Valley Community School Profile
Quality Learning and Living in The Valley!
COME LIVE, WORK, PLAY AND LEARN in THE VALLEY!
Valley Community School District is located in the beautiful hills and valleys of northeast Iowa and includes the towns of Clermont, Elgin, and Wadena. [Map] The area is rich in history, recreational attractions, and life long educational experiences for all ages! The Valley Community School is fortunate to have an excellent PreK-12 facility under one roof nestled two miles from Clermont and two miles from Elgin. Approximately 445 students PreK through 12th grade create a learning community that allows students and staff to work collaboratively to learn the basics, as well as the deep core values in the arts and 21st Century skills for a lifetime.
The Valley Community School District embraces, advocates, and promotes education of the whole child. Within that vision and mission are ValleyâÂÂs continual research and creativity to create an environment to provide students multiple opportunities to participate in activities in the creation of a quality of life for each individualâÂÂsomething beyond the scores in reading, math, and science. Our district is vested into the development of teaching and having students discover the ways in which the worlds of technology, nature and diversity complement each other.
In the 2004-05 school year, a new Early Childhood/ Elementary Learning Center was added to the K-12 facility. It was constructed with preschoolers in mindâ¦in-floor heat, air conditioning, laundry, kitchenette, and preschool playground equipment that is handicapped accessible. The preschool experiences are provided in a partnership with the Valley Preschool, Inc. Board of Directors, which provides full day and half-day 3-year old programming and all day 4-year-old programming.
Connected to the EC Center is the K-5 elementary. The teacher to student ratio is approximately 1 classroom teacher for every 17 students. Adding specialized teachers (including music, band, art, physical education, library, special education, Title 1, and counselor) the teacher:student ratio is approximately 1 teacher for every 12 students. Educational experiences for our students (K-12) extend beyond the basics, though our testing data places Valley students above the state average. [Click HERE for Student Data Report Card] Embedded within our instruction of reading, math, science, and social studies are core values including place-based education.
Place-based education includes conscious efforts to integrate learning about our specific area or âÂÂplace.â To learn about nature and qualities of the environment and impacts this knowledge can have in deepening the skill development of appreciating our neighborhoods, our rural areas, our streams, and the importance of interacting with nature in our âÂÂplace.âÂÂ
Valley education provides a balance of integrating technology with the experiences that allow students to plant trees, learn science lessons on the banks of the nearby Turkey River; integrate horticulture with the industrial technology construction students and the business education students in marketing plans.
Also in the 2004-05 a new classroom wing was added to our facility to provide a separate identity for the implementation of the middle school concept for students in grades 6-8. 
The middle school wing provides two new state-of-the-art science labs, six classrooms, new restrooms and also air conditioning! Additionally in the fall of 2010, middle school students, along with high school students became part of the 1:1 laptop districts with a personal laptop for each student in grades 6-12. Administration and staff has created a successful Middle School identity with space designed with middle students in mind! In 2011-2012, 93% of all students in grades 7-8 participated in extra-curricular activities including sports, drama productions, vocal and instrumental music.
In 2008, the Valley Community High School celebrated the 50th graduating class from the Valley Community High School! Strong traditions of academic and extra-curricular achievements, awards, and distinctions can be documented, shared and revisited as was published in the Des Moines Sunday Register (March 30, 2008), with an article entitled, Small School Grads on Par at College. Data analyzed between 2004 and 2007 regarding freshman attending the three State Universities indicated ValleyâÂÂs graduates had an average Grade Point Average of 3.24, hence ranking Valley Community High School as 13th high school in the state of Iowa of high student achievement.
In 2011-2012, 75% of high school students were on the honor roll and 95% of all high school students participated in at least one of Valley's outstanding extra-curricular and/or co-curricular school activities. Every one of Valley athletic teams, cheerleaders, vocal and band members earned the Academic Achievement Award provide the the stat athletic associations.
Valley Community School District is leading the way with providing experiences for our students that prepare them for current 21st Century learning and for the future. The 1:1 laptop program for Valley students, provides a laptop for every student in grades 6-12, allowing every student to access information and learning equally and extend learning beyond the classroom walls and the traditional hours between 8:00 and 4:00! Students in elementary and preschool also have access (almost a 1:1 ratio) to laptops, iPads,and each classroom uses interactive whiteboards for integrating technology into learning experiences.
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The Valley Board of Education has made a commitment to continue to revitalize the technology within our school system. Our school campus is wireless in our PreK-12 facility. Every teacher has a laptop, as well as a laptop for every student in grades 6-12. Likewise, elementary students have access to multiple mobile laptop labs, iPods, iPads, and interactive whiteboards. Teachers integrate technology into lessons for all students, including the future option for hybrid classes for students in the high school. The gymnasium in the PreK-12 facility has been renovated with new bleachers, refinished floors, repainted, and included the addition of air conditioning. New outdoor bleachers were added in the spring of 2008, and new concession stand, and soon a new press box, through the donations and active participation of a strong athletic Booster Club. The Fine Arts Booster Club also is very active and supports both financially and with incredible enthusiasm for work and promotions for the outstanding drama and musical productions of our drama, speech, and band and vocal music departments. Another active community based program that supports the students and staff at Valley is the Parents In Education or P.I.E. whose members provide academic recognition awards and assemblies to students who achieve academic benchmarks and show academic growth. For updates on school information in learning & leading, visit the superintendent blog at http://cmolumby.blogspot.com/
A supportive community and family friendly atmosphere provides our youth and our adults with the Quality of Life, which promotes the type of great place to raise a family, make a living, relax and recreate, and learn for a lifetime! Directly in front of the school facility is a new recreational trail that is just the first phase of the Turkey River Corridor Trail that joins the towns of Clermont, Elgin, and Elkader. What a great addition to the Quality of Life in the Valley!
LEARN FOR LIFE¦. In the Valley Community!
