|Chadds Ford Life Q & A|
Danielle Clark, Principal, Chadds Ford Elementary School Through a worldwide pandemic and a local storm, Chadds Ford Elementary School continues to thrive, with a spirit and energy that can best described as magic. Recently, school Principal Danielle Clark sat down with Chadds Ford Life to discuss the school’s perseverance and its commitment to its students, as well as those who inspired her and one celebritystudded dinner party. Chadds Ford Life: While thousands of students and their parents have learned first-hand about the uniqueness of Chadds Ford Elementary School in recent years, there are thousands more who drive by the school every day and do not know about the magic here that brings out that uniqueness. For those drivers and passengers, describe that magic, how it happens and who plays a part. Danielle: The magic that happens here begins with our kids. Without them, the energy and enthusiasm we all have as a team would never come to light. It’s the same feeling you get from being in the company of a good family in the sense that everyone belongs. Everyone is happy to be here. Everyone is looking out for each other. There is a network of support here that reaches from every corner of the school. It starts every morning with our bus drivers and our parents who drop off their children. The social engagement with our kids then extends to our custodial team and our grounds crew and our food service department and continues with our teachers and our staff. When you talk about Chadds Ford Elementary School, you’re talking about a group of individuals who care for these children as if they are their own. The basis of primary education has become much more attentive to the fine details of a young person’s academic achievement, but also his or her personal development. One of the programs at Chadds Ford Elementary School that has 48
Chadds Ford Life | Spring/Summer 2022 | www.chestercounty.com
been rolled out in recent years has been Math in Focus. Math in Focus is our core program to help our students achieve the Pennsylvania Core Standards, but what we really aspire to do here with math education is to develop that core program and help our students acquire the mathematical concepts and skills that will help them apply that knowledge into novel situations and become critical thinkers and problem solvers. As we know, generations moving forward need to be problem solvers and critical thinkers in order to solve the challenges that are facing our future and to help them be better prepared for the evolving workforce. Another initiative has been a developmental one -- the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. A comprehensive education is about developing the whole child, and here at Chadds Ford Elementary School, that is a part of our vision statement. The program empowers our students to treat everyone with a sense of belonging, respect and dignity. Through that, they learn essential skills to help them be self advocates and champion for others as a bystander. We then take that program and use it to teach core essential traits each month, and through those traits, we are hoping that our students develop their social and emotional skills and apply them to situations and opportunities, so that they can practice in a healthy and positive way. The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District has recently adopted the Portrait of Graduate Program that spells out what a graduate of the district will look like at the end of his or her experience in the school district. There are five points in the matrix: Be inspired to learn. Build your character. Succeed in life. Take care of yourself. Contribute to society. We’re exploring how we can support our students to embrace those principles as part of their development.
