Forest Heights Elementary School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by consistently providing a safe, engaging, loving, compassionate, and rigorous learning environment. We can do this by ensuring that every decision is made by doing what is best for our students. Our daily goal is always to put students first as we embrace the district’s vision of engaging, educating, and empowering students! Forest Height’s faculty and staff are dedicated to challenging students to be their best every day they enter the building through best practice implementation throughout the school. As a school, we have embraced the growth mindset and have set out on a mission to ensure our students excel in everything they put their hands and minds to do. We have so much to offer students to make sure they are successful. We have an uninterrupted block of reading instruction to start their day that provides teachers with the time to build all students’ literacy foundations through Balanced Literacy. Forest Heights uses class meetings for advocacy in the morning, maximizes instructional time, limits distractions, and focuses on each student as an individual. We also have an incredible math focus, with over seventy-five minutes of math taught daily. Math instruction includes whole groups, small groups, and spiraling math workstations. Our students have significant technological advantages and opportunities because we are one-to-one with our devices. This advantage will help prepare them to be successful in our technologically advanced society. Forest Heights offers strings and musical programs that appeal to many of our students. We also provide art, and students compete in district-wide competitions and often receive accolades and recognition at the district level. Our goal is to provide our students with experiences that reach beyond the literacy and mathematical focus. Our school is also involved in science projects and has a science lab to promote innovation and inquiry skills. We aim to create students who can collaborate and communicate with their peers to think deeply and critically to solve problems.
Forest Heights is also a PBIS School. We believe in focusing on the positive and giving little attention to anything harmful. Our school-wide PBIS program has dramatically influenced our climate and culture while positively impacting behavior throughout the school. Forest Heights Elementary School is a growing and thriving school within the Richland One School District in Columbia, South Carolina. Our focus is maintaining a growth mindset and ensuring we reach every student and the WHOLE student! Forest Heights serves a beautiful community of parents, families, and students who desire to be the absolute best at all times. We consistently produce students who will be productive and exemplary Richland County and South Carolina citizens.
Dr. Jason Koepke, Principal
Ms. Stacey-Ann Francis, School Improvement Council Chair
