Gilbert Elementary School is helping all students develop the World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by applying our mission and vision to every aspect of our teaching and learning processes.
Our mission at GES is to ensure all members of our community belong, achieve, and have a passion for learning. Our vision is “growing, learning, leading — together.” To fulfill our mission and embody our vision, we commit to the following: “All students, regardless of circumstances, leave GES with the skills they need to succeed in middle school and beyond.” Teaching and learning develop power skills in all students. GES is a service-oriented center of learning, committed to family and community partnerships. Every adult at GES will be equipped with the skills, resources and support necessary to empower every child to be a successful learner. Our theme for the 2024–25 school year was “We love you here” as a way to remind students about how much we care about them and want them to attend school every day.
Our commitment to fostering strong mathematics and reading achievement is significantly bolstered by our dedicated coaches. We rely heavily on our full-time math and reading coach and additional interventionists to provide support for both teacher growth and student achievement. These coaches work closely with our educators, offering guidance on effective instructional strategies, helping to analyze student data, and collaborating on targeted interventions. This direct support helps our teachers to refine their practices, leading to more impactful learning experiences and, ultimately, greater academic success for our students.
Beyond the classroom, we actively cultivate student leadership through a variety of engaging opportunities. Our students develop responsibility and teamwork through programs such as Safety Patrol, morning news show, expressing their creativity and collaboration in Chorus, learning about nature and community service in Garden Club, building perseverance and fitness through Run Hard, developing their voice in Student Council, practicing empathy as student mentors, and enhancing literacy skills by serving as Buddy Readers. These experiences directly contribute to the development of well-rounded individuals ready for their next steps.
Our teachers are continuously engaged in professional growth to bring the most effective strategies to our students. This year, many of our educators sharpened their skills by attending valuable professional training opportunities, including conferences such as the PLC at Work Summit, various PLC institutes and sessions focused on Visible Learning with John Hattie. These trainings are designed to deepen their expertise, strengthen collaborative practices and directly impact instructional quality in our classrooms.
Teacher Professional Learning Teams meet weekly in focused planning and professional development sessions to ensure critical content standards are taught and assessed with fidelity. Teachers use data from i-Ready, formative assessments, SC READY/SCPASS testing, and summative assessments to measure and monitor student growth and progress. Students collaborate with their teachers to set goals and measure their own growth throughout the year. As a school, the majority of our teachers have completed two years of LETRS training and have started implementing strategies to help our readers.
GES has a strong Encore program that includes innovation and design lab, teaching for artistic behavior, general music, physical education, Spanish and Author’s Adventure — our creative writing class. Our Encore schedule is designed so that our students spend an entire week with the same Encore teacher, as opposed to attending a different Encore class each day of the week. This allows for deeper and more meaningful arts instruction.
Stephen Deyo, Principal
Helen Parks, SIC Chair
