By Creekview Elementary School Staff
John Thomas is currently the principal at Creekview Elementary in Price. He has been at that position since August of 2010. Mr. Thomas was born and raised in Stockton, Utah. It is about 5 miles south of Tooele. He graduated from Tooele High School in 1980. He and his wife Bonnie were married in 1983 shortly after he returned home from serving a mission in Arizona. They are the parents of two children, Marcie and Duncan. They also have seven grandchildren.
Mr. Thomas received his associates degree from Snow College and his bachelor’s degree from Utah State University. He later got a Master’s of Art in Teaching from Grand Canyon University and his administrative endorsement from Western Governors University. Upon completion of his administrative endorsement, he was hired as the principal at Creekview.
Mr. Thomas began his teaching career in a very small rural school in Tooele School District called Ibapah Elementary. It is near the Goshute Indian Reservation. He and his family moved to Ibapah right after their daughter was born and completion of his bachelor’s degree. In Ibapah he taught combined grades in a two room schoolhouse. He was responsible mainly for students in 3-6 grades. They lived there for twelve years. They moved to Grantsville where he taught 7th and 8th grade math and health at Grantsville Jr. High, 4th grade at Grantsville and Willow Elementary and 3rd and 4th grades at East Elementary in Tooele.
He LOVES being at Creekview Elementary. The staff is phenomenal! The parents are very supportive and great to work with and the students are the best! Mr. Thomas is innovative and thinks outside of the box to improve student engagement and excitement for learning. He also has a great sense of humor and calmly handles conflict. Mr. Thomas views everyone as equal regardless of their position or tenure. His staff appreciates his open door policy allowing them a professional voice to create a strong morale and teamwork. He implemented the ESL night
In 2016 Creekview was awarded Gold STEM School status from the Utah State Office of Education and the STEM Action Center. It is very exciting and everyone worked hard toward that goal. Students love STEM activities and project-based learning but also the concept of being a scientist or engineer at any age. STEM education will truly help students in Carbon County look forward to a bright future. It helps them become better problem solvers and critical thinkers. Mr. Thomas is optimistic of the future and looks forward to continuing as the administrator at Creekview.