Clinton Elementary, where it's a great place to "BEE" a kid, currently serves 400 students in grades K – 5th. Clinton Elementary is dedicated to creating a friendly, child-centered environment which addresses the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of every child. We are committed to exposing our students to many learning opportunities that promote college and career readiness, as evidenced through PLTW Launch classes, AVID, Career Day, content-aligned field trips, and technology integration.
We continue to help our students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by focusing on creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. As a part of our commitment to preparing students to meet these graduate characteristics, CES offers multiple opportunities for students to participate in both service and leadership roles. These varied programs include Student Government, morning announcements, peer tutoring, and Safety Patrol. Additional school clubs and activities that help to meet the varying interests of our students are Art Club, Steel Drum Band, After-School Program, and Jr. Beta Club. One of our main focuses during the 2022-23 school year was improving family and community involvement. We brought parents in monthly for programs and classroom visits, we offered a daytime Open House for parents to see classrooms in action and we hosted Family Math and Reading nights. We also wanted the community to be more active in the school. We had several breakfasts for different community groups where we shared school activities. We also had a fun filled evening where we brought colleges, universities, and tech schools in to introduce our students, parents, and community to the opportunities that they could offer our students. A highlight of the school year was a large-scale art integration project that involved our city, parents, school and an artist in residence.
Additionally, our partnerships with local churches and colleges, businesses, civic groups, and volunteers provide support through both donations and mentorships. United Ministries Backpack Program, coat and blanket giveaways, ongoing food collections, Disaster Relief, and holiday assistance are just a few examples of how the needs of our students and community are being met.
Communication is vital to strengthening the connection between home, school, and the community. Various forms of communication are used to keep all stakeholders actively engaged in our school and the learning process for our students. These methods include Parent Portal, Class Dojo, Seesaw, Google Classroom, Twitter, CES website, CES and PTO Facebook pages, school marquee, emails, newsletters, phone calls, School Messenger, home visits, parades, and yard signs. CES works diligently to increase communication with parents.
Administrators and teachers work collaboratively in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to analyze data and personalize learning for our students. Our teachers also work collaboratively on grade-level strategies through a program called STEP. Ongoing professional learning opportunities at the state, district, and school levels help our staff stay current on educational trends, best instructional practices, and strategies for enhancing student engagement. This year, Clinton Elementary teachers in grades 5k-3 studied the Science of Reading, while teachers in grades 4-5 worked in vertical teams to ensure best practices in reading and math. This coming school year, we will continue to study the Science of Reading, and focus on incorporating Restorative Practices in our classroom.
This year, we were able to measure our students’ learning through MAP formative assessments, MAP Reading Fluency, benchmarking, and SC Ready and SC Pass. During the 2022-2023 school year, our students made tremendous gains from spring of 2022 to 2023 in math and reading. With the help of Dream Box, our students won our district Dream Box award two months in a row for math lessons completed.
In keeping with Clinton Elementary School’s vision, we have worked to create compassionate, growth-minded children who embrace risk and change to achieve success. This vision is supported by our district vision where a community of learners become ethical and productive citizens who achieve excellence, embrace innovations, and forge new traditions.
Katherine Page, SIC Chairperson
Melodie Edwards, Principal