Clinton, South Carolina is like many small rural towns - built by textile mills, rich in tradition and laden with pride, but struggling now as mills move overseas and poverty replaces performance.  Clinton is different however, as it has a strong educational foundation.  Thornwell Home and School for Children was born in and thrives in Clinton.  Clinton is the proud home of Presbyterian College.  Education matters in Clinton.

 

Thirty years ago, a handful of young science teachers decided to participate in a new science competition that was being developed by a science teacher in the Midwest.  This competition was called Science Olympiad.  The whole idea of Science Olympiad was to get a specific team of students and have them compete in every area of science over the course of a single day.  The event would be competitive, schools competing against schools.  The event was new, joining the competitions already in place in our nation’s schools, events like spelling bees and geography bees.  The young science teachers in Clinton decided that this would be a good fit for our small town and decided to enter the fray.  That first year was a success.  Bell Street Middle School won the state championship!  The second year, Bell Street again captured the state title.  Then, as the competition grew and became a national, well-respected, event—success was harder to find.  From 1988 until 2002, the state trophy went to schools in the Midlands.  Bell Street continued to compete.  Lessons were learned, friendships were formed, and students loved the competitive aspect of the event.  But as the small town began to enjoy increasing success on the football field, success in the Science Olympiad stayed just out of grasp.

 

Then, in 2003 Bell Street won the state title again!  The team was reenergized.  Success felt good, and the students and coaches of the Bell Street Team wanted to keep the championship in Clinton.  And keep it, they have.  Bell Street Middle School won the state championship for the next 12 years, establishing a streak of 13 years of consecutive state championships.  This team became the “pride of Clinton.”

 

In June 2015, Bell Street Middle School closed and the middle school students in Clinton moved into a repurposed school.  The name for the new school is Clinton Middle School.  In February, the Science Olympiad Team from Clinton Middle School won the state Science Olympiad championship – thus starting a new streak.  But for Clinton, the state Science Olympiad trophy has been here for the last 14 consecutive years.

 

Why is all of this noteworthy?  In a small town, from a school with close to an 80 percent free and reduced lunch population, a tradition of excellence has been established.  Each year close to 100 students try out for the Science Olympiad team.  Because of the popularity of the event, the middle school typically enters two teams into the competition, and A team and a B team.  So, each year 30 students “make the cut.”  Each year over 20 citizens volunteer their time to serve as event coaches.  In Clinton, every Saturday is devoted to practice with close to 50 students and coaches meeting to spend the day learning science applications. From September until June, almost every day after school, and every weekend, somebody is practicing for the Science Olympiad; that is, students are learning science.  Each year, somehow, the town comes together to find a way to provide the financial resources for this team to travel to the national competition.  This team has travelled across the country, gaining benefits that go far beyond the scientific competition. 

 

The students that are on this year’s team are not as old as the winning streak.  There are now children on the team, whose parents competed on the team for Bell Street. In fact, some who are now serving as coaches – once competed as students.

 

This is education at its finest.  Through this program, students learn lessons that will last a lifetime.  They learn that hard work does pay off, that adults do care about them, that learning and education is a community effort, that communities are small but the world is large, that education and experience cannot be measured, but the benefits are immeasurable. They learn that there are no limits on achievement, and most importantly they learn that dreams cannot be contained by geography.

 

Way to go Clinton Middle School and Laurens County School District 56!