POINTS of PRIDE: Clear Creek Elementary

Clear Creek Elementary in Clear Lake, Iowa,  has a commitment to providing a welcoming climate as evidenced when one enters the building and strolls down the spacious and colorful hallways.  Serious about creating a welcoming environment, the school used results from a parent audit as they provided insight into what they liked about their school and how it could be improved. Welcome to Clear Creek Elementary, 2014 Iowa School of Character, and focused on - "Lifting everyone up to reach their dreams!"

District Demographics
Enrollment - approximately 1200
Free and Reduced lunch - 35%
One elementary - 720 students
One site with their middle school and high school sharing the same campus

Clear Creek is known as the place where Buddy Holly died.  Art and fine arts are valued with an annual art show and dancing at the local ballroom after receiving dance lessons at school.  Brain and muscle development are valued with the knowledge that children need additional exercise while developing.  Every year every grade level performs a musical with speaking lines. 

Clear Creek Elementary takes pride in its physical environment.  Outside is a school garden that grows cherry tomatoes, onions, and lettuce which are served in the lunchroom.  There are trumpeter swans in the pond by the playground, and an amphitheater that allows for outdoor performances.  There are future plans to build a natural playground with slides built into the ground.   There will also be a walking bridge over the swan pond for students to look down and observe.

The collaboration atmosphere is strong where students earn rewards like eating lunch with their buddy - 4th graders with 1st graders, 5th graders with 2nd graders, and 3rd graders with kindergarteners.  This relationship has prevented bullying as a problem.  Older students have a strong sense of protecting the younger ones.

Green Room for project creation

Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is the framework for instructional improvement providing time for collaborative conversations where teachers ask each other, "What can we do to this lesson making it a high level task?"  AIW challenges teachers to create tasks that require a high level of thinking, elaborated communication, and tasks that have value beyond the school.   This has resulted in special service projects completed at each grade level.  In kindergarten every class created a tree around a theme, and the trees were given to  Opportunity Village to help them in raising funds.  They created commercials in their green room to advertise the purchase of trees.  This year an anonymous donor has come forward who will pay for all supplies for this project going forward.  The Specials teachers held a Color Run as part of a Live Healthy campaign.  The 4th and 5th graders ran while the rest of the school took part in the throwing of colors.  The 5th grade holds a cafe in May which serves around 1500.  They are involved in math about food, they complete job applications for hostess/host, they take part in an interview to be "hired" for the job, and they are rated and assigned jobs.  Cost of the meal?  They simply ask for a free will donation.

As its walls proudly proclaim, "Catch the Excitement at Clear Creek!"  Their halls are adorned with the qualities of character so valued in this building.  They have special plaques and displays on the walls honoring those who "Never Give Up" - those who have faced physical or medical difficulties, those who have faced problems and pushed through them.  They also recognize 5th graders with the Henry Luker "Service Above Self" Award, honoring an individual who has shown exemplary service to others.  This is a learning environment that values innovation and creativity in both staff and students, a place where - "Every staff member is an experienced fisherman and every student is a
keeper!"