With school beginning this week, we at Clinton Community Schools are looking forward to another great year. I have been teaching in Clinton for 13 years, and since that time, I have been impressed with Clinton. We are an exceptional school district in an exceptional community: we try to put forth 100% effort 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. With all our success and all the things happening in Clinton, we wonder, #whyarentyouhere? 

     At CCS, parents are overwhelmingly supportive of all the schools, and the students and athletes are willing to work hard and enjoy working hard. A "Constant Pursuit of Excellence" makes us consistently lead the county in academics and win athletic championships, and makes teaching and coaching in the Clinton Community an honor. In the halls of our schools, you can hear teachers encouraging students helping them strive to achieve. 

     On our athletic courts, courses, and fields you can hear coaches telling kids to hold the rope, get after it, push harder, dig deeper. Before school, students studying in the Media Center get extra help from teachers or begin their classroom labs or meet to rehearse singing or attend club meetings. After school, students tutor each other or practice their instruments or arts, and teachers stay after to provide academic assistance to kids who need it. In the off season, athletes condition and train and practice so that when the season comes around, we can continue the Clinton tradition of excellence. 

     Whether it be getting up early for morning practice, staying up late to get the paper written, working on the weekends to complete the project, reading that challenging book, going to bed on time to be able to concentrate the next day, running the extra mile, digging deeper when tired to the bone, or eating healthy to have energy, Clinton puts in the work to achieve, and we get results. We are now seeing our school’s population boom because people want to be here to share and contribute to our success. Our success comes back to our work ethic: we push ourselves, we give 100%, we try . . . hard, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 247365.