About Canyon Creek Elementary
Canyon Creek is a large elementary school as we serve over 700 students. Our size presents some challenges but it also creates numerous advantages. One advantage is the number of teachers at each grade, which provides strong collaborative teams. Collaboration in-service of student achievement is an explicitly articulated shared core value at Canyon Creek and it is a central theme of our daily work. We work intentionally around the belief that we are smarter together and that students are most powerfully served when we collaborate to meet their needs. Our collaborative culture manifests itself in many ways, including team meetings, student intervention teams, teacher leadership, professional development and much more. I am proud of our staff and of their dedication and ability to work so well together.
We are most excited to see those collaborative practices extend formally amongst our students. We see students learning together within the classroom and connecting more with other students outside of their own classroom. One such example is our “families” program. This program is designed to increase student connectedness and student leadership. Each “family” consists of one student per grade level and our fifth grade students are the family leaders. These “families” stay together throughout their years at Canyon Creek and when each child becomes a fifth grader, it is their turn to serve as the family leader. Each month, the families do activities together and students love it.
Finally, we enjoy a highly supportive and engaged parent community. Here at Canyon Creek, we believe that family involvement truly enhances the school experience for every child. We are fortunate to have an active PTA that collaborates with the school to provide curricular supplements, extracurricular activities and community events. Volunteer opportunities exist outside of PTA too. Volunteers work in classrooms, the library and the workroom to support students and teachers. WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) are fathers (and father figures) who spend a day at Canyon Creek working in classrooms, the cafeteria and at recess to provide positive male role models for our students. Every little bit helps and we actively seek ways to engage families and community members in the daily work of our school.
