Smoky Mountain Elementary
School
Smoky Mountain Elementary School was formed
in 1956 by the consolidation of MacMillan, Caton's Grove, Browns,
Barnes Valley, Webbs Springs, Liberty, and Bluffton Schools. The new school
opened with seven teachers and approximately 300 students. Today the
school serves approximately 190 students from kindergarten through grade
eight.
The school plant, located on a campus of
approximately seven acres, consists of the original 1956 building, which
contains eight classrooms, an administrative office, a cafeteria, and a
gymnasium. Two portable units were added in the spring of 1967 to house
Title I and the library. In addition to these buildings, the school
campus includes a softball/baseball field, a playground, and a parking lot.
At all grade levels, Smoky Mountain School
offers a strong curriculum in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and
science taught by its full time faculty. Kindergarten through grade
eight are self-contained classrooms. Kindergarten helps lay the
foundation for future learning. The activities within the program
stimulate children's curiosity, foster an eagerness to learn, and build
self-confidence, self-discipline, and self-acceptance. In grades one
though three, students develop basic skills in reading, phonics, writing,
mathematics, and spelling. Work in science, health, and social studies
is correlated with these skills.
Technology is an important tool in the
educational program. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grades have Twenty-first
Century classrooms; and Smoky Mountain School was the first school in the
system to have Internet connections. Smoky Mountain School also has two
pages on the Internet. One hundred ninety students have access to a
total of 36 classroom computers, plus two computers in the Special Education
classroom and five computers in Title I. Smoky Mountain was the first
school in the county to offer multi-media computer technology to students and
staff.