Mickey Cox Elementary

 School Overview 

Nestled in the heart of Clovis, California, Mickey Cox Elementary is a unique suburban Tk-6 school deeply rooted in traditions and expectations of excellence since opening in 1980. The leadership team at Mickey Cox consists of one principal, two Guidance Instructional Specialists (GIS’s), and eight lead teachers that form the Principal’s Advisory Council (PAC). Our district supports site-based management which allows the needs and desires of the community to be served. 

Today, Mickey Cox is a Title 1 school that is home to 644 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse students.

Mickey Cox is a school with a high degree of community involvement, a faculty that is professionally skilled and personally committed, and a student body that is motivated to perform well. All students are provided with a diverse and coherent instructional program that is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and supports college and career readiness. Students can participate in choir, band, music, oral interpretation, drama, art, G.A.T.E., E.C.L, the Fresno County Science Fair, Fresno County History Day, Chess Masters, Blissful Bookworms, Media Masters, our multicultural C.A.F.E. Crew, student council, or a variety of sports.  

All students participate in daily lessons that promote 24 positive character traits through the Positivity Project. Our students can also access socioemotional support groups through our Clovis Support Intervention (CSI) program. Our Transition Counseling Program supports at-risk students by providing consistent mentoring and facilitating connections to school resources that support success in the classroom, at home, and in the community. Together these opportunities promote the Sparthenian concept of developing the mind, body and spirit. 

Mickey Cox was designated a State Distinguished School in 1998, 2004, and 2010, a National Blue Ribbon School in 1999, a California Gold Ribbon and Honor Roll School in 2016, and a California Distinguished School in 2018. In 2016, Mickey Cox was also awarded the prestigious Title I Academic Achievement Award. From 2011 through 2020 Mickey Cox received the California Business for Education Excellence Award. Mickey Cox was also awarded the Bonner Award for exemplary commitment to the character and civic education of students in 2020.

Mickey Cox, our school’s namesake, was born in Okemah, Oklahoma on December 15, 1934.  He traveled with his parents and siblings to California at the age of five, where they settled for several years in the Richmond area of Northern California.  While he was still in elementary school, the Cox family moved to the Clovis area where Mickey's father farmed.  Mickey graduated from Clovis High School in 1953 after being heavily involved in varsity basketball, swimming and diving, and serving as a reporter on the school newspaper.  

After graduating from high school, Mickey wasn't originally interested in going to college.  A two-year stint in the Army changed his mind about the importance of an education.  Upon his release from the Army, Mickey enrolled at Fresno City College and never looked back.  He graduated from Fresno State with his teaching certificate and then began his teaching career at Fort Washington Elementary School.  During his varied Clovis Unified academic career, he served as a teacher, coach, resource specialist, learning director, and principal.  He was the principal of Clark Intermediate School at the time of his death in June, 1979.  Several months later, the newly built elementary school on the corner of Sierra and Armstrong was named in his memory as Mickey Cox Elementary.  His memory lives on through our school as well as the memorial scholarship given in his name to a Clovis High graduate each year.