Great Falls Elementary is a rural school that serves a diverse population of approximately 350 students in grades PK – 5.  Great Falls Elementary is helping all students develop the world class, life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by being continually committed to the social, emotional, and academic development of each child. Our school is a safe, challenging, caring, and supportive environment where teachers, parents, students and community members work together to ensure all students have a solid foundation for success throughout their lives. We strive to make the learning experiences interesting and engaging while holding students accountable for reaching their highest potential.

Great Falls Elementary is working hard to achieve academic standards for all students.  We continue to experience growth in all academic areas.  This growth was even maintained by the staff and students through the COVID-19 global pandemic. Although our student achievement is not where we desire it to be, our students are performing above the district's averages in all areas and above the state's averages in math.  We are very close to the state’s averages in ELA, as well.  By closing academic gaps, our students are growing exponentially each year.  We will continue to work diligently to close existing gaps in achievement while moving more students into the categories of meets and exceeds to be comparable with other schools with exceptional academic achievement throughout South Carolina. 

The goal of Great Falls Elementary is to continue to improve and achieve at high levels, so that all students achieve at least at the 90th percentile.  

Great Falls Elementary School's data for the 2023 - 2024 SC READY administration are as follows:

Reading

49.0% of 3rd graders met or exceeded expectations.

63.0% of 4th graders met or exceeded expectations.

50.8% of 5th graders met or exceeded expectations.

School-wide data 54.3% of students met or exceeded expectations.

Math

59.2% of 3rd graders met or exceeded expectations.

50.0% of 4th graders met or exceeded expectations.

43.1% of 5th graders met or exceeded expectations.

School-wide data 50.8% of students met or exceeded expectations.

Science

Science data has not been reported at this time.

Early Childhood/Primary (PK–2): At Great Falls Elementary School, there are no summative assessments for students in grades PK – 2. Students in Pre-K are assessed using PALs.

Kindergarten students are assessed using the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), Fountas and Pinnell (F&P), MAP Reading Fluency – and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP).  Readiness for students at Great Falls Elementary continues to improve as more students are being promoted with readiness to achieve grade level standards at the next grade.  As previously mentioned, for the 2023 – 2024 school year, students in Kindergarten through second grades were assessed three times a year for screening purposes using the MAP Reading Fluency assessment. 

First and second grade students were also assessed using F&P, MAP Reading Fluency, and MAP Growth.  NWEA 2024 Spring MAP scores indicate Great Falls Elementary School students continue to grow.  The results also reveal that 47% of first grade students met the “On-Track” cut score for ELA.  In math, 51% of first grade students met the “On-Track” cut score for Math.  In second grade, in reading, 67% of second grade students who met the “On-Track” cut score for ELA.  In math, 57% of second grade students met the “On-Track” cut score for Math.

In second grade, in reading, 61.8% of students were projected to meet or exceed, while 14.5% of students were projected to be approaching, and 13.0% of students were projected to be not met.

GFE continues to implement a school-wide PBIS system.  As a result, the school has seen tremendous improvements in both school climate and student achievement data.  The schoolwide system has helped to reduce the number of referrals and suspensions in grades PK - 5.  

Great Falls Elementary works hard to provide many opportunities to help our students be successful and well-rounded both in and outside of the classroom.  Students have a variety of activities in which to participate, including: GITI Math and Science Club, GFE Garden Club, Jr. Beta Club, and National Elementary Honor Society, Read Across America events, Safety Patrol, Student Council, swimming lessons provided by the Arras Foundation, and a variety of Book Battles and Competitions. Parent involvement and community connections continue to improve through planned PTO and school events including: a Winthrop Net-Serve, Partnership, a School-wide Discipline PBIS incentive system, Junior Achievement, Meet the Teacher events, Quarterly Awards' Days, Parent Conferences with a steadily increasing rate of parents attending, Donut Drive-by celebrations, Family and Staff Cookouts, and PreK, Kindergarten, and 5th Grade Promotion Ceremonies. We are very proud of our Mentoring Matters program, as well that supports our students both inside and outside of the classroom. Great Falls Elementary is committed to ensuring students obtain a solid foundation for the next steps in their journey through life - on their path to becoming college and career ready.   

The 2023 - 2024 school year continued to be quite an eventful one.  During these unprecedented times in education, extreme measures have had to be taken.  In an effort to continue to mitigate student performance gaps, several learning models have been implemented over the past several years.  These include: classroom and grade level loops, push in interventions, primary instructional assistants, and part-time interventionists.  An additional resource teacher was added to our staff to serve our fourth and fifth grade resource students. A part-time interventionist was hired to provide intense intervention for our second-grade students. Before and after-school tutoring was offered several days a week for all students, as well. Our staff remains focused on student achievement and works persistently to meet the needs of our students.  As a school, we are committed to rising to the challenge to ensure that our children continue to learn and achieve at high levels.  Our staff are a group of dedicated and committed individuals who don't mind doing whatever it takes to ensure student success.     

The successes of Great Falls Elementary are very significant and noteworthy.  As such, many of the wonderful things GFE is being celebrated for have been recognized on a state an national level.  In 2023 – 2024, Great Falls Elementary was selected to be an Edmentum Demonstration School.  The administrators and the school’s leadership team of outstanding teachers provided Professional Development on continuous school improvement to educators from across the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.  In 2023 – 2024, our school was also selected to receive a semi-finalist visit from the very prestigious Palmetto’s Finest team.  In 2023 – 2024, the Great Falls Elementary GITI Tire team under the leadership of Mrs. Karlanna Twisdale won the GITI Tire District Competition and went on to win the elementary division of the Coaster Mania competition at the King’s Dominion Amusement Park in Virginia.

Being intentional and fulfilling our commitments to our students and their families is what is propelling us towards accomplishing our ultimate goal of all students achieving at high levels.

Tammy S. Taylor, Ph.D.

Principal