Givens Community Update:

While we are working through virtual learning, we have also been working towards our transition. As most of you know, Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Elementary School will transition from a lottery school to a neighborhood school for the 2021-2022 School Year. We have taken several steps towards our goal, and we want to keep you informed as we go. We will be using this platform to share information and gather feedback from our community. 

• I have immersed myself in the Webster Groves Community through various meetings with organizations, community leaders, and community members. I have truly enjoyed learning more about the community we will serve and appreciated hearing their hopes and wishes for our school. I also spent an afternoon doing the North Webster Walking Tour and learned about the rich history that continues to empower the vital work going on in our community. 

• I also spent time speaking to students, teachers, parents, and school and district staff members to learn more about the school and the work they have been doing here for the last several years. They also shared their hopes and dreams for our new school. One of the school’s most heard characteristics included the family-like feel and intentional ways students, staff, and parents contribute to the connectedness felt by all.

• Through a survey sent to all addresses within our new boundaries, we gathered feedback from families transferring to Givens. On September 15th, we held our first Re-imagining Givens Committee Meeting and used this data to begin our mission, vision, and values planning. This committee has representatives from each stakeholder group, and they work to communicate with and share information from the groups they are representing. 

This week we wanted to share some themes that grew from our conversations with stakeholders and our survey. As a committee, we know that our vision and mission’s creation and core values will grow out of our continued work together. We will use these powerful verbs, adjectives, and traits to guide our work. 

If you have any questions or would like to share feedback, please feel free to email me at beechamjudge.malissa@wgmail.org.

On this journey together,
Ms. Malissa Beecham
Principal
Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Elementary School