School Values to add more stability to our foundation

The business dictionary defines values as "important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable." I like what John Wink writes about values. He states that schools do have values, it's just that often times, they are all over the place. As principal, it would do no good to come in to my campus and create values for the staff to abide by if they do not truly believe in them. I have also learned that what is allowed, gets done, and furthermore, values allow behavior, whether good or bad. Wink also stated, "By using the collaborative process to align values throughout the building, staff members can align individual values which can congeal into campus values that would by far supersede any expectation written by the best campus principal. Campus values are commitments that staff members make to ensure that every student reaches academic success daily. They reflect the behaviors that all staff members must exhibit instructionally as well as systemically. Values are specific details that help flesh out the mission and vision. They help teams clarify how they will work together." As we come back as a team August 20, we will not only review our values, but continue to delve deeper into them, examining what each of them are, what they do and don't look like, as well as what it sounds like. In essence, we will be creating a mental model of each of our values so that we can continue to ensure student success and make sure that all staff members are in alignment with the campus and on the "right bus", as Gordon uses metaphorically. Creating a mental model is an important piece of being an effective organization, it is one of Senge's Five Disciplines. His disciplines for building a learning organization are the foundation of a PLC--shared vision, mental models, personal mastery, team learning, and systems thinking. While a PLC may not have all 5 going on at the same time to the same degree level, it is certainly the goal a PLC is working towards. Last year our efforts were spent to work on shared visions, personal mastery, and team learning. To continue strengthening our campus' foundation, we will spend our first day back with mental models of our values. Getting in touch with the thinking going on about change on the campus, challenging or clarifying assumptions and encouraging people to reframe is essential. Wheatley best stated this as "only as we're engaged together in work that is meandingful do we learn to work through the differences and value them. Change becomes easier when we focus on creating a meaning for the work that embraces us all (2006). When mission, vision, and values are extracted from WITHIN the organization, real and meaningful change can occur at the personal level regardless of the organizational flowchart. Our campus will continue to challenge the status quo and improve our organization through our strengthened commitment to our mission, vision, and values.

Well guys this is my first blog. I do a lot of "blogging in my mind" and as important as it is to write critically and I know this, I have not started a professional blog, so here goes. Part of that could be that I have been in school since I was 4 years old and I am about to turn 40 and just graduated with my Doctorate in December so I have been researching and writing, with little time for personal reflection. Vacation time is over and it is time to really get down to business. Twitter keeps me excited about school, especially trying to keep up with everything principals around the US are using. Although corny, I want to thank them for keeping me updated and abreast of everything out there, along with keeping my competitive edge alive! There are so many things spinning around in my head that I want to chase, but I know I have to narrow the goals for our campus to 2-3 goals. After attending TEPSA and my daily twitter feed, I went out and bought Teach Like a Pirate, Shifting the Monkey, Ten Minute Inservice, Digital Leadership, Teaching with Poverty in Mind, Effective Questioning, and Lead Like Jesus. So as you can imagine, I have been buried in books with my mind racing. Our PLC team met together at the end of June, and we (not I) decided, based on data, the direction we need to head this school year as a PLC. We will concentrate more on the vision and make that a permanent saying that all stakeholders know, just as we did with our mission. Everyone that walks the halls of West Rusk Elementary knows we believe tradition+pride+hard work=success. Our vision, developed by the school family last year, is "At West Rusk Elementary, our vision is to ensure all students have a positive, nurturing environment where they are expected to reach their highest learning potential, in order to become productive, educated, independent, and successful citizens." In order to help students reach their highest learning potential, we then further agreed a great deal needed to be spent on pre-assessing. It seems all the research is pointing that direction. Lastly, we want to focus on behavior and getting down to the root causes of behavior, rather than focus on punishment. We have created a redirection room and hired a behavior assistant to help guide us on the nurturing environment. Our Ready Bodies Lab we implemented has helped with this, but primary children have to be taught behaviors and if we aren't trained and knowledgeable in positive behaviors, then who will teach them? I have been encouraged through Principal Nesloney and his summer challenge. This challenge will be spread to my teachers this fall--their first challenge has been sent out today--to start tweeting! If we don't share our story, then someone else will. We want to be the ones sharing the tremendous, wonderful things happening at our campus, along with the continuous, ongoing learning that Twitter provides. We are the best kept secret around!