WKMS is always excited to be “Capturing Kids Hearts” as we move to build stronger relationships within our school learning community. Our focus is to prepare students to be 21st Century graduates, exhibiting creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. WKMS understands that each student is a unique learner that requires multimodal teaching and engagement through individual choice, integrative technology, and culturally relevant pedagogy. WKMS is part of the ever-growing Lexington County School District 1 nestled between Lexington and Columbia that offer quality arts programs that aren’t always accessible to our students. While we are part of an ever-growing district, the growth and performance levels of our students are often lower than that of other schools in the district. We have recognized that many students who underperform in the classroom often excel in their arts classes. It is this observation that is the driving force behind the need to offer a more in-depth arts education and integration of the arts into all classes. These efforts will allow students to utilize their strengths in the arts to overcome the challenges they might be experiencing in other content areas, as well as demonstrate the cross-curricular connections between all content areas. These connections between content areas will allow students to engage in higher-level thinking and learning, while also allowing more opportunities for collaboration and critical thinking. In addition, students will have expanded opportunities to express their own learning and understanding.