ABOUT TWIN HILLS

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

“I live my leadership!” ~Sonya R. Nock-Lemons

 

Welcome to Twin Hills Elementary School, home of the Twin Hills Superstars! Twin Hills School is dedicated to educating all students by providing a core curriculum along with those enrichment experiences that will fulfill their educational needs and enable them to be knowledgeable, productive individuals.

Being a school principal has been one of the most demanding jobs that I have been challenged to perform. It has also been my most rewarding! My primary reason for being an educator emanated from an innate desire to make a difference in the world around me. I decided I could best be of service by building strong educational foundations within our youth. As an educational leader of fifteen years, I approach my position with intention and purpose, employing methods that actively converge a spirit of service with innovative teaching and learning practices. Believing children can be their best when they are given the best, I set high standards for all school stakeholders to share responsibility for the quality of our school environment, and the potential to accomplish the outcome we seek- Excellence!

Learning is a top priority at Twin Hills! Our school operations and programmatic planning emphasize the importance we place on academically developing our students. Using structured systems, we closely examine our students' needs to assure each student has equitable access to opportunities that advance them as far as they can possibly go. The faculty is fully committed to our students, which is demonstrated by how much they extend their services beyond the school day. The faculty provides students with an array of whole-child enriching experiences such as year-long extended day tutoring, participation on the school's Leadership Team, and serving as club advisors. The faculty also readily assumes responsibility for their professionalism by leading Professional Research and Learning Communities who present at monthly faculty meetings. Lastly, the faculty stays abreast of curricular trends and offers to pilot innovative instructional resources and techniques to improve their practice and student learning. Their dedication and professionalism are unparalleled!

We consider our parents and families as essential partners in our school community. The faculty and administration recognize the family is critical to the success of our students. It is for that reason we embrace them in the educational process. Every effort is made to be respectful, transparent, and consistent when communicating with our family stakeholders. We invite parents/guardians to be a part of planning committees, trips, and school activities. Whenever possible, we provide assistive health and wellness supports to strengthen the entire family, ultimately improving the conditions for our star stakeholders, our students.

Twin Hills is committed to integrating technology to develop our students as future leaders and citizens of the world. Our school has one fully equipped computer lab and each class has an audio/visual system. Students in grades 3 and 4 have access to 1:1 Chromebook use. We are planning to expand grades 1 and 2 from their current 3:1 access to 1:1 within the next two years. A few of the technology programs that support instruction are IXL, Learning A-Z, Zearn, Nearpod, Epic, Google Classroom, Prodigy, and Raz-Kids. We will continue to enhance our technological footprint in alignment with the ever-evolving advancements in technology.

Our most significant gains have been made among our students. In addition to our laser focus on academic achievement, we fully commit to every aspect of our students, as evidenced by our numerous extra and co-curricular offerings. We maximize the utilization of time and resource allocation to increase students’ exposure to experiences that will promote them to, ‘Come! Try! Achieve!’ Their investment in themselves and our school has been the most prominent reason for our school's culture of achievement. Students understand that trying their absolute best in all that they do changes the focus from external motivation to an intrinsic desire to excel. Programs such as ‘Leadership Links’, a preparatory workshop series created by the school administration, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., mentor programs instill within our students the school motto, ‘Students Today; Leaders Tomorrow!’

Too often, in education, we plant seeds without the chance to witness them bloom. I have been blessed to see the positive impact of our work at Twin Hills. We have cultivated a school culture based on love, compassion, dedication, advocacy, and care for the well-being of our students, making Twin Hills a wonderful place to work and learn!