• Category 1

    Selected in 2022

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,000
    Student Enrollment: 111
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 87%
    Hispanic: 5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1%
    Other: 7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 40%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1995
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brittan Porterfield
  • CONTACT:
    603 Garfield St.
    Whitewood, SD 57793
    605-269-2264
    brittan.porterfield@k12.sd.us
Whitewood Elementary School
Whitewood, SD
"Each day, we work to meet the needs of each child."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
A small gem in the Meade School District, Whitewood Elementary serves 111 students in PreK – 5th grade. Our school has a tradition of academic excellence, having been named a Blue Ribbon School in 2008. Our truly wonderful staff, students, and community are honored to continue this tradition now as a Distinguished school.

We’ve earned this award for our students’ academic achievements. For the past several years, they have scored significantly higher than the state average during state testing.

Students at Whitewood Elementary benefit from our staff’s dedication to providing instruction at just the right level. With the strategic use of small groups, teachers meet students right where they are at. These groups, along with our school’s small class sizes, allow students to receive individualized instruction catered to their needs. In addition to more time with their classroom teacher, students receive individualized literacy instruction from an interventionist.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Our school's success is a result of our staff and community's commitment to a student-focused learning environment. Each day, we work to meet the needs of each child. This commitment to each student increases our students' academic engagement. They feel they can be successful because their education is tailored to their needs.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funding supports our school's success through an interventionist and a PreK program. As an early-intervention, our PreK serves four-year-old students two days a week for full school days. This program has increased our students' readiness for kindergarten, I
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
Our new teachers participated in South Dakota's mentorship program. Paired with an excellent veteran teacher, our new staff met frequently with their mentor, who provided a safe place to discuss successes and challenges. Perhaps, most important, the mentor traveled into her mentees' classrooms for observations, and this feedback was crucial to our new staff's development.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Working with several stakeholders, we identified Whitewood's lack of daycare and preschools as a community need. To address the lack of early education options, our school developed a free PreK program open to all Whitewood four-year-olds. As an early intervention, our PreK serves as a foundational piece for our students’ success when they begin school as kindergarteners. Our PreK received the highest honor from SASD’s Preschools of Excellence Program, the only Black Hills PreK to do so. Throughout its development, our community provided feedback on our ideas, helping shape them into what Whitewood needed. Next, through these same partnerships, we then identified the school's lack of an after-school program as another area of need. Together, we developed a robust program that serves 80% of our students that includes time for academic support and enrichment.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2022

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,000
    Student Enrollment: 111
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 87%
    Hispanic: 5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1%
    Other: 7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 40%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1995
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brittan Porterfield
  • CONTACT:
    603 Garfield St.
    Whitewood, SD 57793
    605-269-2264
    brittan.porterfield@k12.sd.us