Creekland Middle School

On August 19, 1996, Creekland Middle School opened its doors to students. It opened as a replacement facility for the school known as Lawrenceville Middle School, thus bringing with it the rich history associated with the former school.

Lawrenceville Middle first opened in 1971–72. The school operated on ‘The Hill’ at the corner of Oak and Perry streets in Lawrenceville while the school’s site at 732 Hi-Hope Road was being developed. That year, the school housed 383 seventh- and eighth-grade students. The sixth-grade population remained at Lawrenceville Elementary and Dyer Elementary until 1974. In February, 1972, the original portion of the facility opened for the first time under the principalship of J. E. Richards. The new facility was constructed with the open classroom concept in mind.

The following years brought growth and expansion. In 1974, the first expansion phase opened and the sixth grade was added to the Lawrenceville Middle School campus. That year, enrollment grew to 810 students. A second part of the expansion program was completed in 1979, when the kitchen and cafeteria portion of the building was completed. From 1972 through 1979, the school lunch program was operated as a satellite program with all food prepared at Dyer Elementary and transported to Lawrenceville Middle. In 1983, a third addition was opened as the enrollment soared to 1,068 middle school youngsters. By this time, students were entering sixth grade at Lawrenceville Middle School from Dyer, Grayson, Benefield, and Lawrenceville elementary schools.

As growth continued, J. E. Richards Middle School opened in the fall of 1987 to relieve Lawrenceville Middle of approximately 200 students. However, McKendree Elementary was added to the school’s attendance zone.

In the spring of 1996, the Lawrenceville Middle facility closed its doors. The next fall, buses delivered the students to their new school, Creekland Middle. Hailed as the largest middle school in Georgia and one of the largest in the country, Creekland Middle welcomed 2,330 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to an exciting new school year. The sheer size of the 276,000-squarefoot facility gained media attention. The school had 100 academic classrooms, 10 special education rooms, seven computer labs, two family and consumer science labs, two gymnasiums, a two-story media center, and a cafeteria large enough to seat 500 students. This impressive middle school facility sits on 46 acres just north of Lawrenceville, Georgia.

More important than the size of the facility were the programs and educational opportunities within Creekland. Those have been and continue to be a key to the school’s success. In recent years, the school’s Band and Orchestra programs have earned top ratings and have had the opportunity to perform at a number of high-profile festivals. In 2014–15, Creekland’s Readers Rally team won the County championship. The school is active in Relay for Life and in its support of United Way. It also has a number of students who participate and medal in Special Olympics. Creekland Middle takes pride in its Quiz Bowl team which competed and qualified to compete at the national level in 2014–15.

To proactively address the topic of student achievement in relation to the size of schools, a study team made up of parents, teachers, and administrators reviewed the research data and organized Creekland so that the size of the school enhances rather than impedes student achievement.

At its largest, Creekland served well over 3,000 students, requiring the use of many trailers to accommodate students. In 2009, another middle school opened to relieve Creekland. That school reduced Creekland’s enrollment by more than 600 students. This meant that all of the school’s students could fit inside the building. To this day, Creekland continues to be a large middle school with a student enrollment topping 2,000.

Creekland Middle School has a vision of being a world-class school with students who excel in all areas. This means providing students with a great education that will have them well-prepared for college and the 21st century workplace. We know this can be achieved by providing high-quality instruction to all students. Despite its size, the school works to create a personalized learning experience for each and every student.