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Moline High History Club unveils outdoor-classroom plan and ‘Carpenter Creed’ initiative, schedules May 14 dedication
Summary
The History Club described multi-year work to renovate an outdoor classroom, install a 100-pound bust of Charles Carpenter and roll out a student-created personal-creed program at Moline High School; the club plans a public dedication May 14, 2025 and proposed integrating personal creeds across clubs and athletics.
Students from Moline High School’s History Club presented a multi-part effort Monday to restore an outdoor classroom, spotlight local WWII veteran and educator Major Charles Carpenter, and promote student-written personal creeds as a tool for school culture.
Andrew Grau, History Club president, described work that began as a patio renovation and grew into an outdoor-classroom project: resurfacing the patio, landscaping and installing seating with a local partner. The club recently received and displayed a 100‑pound bust of Major Charles Carpenter in the school’s history lab.
“We have a giant 100-pound bust of Charles Carpenter just sitting at the front of the room and it’s really, really cool,” Grau said.
Club members said they will host a public dedication and open house on May 14, 2025, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and invited board members and community members to attend. The program will include speakers and an author who has written about Carpenter; presenters said Carpenter’s daughter is expected to attend.
Beyond the physical improvements, the club asked the district to adopt a “personal growth creed” program inspired by Carpenter’s own 1929 “Carpenter Creed,” which the students read aloud as a model. Club leaders said each freshman could write a personal creed during orientation; creeds could be used by clubs and sports teams, posted in learning spaces and recited at graduation as a capstone exercise.
Students emphasized the initiative’s goal: to promote goal-setting, reflection and a positive school climate. The club proposes teachers and advisors weave each student’s creed into classroom conversations and club activities and to use those creeds as a reflective tool when students make mistakes or set new goals.
The History Club presentation linked the project to district priorities such as the Portrait of a Graduate and said the program aims to create visible role models and foster student ownership. Club leaders said the Carpenter project is intended as both a physical campus improvement and a long-term cultural initiative.
Board members thanked the students for the presentation. No formal board action was requested during the presentation; the club asked for community attendance at the May dedication and for district support to promote the creed program across extracurricular programs.
