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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVision Values Mission documentsPage 1 of 6 Vision = Our Destination as an Organization “Westlake Academy inspires students to achieve their highest individual potential in a nurturing environment that fosters the traits found in the IB learner profile.” ~ Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, and Reflective ~ Values = Our Organizational Beliefs (Daily Guide Posts/Our “GPS”) Maximizing Personal Development Academic Excellence Respect for Self and Others Personal Responsibility Compassion and Understanding Mission = How We Will Pursue our Vision on a Daily Basis “Westlake Academy is an IB World School whose mission is to provide students with an internationally minded education of the highest quality, so they are well-balanced and respectful life-long learners.” Page 2 of 6 GIVING CLARITY TO OUR VISION Vision = Our Destination as an Organization “Westlake Academy inspires students to achieve their highest individual potential in a nurturing environment that fosters the traits found in the IB learner profile.” As shown in the box above, our current WA Vision Statement has 4 basic components. They are: 1. Inspiring students 2. Our students achieving their highest individual potential 3. Offering a nurturing environment for our students 4. Fostering in our students the IB learner profile traits In order to create dialogue and a common understanding of these components of our Vision Statement, we will create DEFINING PRINCIPLES to gain further clarity of our Vision. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word principle as: prin·ci·ple noun \ˈprin(t)-s(ə-)pəl, -sə-bəl\ 1 a: a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption b (1): a rule or CODE of conduct (2): habitual devotion to right PRINCIPLES <a man of principle> c: the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device Here, a Defining Principle will mean: A fundamental assumption as to how each of the 4 components of our WA Vision Statement will manifest itself as an outcome within our school; either in the members of our school body individually or corporately. So, let’s begin to create Defining Principles for each of the 4 Vision Statement components; first individually, then in small groups, then by reporting out and discussing them with the entire team. Page 3 of 6 Vision = Our Destination as an Organization Creating a Defining Priniciple for: Vision Component: “Westlake Academy inspires students…” Some questions to ask oneself and one’s small group as you create a Defining Principle for this Vision Component: *What is “inspiration” to a typical WA student? *Whose responsibility is it to inspire students? *What does inspiration look like in a typical WA student, or in our student body as a whole? *What type of school environment creates inspiration? *What type of personal interaction between students and teacher(s) creates an inspired student? REMEMBER: A DEFINING PRINCIPLE FOR THE VISION COMPONENT OF “INSPIRES STUDENTS,” IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTION AS TO HOW STUDENT INSPIRATION WILL MANIFEST ITSELF AS AN OUTCOME; EITHER IN THE MEMBERS OF OUR SCHOOL BODY INDIVIDUALLY OR CORPORATELY. Suggestion: Draft your Defining Principle for this Vision Statement Component as an outcome, or result that brings further clarity to this component. As an example; WA will have a culture that enables and encourages students to want to learn and view learning as its own reward. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 6 Vision = Our Destination as an Organization Creating a Defining Priniciple for: Vision Component: “Westlake Academy inspires students to achieve their highest individual potential… Some questions to ask oneself and one’s small group as you address a Defining Principle for this Vision Component: *What is the “highest individual potential” for a student? *How do we define post-secondary education success for our students? *How does a student come to recognize potential in himself/herself? *Whose responsibility is it to foster the desire within an individual student to identify their highest potential? *What role(s) does faculty play, or not play, in the process of identifying a student’s potential? REMEMBER: A DEFINING PRINCIPLE FOR THE VISION COMPONENT OF “STUDENTS ACHIEVING THEIR HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL” IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTION AS TO HOW THE HIGHEST STUDENT POTENTIAL WILL MANIFEST ITSELF AS AN OUTCOME; EITHER IN THE MEMBERS OF OUR SCHOOL BODY INDIVIDUALLY OR CORPORATELY. Suggestion: Draft your Defining Principle for this Vision Statement Component as an outcome, or result that brings further clarity to this component. As an example; The entire WA school body, faculty, parents, and students will see it as their corporate and individual responsibility to help students identify and realize their interests and dreams. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 6 Vision = Our Destination as an Organization Creating a Defining Priniciple for: Vision Component: “Westlake Academy inspires students… in a nurturing environment…” Some questions to ask oneself and one’s small group as you address a Defining Principle for this Vision Component: *What is “nurturing” and what is a “nurturing environment,” as it relates to a school? *How would you describe it? *How does one balance nurturing with the need to maintain order, discipline, and a safe school environment? *Whose responsibility is it to nurture students and how is it done effectively? REMEMBER: A DEFINING PRINCIPLE FOR THE VISION COMPONENT OF “NURTURING ENVIRONMENT” IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTION AS TO HOW A NURTURING ENVIROMENT WILL MANIFEST ITSELF AS AN OUTCOME; EITHER IN THE MEMBERS OF OUR SCHOOL BODY INDIVIDUALLY OR CORPORATELY. Suggestion: Draft your Defining Principle for this Vision Statement Component as an outcome, or result that brings further clarity to this component. As an example; WA students, faculty, and parents will strive in a deliberate fashion to nourish and grow our students’ self-awareness and world view, based on a positive ethos of personal self- worth and integrity. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 6 Vision = Our Destination as an Organization Creating a Defining Priniciple for: Vision Component: “Westlake Academy… fosters the traits found in the IB learner profile.” Some questions to ask oneself and one’s small group as you address a Defining Principle for this Vision Component: *What is the IB learner profile, what are its attributes, and what do they mean? *Does the school body as a whole embrace the IB learner profile? Why or why not? *Is the IB learner profile inculcated into all aspects of WA’s culture, educational programs, and extra-curricular programs? Why or why not? *Why is the IB learner profile important to us as a school? REMEMBER: A DEFINING PRINCIPLE FOR THE VISION COMPONENT OF “FOSTERS THE TRAITS FOUND IN THE IB LEARNER PROFILE” IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTION AS TO HOW THE IB LEARNER PROFILE TRAITS WILL MANIFEST THEMSELVES AS AN OUTCOME; EITHER IN THE MEMBERS OF OUR SCHOOL BODY INDIVIDUALLY OR CORPORATELY. Suggestion: Draft your Defining Principle for this Vision Statement Component as an outcome, or result that brings further clarity to this component. As an example; We commit that the IB learner profile traits will be evident in all that we say, do, or offer programmatically as a school, and will be clearly evident in the behavior of our students, parents, and faculty on a daily basis. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________