East Side Elementary
By Brooke Phillips
August 10, 2009
Thank you for visiting the website of East Side Elementary, proud home of the Edinburgh Lancers!
I am proud to share our wonderful school with you! My name is Brooke Phillips, and I am the principal of East Side Elementary. We are located in the small, close-knit community of Edinburgh in southern Johnson County. We serve 400 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. We have a dedicated team of teachers and support staff who are committed to making a difference for each and every child in our building as he/she grows and learns each day. Our talented teaching staff uses their expertise in research-based instruction and best practice to help every child maximize his/her academic achievement. We utilize flexible grouping to best meet the academic needs of our students, and adjust those groups regularly based on current data. In 2008, we raised our over-all ISTEP passing percentage by 5%! We look forward to making continued improvements each and every year.
Beginning this year, we are focusing on college readiness by following the “No Excuses University” format. All students have an “EAST SIDE UNIVERSITY” t-shirt that includes the year they will graduate from a four-year college. Why? All children CAN go to college, and from an early age we want to educate our students about how to do this so they can have the best future and best opportunities available to them as adults!
In addition to the general education classroom setting, East Side provides many opportunities for student growth and achievement including: Creative Active Multi-Intelligence Place [CAMP], High Ability Programming, Special Education, a Response to Intervention [RTI] lab, a Title I interventionist who works with small groups of students, and an outdoor lab. In addition, we provide many fine arts and extra-curricular activities such as: Music, P.E., Art, an open access Library Media Center, 5th grade boys’ and girls’ basketball, 5th grade cheerleading, Drama Club, Environmental Club, Student Council, Glamour Squad, and many more. Technology is a priority at East Side to prepare kids for their future. We have a technology lab rotation within the specials’ rotations, internet, projector systems, and airliners (a portable type of Smart Board) in each classroom, several computer labs, podcasting opportunities, Compass Learning software, Accelerated Reader, and numerous others.
We also benefit from our supportive East Side Parent Association, who hosts numerous events throughout the course of the school year, such as the school carnival, open house, movie nights, dances, etc., to raise money to benefit our students. We appreciate parental support and encourage all parents to get involved in their child’s education. Together, we make the difference; it truly is a team effort.
Please bookmark our website, and check back regularly. You will find news updates for East Side, links to our bi-weekly school newsletter (on Microsoft Publisher 2007), School Improvement Plan, Student Handbook, pictures, staff webpages, and much more. Thank you for visiting our website!
Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting their eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted. –Garrison Keillor
Mrs. Brooke Phillips, Principal
Click for Mrs. Phillips' Biography
