Points of Pride: Clinton Community School District in Clinton, IA

 "Being awesome today!" (Deborah Olson, Superintendent)

Those are the three words of advice Deborah Olson gave to her school district signaling the opening of the 2014-15 school year.  She explained, "If we each work at being awesome today, we will go great places."  And great places is where Clinton Community School District is headed.

Clinton's population:  26, 600.   Population of the school district: over 3900 with four elementary schools, two (soon to be one in November) middle schools, and one high school.  Free and Reduced Lunch Rate: approximately 61%

It was a privilege to visit with Deborah Olson, Superintendent, and John Jorgensen, Curriculum Director, of the Clinton Community School District in Clinton, Iowa.  It is evident that Clinton's leaders share a vision of creating an atmosphere in the Clinton School District of working towards continuous improvement.  Clinton principals are committed to providing collaboration time for teaching teams to implement core instruction and to establish interventions that are systematic, timely, and targeted to meet individual student learning needs.

Clinton High School has much of which to be proud:

• Graduation rate up 5%
• 3.0 Club Membership up 13%
• Overall course failures down 79%
• Behavior referrals down 50%
• Rigorous Course Enrollment up 110%
• Attendance up 3%

Clinton employees have a shared mission of ensuring high levels of learning for every student and teaching teams work collaboratively to achieve the mission of "educating all students to their highest level of achievement through an engaging curriculum in a caring community."  An ongoing focus by staff is on unpacking standards, developing common formative assessments, analysis of data, and providing interventions and extensions with decisions based on what is in the best interest of all students.  Steps are strategically taken to assure students that each day they face a group of caring adults who hold them accountable both academically and behaviorally.

Game changers within the district include Response to Intervention structures and the use of ST Math, an individualized program that takes students from where they currently are in math and pushes them to higher levels using cognitive guided instruction.  The staff has worked on using the Gradual Release of Responsibility when delivering instruction including guided practice, questioning, prompting, and providing clues - all to lead students to discover answers.  In Clinton schools, connections are the key to student achievement with an emphasis on giving students an opportunity to fully apply their will to succeed.

What is ahead for Clinton Schools?  Most recently, Clinton High School showcased its Innovation Classroom, providing all classes with an opportunity to use a classroom fitted with advanced technology where students can work collaboratively both in and outside of the classroom to solve real-world problems.  In this classroom, students use the WHOLE CLASS INQUIRY (WCI)  model and are provided authentic situations in multiple content areas to stimulate critical thinking and analysis of information.  Intuition and entrepreneurialism is valued, effective oral and written communication is emphasized, and curiosity and imagination are encouraged through a collaborative partnership with the University of Iowa, utilizing the elements of instructional design found within the "innovation" concept.

John Jorgensen (C&I) and Deborah Olson

 In November, the two middle school sites currently in Clinton will move into a new middle school building with plans for two innovative classrooms to further enhance 21st Century skills.

John Jorgensen's theme for this year's school year?  "Getting great at what works!"  That is what Clinton Schools are doing - looking at what works and making them great.  In the words of Ben Franklin, "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." It is obvious that Clinton Schools are committed to continual growth!  Good luck, Clinton River Kings & Queens, in your quest for success!