Clear Creek Middle School has earned a reputation as a student-focused and supportive learning environment. As our mission states, the focus on Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, and Results will guide our decisions and interactions. Our continued efforts as a PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) school have affected the culture and climate at our school. Through consistent responses and clear expectations, we reduced the number of daily referrals from an average of over 20 a day in 2011-12, to about 5 a day in 2012-13. Currently, we are averaging less than one referral a day. We celebrate this as evidence towards creating a positive and safe learning environment for students and staff.

We continue to support the 4Rs by Sustaining Success. While success is defined as a destination, we want it to be sustainable for our students in high school and after graduation as life-goals and directions change. If students have the knowledge and skills to adapt to learning situations, then they will sustain success in their lives, positively contributing to society.

Sustaining Success can be broken down into four essential questions that will guide staff development to support student achievement.

1. What must students know and be able to do?
2. How will students learn what they must know and be able to do?
3. How will we know they learned and/or can do it?
4. What will we do if they do not know and/or cannot do it?

Each of these identifies the curriculum, the instructional choices teachers make, the assessment tools and data we collect, and the intervention and support systems we provide students.

If we continue to work together to Sustain Success, we will improve student achievement and forge meaningful relationships with our parents and community members to make Clear Creek a community-learning center for all.

As we continue to work towards these goals, we want to ensure that we are communicating effectively and receiving feedback from a variety of stakeholders so we are making the best choices. Parents can receive information by signing up for Mailman List Serv email updates, and monitoring the school website. We will be making an effort to sustain our Green School status by reducing the print copies of these; however, not all families have access to Internet/Email, so copies are available by request from the main office.

I look forward to working closely with the students, parents, and community members to collaborate with our highly skilled and dedicated staff.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
David Atherton
Principal