The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 65% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Clear Creek Middle School
Clear Creek Middle School sits in Buffalo, the county seat of Johnson County, Wyoming, and serves grades six through eight as part of Johnson County School District #1. It is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with small representations from Hispanic, Native American, multiracial, and other backgrounds. Just under a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Information on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available in the data provided, so those figures are left out rather than estimated.
Academically, the school shows a clear upward pattern across the middle-grade years. On Wyoming's state assessment, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts rise from sixth grade to eighth. Sixth-grade math starts with a majority of students proficient, and by eighth grade the share grows to a strong majority. English language arts follows a similar trajectory, with sixth grade already above majority proficiency and seventh and eighth grades reaching higher levels. Eighth-grade science proficiency also lands at a healthy majority. Participation rates are near universal across all tested grades and subjects, which speaks to consistent engagement with the state testing process. The district does not have prior-year comparable data available, so trend analysis was not possible from the provided information.
Because Clear Creek is a middle school, it has no graduation rate, and that metric does not apply to this grade band. The same is true for AP or career and dual-credit pathways, which are high-school-level offerings. Course access, staffing ratios, discipline data, attendance figures, and chronic absenteeism rates were not included in the available data, so those areas cannot be characterized here. A parent wanting detail on class sizes, teacher qualifications, or disciplinary climate would want to ask the school directly.
The comparison fact-set attempted to position Clear Creek among districts in Johnson County, but the county contains only a single district, making a relative comparison impossible. The proficiency index, graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism comparisons are all marked not applicable for that reason. This means the school's academic results stand on their own rather than against local peers.
Buffalo itself is a small town whose economy rests on agriculture, tourism tied to its Wild West heritage, and energy production, though the coal bed methane boom has faded and the population has stabilized. The downtown is compact and historic, anchored by the Occidental Hotel and Saloon, the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, and Crazy Woman Square, which hosts summer concerts and a farmers market. The Bighorn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest sit just to the west, and Lake De Smet is a short drive north. Clear Creek Middle School occupies its own campus separate from the downtown core, as do the district's other schools. Housing in the area carries a typical home value above both the state and national benchmarks, and the price-to-income ratio sits near five, which suggests a market where buying a home requires a solid income relative to much of the country.
The district brief search turned up little in the way of recent parent-relevant changes, so there is nothing specific to report on shifts in programming, boundaries, or leadership. What the available picture does show is a small-town middle school with consistent state assessment results that strengthen as students move through the grades, a fairly homogeneous student body typical of rural Wyoming, and a community setting that pairs frontier history with ready access to outdoor recreation.
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