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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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