• About the School Improvement Team (SIT)

    The GMS School Improvement Team is built from representatives of our school stakeholders.  It includes teachers, staff, administrators, parents and local supporters.  The SIT team represents a wide range of perspectives and expertise from the entire Githens community.  The positions on this team are elected to serve 2-year terms and open positions are filled by election each year. All meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in getting involved please reach out to the chair of the SIT Team by calling our front office for more information. 

    School Improvement Team Members:

    1. Kokeya Evans (Certified Staff) 09-18-24
    2. Trish Christie (Parent) 09-17-23
    3. Shlisa Stackhouse (8th Grade Science) 09-17-23
    4. Becky Burns (7th Grade Science) 09-17-23
    5. Nelly Basile (8th Grade ESL) 09-17-23
    6. Ananda Ghosh (EC) 09-17-23
    7. Claire Basista (7th Grade Science) 09-17-23
    8. Lauren Sunley (6th Grade ELA) 09-18-24
    9. Charles Murrill (7th Grade Math) 09-18-24
    10. Taylor Boykins (Elective) 09-17-23
    11. Emily Trasher (Parent) 09-18-24

    Team Meetings

    Githens SIT meets on the 3rd Monday of each Month at 3:45pm in the Media Center and meeting are open to the public. 

    SIT Responsibilities

    The team's main responsibility is developing and implementing the annual School Improvement Plan .  The Githens SIP is located on Indistar. and you may access it to read the details of the SIP for the current school year.  Information on how to view the complete GMS plan is shown below.

    Direct Link to Website Indistar    Click on Indistar link      Login GuestS16153       Password GuestS16153

    Directions for Accessing Indistar  Directions

     
    GITHENS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
     

    Sherwood Githens Middle School is committed to promoting the rights, welfare, and educational needs of all students by establishing protocols that equip all students with transferable skills, promote academic independence, equity and excellence, foster social responsibility, and inspire a passion for learning.

    We envision nurturing learning environments and supportive, student-centered classroom communities that promote the personal empowerment, academic growth, and social-emotional well-being of all learners.

    We envision high quality, rigorous instruction that uses inquiry-based, collaborative instructional strategies to challenge and engage students in content, resulting in increasingly complex levels of understanding.

    We envision empowering staff to implement culturally responsive instructional strategies in order for all students to explore real-world examples, explore their individual interests, share their unique stories and experiences, and support them on their personal pathways to academic success.

    Values Statements

    We believe all students can achieve at high levels and we employ staff who are committed to continuous improvement of their craft to ensure students do so.

    We believe that equity should and will impact the development and implementation of our policies, practices, and procedures to equip all students with the tools and skills needed for academic growth, proficiency, and success.

    A Racial Equity Impact Assessment (Race Forward) will be used in developing and monitoring all aspects of Githens’s institutional and instructional practices, policies, procedures, and programs.

     The mission of Sherwood Githens Middle School is to provide an environment where equity drives the continuing growth of our existing culture and our educational system to support positive outcomes for all students.
     
    Commitments Based on Our Mission:
    All students, regardless of ability, should experience academic rigor, growth, and achievement and develop intellectual persistence.
    All students will receive necessary supports to ensure student growth and positive outcomes.
    All members of the Githens community should value social responsibility and demonstrate personal and academic integrity on a consistent basis.
     
    School Creed
    ….preparing students for a rapidly changing world.
     
     
    Equity Non-Negotiables
     
    Sherwood Githens Middle School is committed to promoting the rights, welfare, and educational needs of all students through high quality, rigorous, culturally responsive instruction in order to prepare future leaders for a rapidly changing world. This can only be accomplished in a school culture and climate that ensures that all students and staff are treated in an equitable manner with regard to the social and historical context of marginalized individuals. This includes, but is not limited to, those individuals who may be marginalized due to the following: race, creed, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, cognitive/physical ability, diverse language fluency, religion, and/or status as an English Language Learner and/or other characteristics protected by federal law. As a school, we will be intentional in our efforts of replacing racism, discrimination, and racial prejudice with attitudes and behaviors that reflect acceptance, compassion, integrity, understanding, fairness, cooperation, and respect. Students and staff must learn and be taught these traits beginning at an early age (students) and throughout their educational tenure (students & staff).
    Sherwood Githens Middle School’s equity non-negotiables define and exemplify crucial and critical practices and guiding principles across all grade levels and subjects. Githens strives to develop and implement these non-negotiables while aligning our cultural beliefs and instructional strategies as a school community. Our mission is to provide an environment where equity drives the continuing growth of our existing culture and our educational system to support positive outcomes for all students.
     
    At Sherwood Githens Middle School:
     
    The staff at Sherwood Githens Middle School believes that eliminating systemic inequities begins with all of us.
     
    Sherwood Githens Middle School will dismantle and eliminate systems/structures that perpetuate inequities in order to ensure the success for all scholars.
     
    We believe that equity should and will impact the development and implementation of our policies, practices, and procedures to equip all students with the tools and skills needed for academic growth, proficiency, and success.
     
    A Racial Equity Impact Assessment (Race Forward) will be used in developing and monitoring all aspects of Sherwood Githens Middle School’s institutional and instructional practices, policies, procedures, and programs.
     
    Strong relationships between scholars, staff, family, and stakeholders are crucial
    in creating an inclusive and equitable educational system.
     
    Sherwood Githens Middle School will develop and implement a robust, rigorous instructional framework such that curriculum and instruction is culturally responsive and representative of all scholars.
     
    All faculty and staff are responsible for serving all scholars with high expectations while treating all scholars and stakeholders with dignity and respect.
     
    Sherwood Githens Middle School will achieve proportional representation by expanding opportunities for scholars to participate within all facets of the school (e.g. classrooms, courses, teams, clubs).

    This yearly plan includes targets and goals for the ongoing advancement of the school.   At its heart, the SIP is designed for the overall improvement and success of every Githens Raider scholar.

    The SIT team also serves as a resource for the school, the teachers, the parents and the principal.

    The School Improvement Team:

    • Builds the capacity of the school to continuously improve in areas of school climate and satisfaction
    • Promotes positive school climate which includes student health, safety, discipline and working conditions
    • Facilitates the involvement of the school community in designing and implementing the plan
    • Encourages, supports and creates opportunities for the involvement of parents
    • Promotes stakeholder satisfaction (students, parents and teachers)
    • Responds to specific school needs