Building on Our History to Create A
Culture of Excellence
Our Namesake
Sherman School of Excellence is named in honor of William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65), for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the “scorched earth” policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States.
Our History
Sherman School of Excellence opened in its current building in 1937 and originally contained 10 classrooms and one cafeteria/gymnasium. An all-purpose room addition was added in 1959.
The school was formerly named Grant School, but when the Town of Lake was incorporated into the city of Chicago in 1889, the name was changed to Sherman since there was already a school with that name. The school’s original building, which was built in 1884, with an addition in 1887, was razed for the present building.
An additional building was built in 1973 south of the first building, which contains 19 classrooms, a gymnasium, and a cafeteria.
Sherman served students through grade 6 until 1969 when it added grades 7 and 8 to ease overcrowding at nearby Libby School, where those grades had been located previously.
The building contains 30 classrooms and serves 227 students.
Our Mission
At Sherman, we seek to create a learning environment that promotes an equitable education for all students by promoting high expectations for all stakeholders within the school community. We place value on a shared mission to ensure that our students are advocates of their learning and socially responsible individuals equipped with the tools necessary to make them global citizens.
Our Vision
At Sherman, we promote high personal and academic standards among students to enable them to become self-directed learners by designing and developing their learning experiences. We will encourage civic competence to foster critical thinkers and reflective humanitarians who are lifelong learners.
Sherman Core Values
Supportive Leadership Makes a Huge Difference.
Having supportive leadership can make a huge difference in the workplace. Our leadership is involved in everything and has an open-door policy, which creates a positive and productive environment. As employees, we feel valued and heard, which has positively impacted our motivation, engagement, and overall job satisfaction.
- Shardae Bell, Personalized Learning Lead Instructor
Supportive Leadership Makes a Huge Difference.
Having supportive leadership can make a huge difference in the workplace. Our leadership is involved in everything and has an open-door policy, which creates a positive and productive environment. As employees, we feel valued and heard, which has positively impacted our motivation, engagement, and overall job satisfaction.
- Shardae Bell, Personalized Learning Lead Instructor