POINTS of PRIDE: Camanche Elementary

Principal Neil Gray

The mission of the Camanche Community School District: In
partnership with the family and community, empower students to develop the knowledge and skills to become lifelong learners and successful, productive citizens in a diverse, technological, ever-changing global society.

Neil Gray, Camanche principal grades PreK-4, proudly describes the strong special education program.  This program works with a significant number of students and successfully exits many every year.  With enrollment of 486, there are six full-time special ed employees (with anticipated addition of one this school year).  Mr. Gray is happy with the same direction the staff is heading through Iowa Core training, crediting the AEA coaching as being instrumental in its successful implementation.  Camanche's math instruction has been improving through best practices being developed and implemented through a math studio format.  By studying the book LEARNING BY DOING, the staff has been simplifying its response to intervention.  It is the intent to eventually implement a literacy studio to improve practices.  The TAG program participates in Lego League and the third graders have qualified for the World Expo for the past two year.  They also have a robotics program in kindergarten. Mr. Gray says Camanche is a great community where students feel cared.

On a special note, Mr. Gray talked about Camanche's middle school teacher, Erin Montgomery, who went on the Iditarod for one month.  She faced -60 degrees weather and had to fly into some places while traveling on snow mobile where they couldn't fly in.  Because of the Iditarod, schools shut down for a week, and ushers interact with the children in the area.  Erin was able to share her experiences with the students of Camanche.  She recorded her experiences on the cite: 2015 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail blog.

The belief statements for Camanche Community School District include the belief that children are the community's future.  It is a district that believes all students can learn and that education should enrich our lives.  In the words of Allan Bloom, "Education is the movement from dark to light."