Clark Creek ES Earns STEM Certification, First In Cherokee County

ACWORTH, GA — Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy this month became the first school in the Cherokee County School District - and only the 183rd in the world - to earn STEM certification from AdvancED, the international accreditation agency for educational institutions.

To earn AdvancED STEM Certification, schools must demonstrate "qualities and components vital to creating and sustaining superior, student-centered Pre-K-12 STEM teaching and learning programs, as well as clear expectations for student outcomes and mastery of 21st-century skills."

After numerous classroom observations and stakeholder interviews, the school was officially certified by the AdvancED STEM Review Team on May 3.

Clark Creek, since opening as one of CCSD's award-winning STEM Academies in 2012, has earned statewide recognition for STEM including State STEM Certification (at the time, only the 11th elementary school in Georgia to do so), Georgia STEM Education Award honors from The Technology Association of Georgia, and the Program Excellence Award presented by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, and is one of only 138 schools in the world named Microsoft Showcase Schools for effective instructional technology use.

Principal Joey Moss and her leadership team will be recognized by the Cherokee County School Board and Superintendent of Schools at the School Board’s May 16 meeting.