Camp Creek Elementary School

The doors of Camp Creek Elementary School opened in the fall of 1972 under the leadership and guidance of C. R. (Randy) Morris. The school was named for nearby Camp Creek.

Camp Creek Elementary was built at 958 Cole Road in Lilburn, in the Mountain Park area, to help relieve the overcrowded conditions at Mountain Park and Lilburn elementary schools. Over the next four years, it would become part of an educational complex, with Trickum Middle School opening in 1975–76 and Parkview High School opening in 1976–77.

When Camp Creek opened in the fall of 1972–73, it opened with no desks and chairs and with many supplies missing. The road had not been paved, causing a great deal of concern for parents, teachers, and students. The buses had to travel down the dirt road and cross one of two unsafe bridges. Shortly after the opening of school, funds were provided by the county to pave Cole Road and rebuild the bridges.

In 1974–75, the school’s enrollment soared to 1,154. Sixteen portable classrooms were brought in to house the overcrowded student body. The following year, Knight Elementary School opened to relieve the problems at Camp Creek. With the relief, kindergarten was provided for fiveyear-olds who met certain requirements.

The Camp Creek Elementary student body continued to grow as the community grew. In 1978–79, the enrollment reached 1,024. This same year, Georgia passed a law that provided public kindergarten for all five-yearold children. Once again, the problem of overcrowding existed. To alleviate the problem, the school’s fifth graders were transported to Lilburn Middle School for the next two school years (1979–80 and 1980–81). In the fall of 1981, Arcado Elementary School opened to relieve the overcrowded conditions at Camp Creek.

Through the early 1980s, Camp Creek continued to grow, so that once again it experienced the use of up to 12 portable classrooms to assist in housing the students. In March of 1988, an addition containing six rooms opened. This allowed most of the classrooms to be housed in the building, with only four portable classrooms being utilized.

During its first year, the student body voted for its mascot to be a ‘Camp Creek Tiger Cub,’ and the school colors to be orange and blue. During the 1987–88 school year, an art competition was held to design the school flag. A student, Kelly Routson, grade four, won the competition and had the honor of seeing the flag flown at the State Capitol for one day that spring.

Camp Creek’s principal from 1972–87 was C.R. Morris. ‘Randy’ began his teaching career as a coach in Brunswick, Georgia. He taught there for three years before becoming head football coach and athletic director at Reidsville. He remained in that position for five years. During the next three years, Mr. Morris was head football coach and athletic director at Metter, assistant principal at Albany, and assistant principal at Berkmar High School in Gwinnett County. He retired in 1987

Lynne Horton became the principal of Camp Creek in 1987. She had been an educator in Gwinnett County since 1972, serving as classroom teacher, instructional lead teacher, and assistant principal. She was instrumental in helping the school to develop state-of-the-art computer labs, continuing as a technology forerunner in the county. Camp Creek was named “Georgia School of Excellence” in 1994. Mrs. Horton retired in 1998.

Marian Hicks became the principal of Camp Creek during the l997–98 school year. She had actually been the Instructional Lead Teacher at the school when Mr. Morris was principal. An educator for many years, she served as a classroom teacher, instructional lead teacher, assistant principal, and principal. During Ms. Hick’s principalship, the strong focus placed on student achievement with significant results was continued. In addition, there was a 45% growth in student population, a substantial increase in diversity, and a major renovation and addition to the school.

Mrs. Hicks, who retired in 2002, was followed by Kathy Jones. Mrs. Jones was a former classroom teacher and assistant principal. She served as an assistant principal for 14 years before becoming principal at Camp Creek. During her principalship, Camp Creek began a growth spurt again with the student population reaching 1,057 students. With 21 portable trailers surrounding the building, another new school addition was completed in April 2006, providing nine new classrooms.

In 2005–06, Camp Creek was named a Governor’s Silver Medal Award Winner for continuous high achievement on the state’s assessment, the CRCT. In addition, Camp Creek’s PTA was awarded the National Parent Involvement Award for 2007.

Valerie Robinett became the leader of the school in 2013. She built on the strong foundation of leadership, academics, and strong community partnerships that had been established at the school. As a result, the school’s PTA continues to offer tremendous support to students and teachers. It provides cultural arts programs, plans fun family events, and supports our programs and activities with volunteers. In addition, the PTA generously donated funds to further enhance classroom technology at Camp Creek.

The school is proud of its students’ academic achievement. Students extend their learning through afterschool extracurricular programs that allow students to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) through activities like the Witzzle Pro Club and the Robotics Academy. Student leadership opportunities abound as students participate in Student Council, National Junior Beta Club, National Elementary Honor Society, and the Safety Patrol Program.

Although Camp Creek Elementary and the Parkview Cluster is one of the more established areas of the county, growth continues. In 2016, the school district completed a 23-classroom addition/renovation project at Camp Creek. With this project, the school now has a total of 83 classrooms spanning 160,625 square feet. The school ended the 2016–17 school year with more than 1,300 students.

Camp Creek Elementary has grown to be an exciting school where children learn and enjoy what they do. Today the students enjoy some unique learning opportunities. Camp Creek continues to focus on educational excellence to produce high achievement as evidenced by its students’ success.