Goochland

Elementary School
Profile and History

Learn about what makes GES unique!

School Profile

Goochland Elementary/Specialty Center
3150 River Road West
Goochland, Virginia 23063
Phone (804) 556-5321
Fax (804) 556-6054

GES is located in central Goochland County. We educate students in grades K-5 are educated. The school is fully accredited by the Virginia Department of Education and SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). The school continues to meet AYP requirements.

Vision Statement
Goochland Elementary School will be a place where students, staff and faculty, parents, and the community are committed to developing life-long enthusiastic learners in a safe environment rich in resources and free from distractions.

Mission Statement
Believing that an active partnership of students, staff and faculty, parents, and the community is necessary for a quality school, we therefore establish the following mission: to provide a quality education for all students of Goochland Elementary/Specialty Center while recognizing the individuality of each child.

Faculty and Staff
The campus currently includes the following: three kindergarten teachers, three first grade teachers, three second grade teachers, three third grade teachers, three fourth grade teachers, three fifth grade teachers, three special education teachers, and four preschool teachers.

Additionally the staff includes: a principal, two clerical staff members, a library media specialist, a guidance counselor, a Physical Education teacher, a speech therapist, twelve instructional assistants, four custodians, and five cafeteria staff members.  Goochland Elementary shares an art teacher and music teacher with Byrd Elementary. We have one Enrichment Resource Teacher. We share one Goochland Instructional Support Team Coordinator with Randolph Elementary. We share a school nurse with Goochland Middle/High School Complex. Additionally, on a part-time basis we have an occupational therapist, a school psychologist, and a physical therapist.

Enrollment and Demographics
Goochland Elementary/Specialty Center’s current enrollment is 369 students and consists of: 49 kindergarten, 52 first grade, 51 second grade, 55 third grade, 61 fourth grade, 67 fifth grade, and 34 Early Childhood Special Education. The diverse population we serve consists of 274 white students, 65 black students, 16 Hispanic students, 13 Asian students and 1 American Indian/Alaska Native Student.

Driving Directions
Using Patterson Avenue (Route 6) aka River Road West:
Take Route 6 to Goochland Courthouse. Continue west for one (1) mile, past the new library on the left, to the school’s second driveway on the right, past the second stop light west of the village of Goochland. The Specialty Center’s entrance is about 600 feet before the entrance to GES.

Using Interstate 64:
Take I-64 west from Richmond to the Goochland/Oilville interchange, turn left, continue one-quarter mile to Broad Street Road (route 250). Turn right onto Broad Street Road. Continue on Broad Street for approximately one mile, turn left onto Fairground Road (route 632). Continue six miles to the intersection of Fairground Road and Sandy Hook Road (route 522), turn left onto Route 522, continue 1/4 mile to the stop-light (intersection of Sandy Hook Road and River Road West). Turn right onto River Road West (Route 6, west) 1/10 mile to the school, second driveway on the right. The entrance to the Specialty Center is about 600 feet before the Entrance to GES.

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 incoporate 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 the Goochland 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.

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