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Message from our Principal
August 2, 2011
Dear Parents & Community Members:
I am indeed honored to be appointed as Chief Learning
Officer of Estill Elementary School. I feel truly blessed to be the
instructional leader of such an awesome school community.
I would like to take this opening to introduce myself to the
Estill community. I have been dedicated to the field of education for more than
thirteen years. During this time, my experiences include teaching elementary
and middle school literacy for four years, being a middle school assistant
principal, an elementary school assistant principal, and the principal of a K –
12 school. Most recently, I served as principal
in one of South Carolina’s fastest growing county – Beaufort. I am married to
my wife Jennifer and we have one son Justin who will be entering 9th grade.
All of us at Estill Elementary School are eager and excited
to begin what promises to be the best year ever. This year is going to be
“Great” as we continue to provide academic experiences for our student that are
rigorous, relevant and builds relationships. As your principal, it is important
to me that everyone who steps through our doors- staff, students, and parents -
are excited to be here! This attitude enables us to meet the challenges of
academic excellence in a positive, fun, and nurturing environment.
Our theme for the 2011 – 2012 school year is “Community and
Collaboration”. Webster.com defines a community as “a unified body of
individuals, people with common interests living in a particular area.”Each
family in this community has its own particular interest. Each parent is the
personal cheerleader for his or her child. Our area of unified common interest
is the students of Estill Elementary School. It is imperative that our
community embrace the idea of doing whatever it takes to ensure the academic growth
of our students. As a professional learning community, we are committed to
working tirelessly to provide challenging educational opportunities for
children each day. But to be as successful as we can be in our learning
community, we need your help. You are a special and unique part of our learning
community. Collaboration with your child’s teacher is a main ingredient to a
healthy and successful year. Open
communication is vital to ensure a successful home-school partnership
throughout the year. Parent involvement is an important aspect of every child’s
education and is the primary factor in a students’ success in school.
There are many ways in which you can participate at
school. Volunteering to work in the
classroom, chaperoning field trips, becoming a member of our PTA and/or School
Improvement Council, and assisting with many activities, are just a few things
that you can do to make a difference.
So what are my priorities as instructional leader? My
priorities as principal of Estill Elementary School includes: increasing student achievement through
increasing teacher quality and effectiveness in the classroom, increasing
parental involvement that promotes clear support of the instructional program, and
removing the “at- risk” rating score on our school’s report card to an
“excellent” report card rating. But none
of my priorities are as important as our kids. This is the single most
important area that I will not compromise nor weary. Estill Elementary School
students deserve the best. I am passionate about
my mission as principal and I will make decisions that are
in the best interest of your child. A new principal presents opportunities for
various beginnings. However, newness alone cannot produce transformation. We
must be willing to be caught up in the rebirth that is possible with each
change. Having change brought to you at the beginning of the school year gives
us an opportunity to make plans, design strategies and implement new ideas.
There is a special kind of joy and satisfaction in having a new principal
follow such a wonderful leader as Mrs. Hawkins. Our job is to move forward with
excellence and to make Estill Elementary School world class.
In closing, when we ALL work together as a learning
community and do things with our students’ best interest as the focus, we will
be a GREAT school!
If I can ever be of assistance, please call or email me! It
is through being a collaborative learning community with consistent, honest and
open communication that I can best serve our students.
Thanks for the opportunity to serve our GREAT community and
we welcome each of you back to the “new” Estill Elementary School – “GO BABY
GATORS!”
Warmest Regards,
Martin L. Wright  
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