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Title
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Booklet: Tryon Street Elementary School
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Accession Number
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2004.2.2
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Accession Date
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January 15, 2004
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Accession Creator
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Carm Hudson
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Depositor
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Helen Bagwell
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Description
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Booklet containing details about Tryon Elementary School such as information on its students, classrooms, curriculum, and visitor policy. The Piedmont Schools Project is heavily referenced.
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Format
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paper
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Storage Location
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Box 34 Folder 29
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Text
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Tryon Street
Elementary
School
THE PIEDMONT SCHOOLS PROJECT / GREER, SOUTH CAROLINA
Tryon Street Elementary School, with an enrollment of about 400 students in grades kindergarten through five, is a part of the five year Piedmont Schools Project and throughout the project is on meeting the educational needs of every student.
In order to provide every child with an educational program designed to meet his individual needs, changes have been made in the areas of building arrangement, student grouping, school staff, teaching methods and curriculum.
At the beginning of the Piedmont Project, Tryon Street's 18 classrooms were converted into six large classrooms.
Teachers believe the open space allows them more freedom and flexibility in working with students.
Each classroom, called a learning community, has from 50-65 students and is staffed by two to three teachers as well as a paraprofessional, or aide. The paraprofessionals take care of paper work and instruct students under teacher supervision.
By working in teams with the aid of paraprofessionals, teachers plan individual learning programs for every student. More than one teaching method is used in order to individualize the learning program. During a school day, a child may have lessons in a large group, a small group, independently or on a one-to-one basis with a teacher or paraprofessional.
Students at Tryon Street are not placed in grade levels according to their ages, as in most schools. Multi-age grouping is used, which means that each learning community has students from two to three age groups. This allows children to be grouped according to the skills they need to learn rather than simply by their ages.
Students are thoroughly tested to determine those areas in which they most need instruction. Once weak spots are known, a learning program is put together emphasizing only those things the child needs to learn. Tests are given at the end of a unit to make sure that the child has learned the material. The staff recognizes that each child learns at his own pace, and allowances are made for this. Every child is treated as an individual.
Students at Tryon Street study the traditional elementary subjects - reading, spelling, math, science and social studies, with special emphasis placed on basic reading and math skills. in addition, they receive instruction in art, music and physical education - areas which the Greer community said were important to a well rounded public education. Some of the special curricular programs used at Tryon Street are:
Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development - an individualized program which emphasizes basic reading skills. Taught in grades one - five, it is used in addition to the regular reading text.
Individualized Mathematics Series - a supplementary math program used in the upper level learning communities. It involves testing before and after each unit, with each child concentrating on math skills he or she needs to master.
Continuous Progress Spelling - used by most learning communities, CPS is a program where students work in pairs and concentrate only on words they do not know.
Science Curriculum Improvement Study - (SCIS) a science program using the discovery approach. Rather than learning about science entirely through books, students are provided with "hands on" experiences in SCIS learning kits. SCIS is used in all learning communities except kindergarten. The idea is to learn by touching, seeing, and doing.
Developing Understanding of Self and Others (DUSO) - a social studies program used on all grade levels, it employs puppets and stories to teach lessons. It is used extensively to educate students to the dangers of drugs.
Meaningful and quality education for every student is the goal of Tryon Street School. Through active community and professional involvement, truly quality education is being achieved for the students at Tryon Street.
Visitors are welcome at Tryon Street Elementary School. Parents of students at Tryon Street or other interested residents of Greer are encouraged to visit at any time by simply notifying the program manager at the time of the visit. Educators and other interested people from outside The School District of Greenville County who would like to arrange a tour of the school should contact the project communications specialist at the following address:
The Piedmont Schools Project
206 Church Street
Greer, South Carolina 29651
(803) 877-0931
In 1972, during the Piedmont Schools Project's first year, Tryon Street teachers requested that certain changes be made in the building arrangement to provide them with more flexibility in their teaching. A number of walls were removed which resulted in the arrangement shown in this floor plan diagram.
"Seeking a better way in education"
The Piedmont Schools Project
is a part of
The School District of Greenville County
South Carolina
Tryon Street Elementary School
108 Tryon Street
Greer, South Carolina 29651
877-5671