Dr. Eugene Sires Elementary Schools (Sires) is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of a South Carolina Graduate by fostering independent thinkers in a safe and nurturing environment where a rigorous curriculum celebrates diversity, encourages creativity and collaboration, and prepares life-long learners. Sires is a Title I school and home to a diverse population of approximately 802 students in Pre-K through fifth grade. We are a strong school family committed to growing all students who enter our school.
At Sires, we have a talented staff who combine traditional educational approaches with current research and innovative practices to ensure all students are developing world-class knowledge and skills. We have a top-notch literacy team led by our reading coach. Two literacy interventionists support students in grades K-2. They provide additional small-group instruction and regular progress monitoring for student growth. In addition, our READ 180 teachers in the third, fourth, and fifth grades provide a comprehensive reading intervention program to support our students struggling in these grades. The Gifted and Talented curriculum challenges students in grades three, four and five, while a Multilingual teacher provides support to students learning a new language. Our 4K students use iPads while students in grades K-5 utilize laptops to enhance learning, enrich the core curriculum, and become responsible digital learners.
Our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has greatly increased our volunteer program over the past two years. It is a testimony to the community’s firm commitment to supporting our academic goals by the number of PTA volunteers supporting the varied events and programs at our school. The PTA and Sires Leadership Team collaborated to improve our PTA events this year. Through our school partnership with the PTA, we were able to raise additional funds through fundraisers to continue to work on our school projects. Our school art teachers will be painting a new mural this year which will display our new vision and mission that our school community created in the previous school year. Our school partnership with PTA continued to develop this year with three board members returning and one new Sires’ parent joining the PTA board in the secretarial position. We are excited to continue to develop our PTA partnerships for the next school year.
Our Fine Arts team has continued to grow their programs. The arts team was awarded the 2024-2025 Arts in Education-Arts Enhancement Program Grant this school year. The grant provided $10,000 to support our clay and ceramic art lessons. The art teachers purchased new clay glazes, tools, materials, and more storage for these new materials. The music team acquired guitars from another school to provide the opportunity for our students to learn guitar as part of their music curriculum. The fine arts team had monthly grade-level performances this year and held a student variety show in which fourth and fifth students showcased their unique talents. During this night, The Singing Stingrays and Sires Steel Drums group showcased their talent for our families and staff.
Our teachers have been trained in Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH), a research-based program designed to improve school performance. Implemented schoolwide, CKH focuses on building trust and fostering positive relationships with students. This relationship-centered approach to discipline creates a supportive environment that emphasizes positivity reinforced through celebrations, affirmations, and consistent encouragement. Students create their own expectations via a social contract, holding each other accountable using "checks" and "fouls.”
“A Sea of Possibilities” was our school theme this year. The staff, students, and community were committed to working collaboratively to support our students as they continued to grow in academic achievement and prepared to be global citizens. Sires Elementary School exemplifies quality education in South Carolina. We strive each day to challenge and empower our students to become productive 21st century citizens. Our students have gained interpersonal skills, increased their global perspective, and strengthened their self-directed learning skills. These foundational skills will guide them to be successful students and citizens as we prepare them for college and career readiness.
