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Our History

1898 to 2006 - Many Eagles' Lifetimes

Culture, tradition, family, and history - all of these are valued at Clearview Avenue Elementary. New features have been added and old buildings have been renovated or demolished to make way for the future-yet there still remains a connection to our past. The history of our school dates back to 1898 when J. C. Williams donated an acre of land on which Lealman School Number One, a forerunner of Clearview, was built. This was a one room frame school with a roofless porch. In 1908 Lealman Number One was sold at auction. In the same year the districts trustees borrowed $840.00 and construction began on Lealman School Number Two. The new school was located on Clearview Avenue (which is now 38th Avenue North) and 42nd Street. The new school's address became 3815 43rd Street North, which is also our present address. Due to overcrowding in 1925 the community built a temporary three-room addition and hired three additional teachers. In 1927 the school's name was officially changed to Clearview Avenue Elementary. The old Clearview Avenue Elementary School that was built in 1917 was demolished and the materials were sold at auction. The money raised from the auction was used to help build the present school in 1931. The school was a two story brick building with running water, electricity, and kerosene heating. The new Clearview Avenue Elementary housed four classrooms but some other official building records indicate there were eight classrooms. Costing $23,661.00 this was the only school built during the depressed 1930's. by accident, the architect's plans were reversed so there was no front entrance to the school, but there was a cement sidewalk that led to nowhere. The useless sidewalk was later removed during the major renovations in 1986. In 1957 the main school had expanded to include a cafeteria and three wings housing 450 students. Today we still have the original two story brick building, the three wings, and the cafeteria, but many new buildings have been added to our school campus. We now have a three classroom kindergarten, an administration building, and a material storage building. Throughout the years the school has constantly been improved with new carpets, air conditioners, cabinets, and the much needed installation of new restrooms. All of these buildings are located on a five acre plot of land. Clearview Avenue Elementary has been a family friendly neighborhood learning center for the last 80 years. In school year 2001-02 a new kindergarten student registered at Clearview, which that in itself was not newsworthy, but that he is a fourth generation Clearview scholar made his enrollment ever more meaningful. The student's great grandfather began his educational experience at Clearview in 1926. The family ties run deep at school because many of our students' parents and grandparents attended Clearview during their elementary days. Parents and community are valuable partners and strong contributors to the overall mission of our school program; that is, to enhance the learning lives of our community's youngest citizens. In the 1990's Clearview Avenue Elementary led the county in new and exciting ways. We were one of the two elementary school in the county to be awarded the first technology grant to bring the world into the classroom. This grant enabled every classroom to receive new teacher and student computer work stations that connected to the internet. The staff and students are continuously improving their computer skills. The students benefit greatly as the professional staff at Clearview Avenue Elementary provides programs that meet the needs of each child, through integrated technology and best teaching practices. With a multicultural student body, we connect to the world through a variety of instructional approaches. Our goal is to prepare every student to be a lifelong learner and critical thinker who will become a productive member of our global society. there are at least 10 different languages (Cambodian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Albanian, Tongan, Serbo Croatian, Laotian, Polish, and German) spoken at the school. We promote courtesy and respect while building on the experiences of each students' past. As we began the new millennium, Best Practices and national and state curricular standards continues to be the emphasis for Clearview. The staff started using a research based framework and worked as a community of professional learners dedicated to the belief that every student can learn best when actively engaged in the learning process. Clearview boasts many special programs that meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Struggling intermediate students gain necessary reading skills through the Read 180 Program. Primary students enhance their reading skills with the Breakthrough to Literacy Program. The entire school started practicing the Commitment to Character principles, which we continue to use to this very day. The 4th and 5th grade students have an additional program, Hi Five, that promotes appropriate social skills. At that time our school won a Swiftmud Conservation Grant, which enabled Clearview to beautify parts of the campus with Garden plots. In 2001, Clearview Avenue Elementary integrated the inclusion model in a new and exciting way. Clearview called this trend setting idea "The Cluster". The Cluster model enabled students of different abilities to work together with several teachers as facilitators. In 2002, Clearview Avenue Elementary started using Professional Learning Communities. The PLC's were grade level teams that worked together to focus on curriculum and literacy continuing across the grade levels, for equality of teaching and learning within the school. Students are encouraged to master skills and develop a confidence needed to continue a successful journey through school to be lifelong, self-directed learners who are capable of thinking, reasoning and participating in a global society.