Gold Hill Elementary School (GHES) is helping all students to develop the world class skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by meeting students where they are and encouraging them to learn and grow at high levels. Teachers and administrators participate in high quality professional development, implement best practices within our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) instructional program, and collaborate via our Professional Learning Community (PLC).

Our mission is, At Gold Hill, we connect by working together, grow through teaching and learning, and choose kindness by helping others. It is our foundational purpose, and one that encompasses all in our school community. It is based on three main principles; connect, grow, and kindness. The first word, connect, points to the importance of relationships, the foundation upon which the work of teaching and learning is built. Positive relationships are essential to the success of our students, including teacher to student, student to student, teacher to parent, student to parent, and teacher to teacher. How do we effectively connect and build relationships? By choosing to work together. Second is the word grow. Our hope is that all students and adults will grow as a result of participating in the GHES community. Grow in knowledge and skills, yes, but also in character. How will we grow? Through teaching and learning. Sometimes the adults will do the teaching and the students will learn from them. Other times, possibly even more often, adults can learn from students. Our third word is kindness. We want to be a community that values thinking outside of ourselves to how we can help others. As adults, by modeling and encouraging all to choose kindness, we are supporting the development of the whole child.

Through our MTSS instructional program we provide a strong foundation of core instruction, as well as opportunities for intervention and enrichment. Differentiated instruction occurs at the classroom level in the areas of mathematics, reading, writing, science and social studies. Instructional delivery includes whole group direct instruction, small group guided instruction and activities, and independent practice. Teachers use student assessment data to meet the learning needs of all and target specific standards and skills. Students in need of intervention are provided additional learning opportunities at the classroom level in small groups and/or individually at the tier 2 level. Additional intervention occurs at the tier 3 level through support provided by our reading and math interventionists. These learning opportunities are strategically scheduled so that students are not missing core instruction from their classroom teacher. Our Gifted and Talented program serves students in grades 3-5 who are identified using assessment data based on state level criteria. Other support staff and services provided at GHES include Special Education Resource, Special Settings classes, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Mental Health Therapy, Behavioral Therapy, and English as a Second Language. 

The main way that we as a staff connect by working together is by emphasizing effective collaboration through our PLC. The mission and vision of our PLC at GHES is to engage in effective collaboration around the four guiding questions, to ensure high levels of learning and growth for all students. The four guiding questions of a PLC include, 

1. What do we expect students to learn?

2. How do we know they are learning it?

3. How do we respond when they don’t learn?

4. How do we respond when they’ve already learned?

All of our meeting agendas and collaborative tasks are based on at least one of the four guiding questions. Our teams create their own team commitments that are used to drive collaboration and interactions. Each team member has a role, so that responsibilities are always shared. Our teams plan together so we are on the same page with what we are teaching, how we are teaching it, and the pacing is aligned. We identify the most important standards and skills, and unpack them together. Teams develop common assessments to measure student learning and growth. We analyze student work and assessment results to help drive our instruction. Our ultimate desire for our PLC is that it would be characterized by teams who believe that all students can learn at high levels, and who take collective ownership, that all students are our students. 

Additional opportunities are available to students through various leadership roles, clubs and extracurriculars. These include our 5th grade House leaders, Gold Hill News Network daily school news program, Special Olympics helpers, Girls on the Run, Let Me Run, Recycling Green Team, Chess, Tennis, Mister Hornet Club, and the State Honors Choir.

We are grateful to be one of five schools in South Carolina named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2022. We were also named the #1 elementary school in South Carolina, according to Niche, in 2023, 2024 and 2025. These are true testaments to the dedication, work, and positive relationships within our school community to receive such high honors.  

Additional information can be found on our school website, 

https://ghes.fortmillschools.org/

Josh Burris, Principal