School Profile
GES is the centrally-located elementary school in Goochland County, and is located less than one mile from the Goochland High and Middle School complex. Adjacent to GES is the Goochland Tech center which serves students from Goochland High School enrolled in career and technical education courses such as heavy equipment, construction trades, and culinary arts. Our preschool program and some physical education classes also take part in this annex.
Goochland County Public Schools
Vision – Inspiring and preparing the next generation to make a positive impact.
Mission – To maximize the potential of every learner.
Core Values –
We value Excellence and are committed to meeting exceptional standards of growth, achievement, professionalism, character, and personal responsibility.
We value Creativity and will emphasize the use of imagination, intellectual curiosity, and human ingenuity in our instruction and work together.
We value Courage and will establish an environment in which individuals seek to have a purposeful positive impact, advocating for themselves and others at all times.
We value Honor and are unwaveringly committed to the truth, to personal integrity, and to supporting what is right and virtuous and actively reprehending what is not.
We value Optimism and will seek to be characterized by a positive view of others and a belief that everyone can learn. Goochland County Public
Goochland Elementary School
Mission Statement –
We, the faculty and staff of Goochland Elementary School, will work to support the whole child by creating an atmosphere of support, respect, and inclusion for all as we inspire our students through authentic experiences to become lifelong leaders, learners, and problem solvers.
Goochland Elementary & Specialty Center History
Goochland Elementary School first opened for the 1957-58 school session as a consolidation of two older schools, Sandy Hook and Fife Elementary Schools. At that time, GES served only white student from the Lickinghole and Byrd Magisterial Districts. Enrollment in grades 1-7 stood at 345 that year. The staff consisted of a principal, thirteen teachers, a clerk, three cafeteria workers, and two part-time custodians.
Enrollment grew slowly but steadily. By the 1964-65 session, enrollment had reached 400 students.
The 1965-66 session represented a landmark for Goochland Elementary School as well as other schools in the county as racial integration began. The school operated under a “freedom-of-choice” program in which parents could indicate the school they wished their child to attend. Only a few minority families opted to send their children to GES this particular year.
The “freedom-of-choice” plan was in operation until the 1969-70 school session. Beginning with this session, the county was divided into school attendance zones, and each school served all the children in given grade levels in one or more of these zones. Goochland Elementary School served all children in grades four through seven who resided in zone 1-B and children in grades one through seven who resided in zone 2-B.
The 1969-70 school session was notable in a different way for Goochland Elementary School as a ten-classroom primary addition opened. The building was carpeted and air-conditioned for the comfort of staff and students and also provided comfortable housing for summer programs.
During the 1973-74 school year, Goochland Elementary expanded their programs to include classroom services for the educable mentally retarded, remedial services in the areas of math and reading as well as a special program for children in the age group of three through five. A staff of 28 full-time teachers and 8 instructional aides served the 450 students.
During the 1976-78 school years, the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges accredited Goochland Elementary School. The Special Education program expanded to include classes for learning disabled, primary trainable mentally retarded, and speech.
During the 1979-80 school year, instrumental music (band) was added to the elementary school curriculum. The band existed for fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students with interest in applying the knowledge and skills acquired in their weekly music classes.
Goochland County Public Schools restructured its organizational pattern during the 1980-81 school year and Goochland Elementary became a school serving grades K-6.
One computer was added to the Chapter I Reading Resource Room in the 1982-83 school term. An additional two computers were secured during the 1983-84 school term to provide some computer experience for the entire student body. GES made great progress in this area in the 1984-85 school year with students and faculty having access to computer programs and training.
Kanawha Elementary School closed at the end of the 1985-86 school year and attendance zone lines were redrawn. As a result, in 1986-87, Goochland Elementary’s population increased as 150 students and nine teachers were reassigned to the building.
From 1990-96, Goochland County Public Schools endeavored to incorporate technology on a greater scale. Students and teachers received training and began using the computers for research and word processing. The GES Savings Club began in January 1995. This bank was run by children and for children as a joint venture between Goochland Elementary and Wachovia Bank and 5th grade students have continued to maintain this service for their peers. In 1996, staff members received training in the use of electronic grade book and attendance software. A computer lab was established and keyboarding offered to students in grades 3-5.
The use of technology increased dramatically from 1997-99. The media center acquired 12 additional computers, more classroom computers were added, the Mentoring by Modem program at grades 4 and 5 grew with additional business sponsorships, and writing time in the lab increased as Goochland Elementary School focused on improving student writing scores. In the 2010-11 school year there was a shift to students using mobile devices such as iPods/iPads.
GES enrollment decreased in the 2000-01 school year from 356 to 242 students due to the redistricting of students to Byrd Elementary.
The 2001-2002 school session began with Goochland Elementary receiving the status of a “Fully Accredited Elementary School” by the State Board of Education.
The Specialty Education Center became an integrated part of life at Goochland Elementary beginning in the 2003-04 school year. The center, next door in the previous high school vocational education building, housed theGoochland County Center for the Gifted for grades 3-5, and our preschool and Head Start programs. High school students were bused from Goochland High School daily to participate in the childcare education program.
In 2004-2005, former GES teacher Dianna Gordon returned as principal of Goochland Elementary. At that time, the Specialty Center and Goochland Elementary became one school campus known officially as Goochland Elementary School/Specialty Center. Mrs. Gordon remained principal of GES until the 2009-2010 school year, when she then moved on to GCPS Randolph Elementary.
Due to budget cuts for the 2008-2009 school year, VPI and Tender Tots programs were eliminated.
For the 2010 – 2011 school year, Goochland Elementary welcomed Mr. Stacey Austin, formerly of Randolph Elementary, as GES principal. This year also marked the first year in several that the identified gifted students remained at their home schools, bringing GES’s enrollment down. The Specialty Center, now called the Annex, houses all preschool programs, headstart, and speech and other therapies.
Tina McCay joined Goochland Elementary as principal in 2011. She started here as a first grade teacher in 1999. She then went on to administrative duties at Central Office. Goochland Elementary is thrilled to have her back!
Goochland Elementary School was recognized for earning the 2012 State Board Excellence Award given by the Virginia Department of Education. This award was given to 188 schools in Virginia, based on benchmark progress over two or more years.
GES Today
In 2013, GES was selected due to its proximity to Goochland Tech (the home of the the division’s technology department) as the pilot school for the second division 1:1 program with iPads. During the 2013-14 school year, all third, fourth, and fifth graders were given iPads to take home. (For those interested, the first and short-lived 1:1 in Goochland debuted with the Blue Ridge Governor’s School in 2001 at the then “new” Goochland High School using iBook laptops.)
During the summer of 2016, renovations were undertaken on the GES campus to add an elevator to the building and change the front entrance of the building to the former side entrance adjacent to the parking lot. The school’s main office was also moved to the new entrance. These changes helped make GES a safer school and also provided additional instructional space inside.
Goochland Elementary School participates in the Leader In Me Program which empowers our teachers to develop the leadership capacity in each student. In the Spring of 2018, Goochland Elementary earned status of a Lighthouse School.
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