Why Clinton?

Here's a letter we attached to our marketing materials about our neighborhood school, Clinton. Edited to add: Credit where it's due! This letter came from the fabulous Colleen Broderick, a presence who is sorely missed from Clinton School and my own circle of friends.

Clinton Elementary School


How often does an elementary school principal know every student by name? How often do you hear about a PTA that creates such innovative and inspiring programming that it is singled out and awarded a grant by the National PTA? How often do you hear about an elementary school that is truly a community unto itself? A unique, passionate and dedicated community comprised of teachers, students, administrators, and parents with a solid focus – how can we educate our children and provide them with the tools necessary for a challenging education and successful future?

The rising star of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, Clinton has a warm, nurturing atmosphere in which children thrive. Students are encouraged to help one another and take pride in themselves, their fellow students, and their school. The school has a student-run and elected student government as well as a student-led mediation program. And more importantly, the school is a community.

Clinton started the 2007-8 school year with a new principal, Patricia O’Neill, and a new superintendent, Brian Osborne. Both are excellent educators who are hands-on and passionate about their positions and our children. Clinton School children stop by the principal’s office to say “hi” or get a hug. Students have personal luncheons with Principal O’Neill and their teachers – past and present.

Clinton is the District’s ESL/ELL school. If English is the second language of a child in Maplewood or South Orange, they come to Clinton. This makes our school special, exposing everyone to different cultures, languages, and ethnicities. This is a wonderful privilege; however, since the school is not officially recognized as an ESL school with 10% of students in this category, those ESL students’ scores are not removed when determining our NJ ASK scores as a whole. Do not judge this incredible, special school by those scores. Clinton students regularly have the pleasure of greeting and nurturing newcomers, some of whom arrive at our school from very long distances and with little or no English. Any parent at Clinton can attest to the fact that Clinton students are experts when it comes to making other children feel welcome, showing them how to navigate their way through a lunch line, helping them find the nurse’s office or the bathroom, and most of all, making them feel like Clinton is their home.

Teachers and parents work together to provide an amazing, creative environment. Clinton has a nationally recognized PTA which sponsors:

The wonderful Clinton All-School Musical Review

Parent-run after school enrichment program

Collaborating to secure artist-in-residence grants from the NJ Council on the Arts (which we’ve been lucky enough to get for the past several years)

Major efforts for a greener world. Recycling programs abound.

A fun winter Storytelling Night

Our wildly popular annual International Dinner

Spring Renaissance Fair

Annual Tricky Tray/Auction, which brings in upwards of $20,000 a year and which is an adult night of community and fun


Clinton was awarded a prestigious grant by the National PTA in 2008 for a program we designed called Walk Around the World.

In 2009 our student government fought to have the school district’s policy about riding bikes to school changed. As a result, 5th graders throughout the district can now ride their bikes to school.

Clinton was the first school in the country to be visited by the Liberty Science Center. The LSC brought its Weather Globe, an amazing technological teaching tool, to debut at Clinton.

Clinton’s cultural arts programs are second to none. They include visits from authors, bagpipers on St. Patrick’s Day, dance troupes, and penguins to name a few.

To learn more, read the principal’s 2010 State of the School, visit the district website, school’s PTA website, and schedule a tour!

http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/
http://www.clintonelementary.org/

To schedule a tour, call the main office at 973-378-7686.