing each student to be a globally competitive citizen. Through a collaborative effort, the stakeholders of AMS seek to ensure all students are provided quality instruction designed to make them college and career ready. MISSION Alcorn provides a student-centered, innovative, safe, respectful and academic rich environment.

Philosophy OF EDUCATION Learning is innate; everyone can learn. Knowledge and ability are not given; instead, they are constructed and derived through active engagement, collaboration, reflection, and experience. Learning is not isolated, but it is inclusive of the physical and global world of which we inhabit.

Means of communication Monthly Knight Newsletter Weekly updated website with current information Auto-dialing systems for scheduled events and information Emails and telephone calls Parent Conferences On-going parent, teacher, student conferences Text messaging of announcements and/or emergency alerts      SIC and Knight Parent/Community Support Committee

School Initiatives Instructional Focus Main Focus: Small class size in English and Math for intentional and rigorous instructional purposes Incorporate the team concept into the master schedule Incorporate effective and efficient data-driven instruction Increase and improve professional development and collaboration opportunities Implement the AVID Program to assist with improving students’ study skills, note taking, and organization

School Initiatives Instructional Focus Enforce and monitor more closely the Response to Intervention component (RTI) to ensure students receive the support needed to be successful Implement the district’s redo policy with fidelity Reduce the number of preps for teachers to increase attention and instructional focus Conduct weekly walkthroughs and frequent focused observations to progress monitor the quality of instruction and to provide timely and meaningful feedback

School Initiatives Instructional Focus Provide after-school tutoring for all students Progress monitor students’ grades each reporting period

Home – School Relationship School Initiatives Home – School Relationship Grade level parent meetings Fall and Spring Open House Ongoing parent/student/teacher conferences Active SIC, PTO, and community engagement meetings Parent/Community Volunteer Program

Innovation and teamwork: moving Forward

Respect! Resilience! Integrity! Dr. Carla Grant Mathis AMS KNIGHTS!!! Respect! Resilience! Integrity! Dr. Carla Grant Mathis