Standard 4

Standard 4 - School/program has established a shared vision for STEAM and has leadership structures to support effective implementation.

In the 2018-2019 school year, a Jackson Committee was created to update the school’s mission statements. This committee was comprised of Jackson staff and parents. In order to create a new mission, this committee compiled key terms that were unique to Jackson’s current model, philosophy, and initiatives. In addition, students in grades K-4 completed a survey via Google Form to provide their input on the undated mission. This new mission was finalized and shared with the community in April of 2019. This mission statement emphasizes the vision and values of our school. We chose to make it "kid-friendly" so our students, teachers, parents, and community members all can understand and know our mission for Warren T. Jackson Elementary. This mission statement encompasses our shared mission for STEAM and International Baccalaureate PYP to create a learning environment to challenge and prepare our students for the future.  Our mission statement is--

Through a caring community, our goal at Warren T. Jackson Elementary School is to challenge and prepare students to be independent thinkers, kind citizens, and passionate learners who are ready to change the world. 

In 2018, a small STEAM committee was created that comprised of the STEAM lead teacher, gifted teachers, and representatives of grade bands. These members met to discuss the STEAM goals, initiatives, and STEAM focused learning that was going on at our school. As we have worked to created a stronger support structure for effective implementation, we have expanded and grown our STEAM committee to now include the STEAM lead teacher, gifted teachers, grade level representatives, and connections representative. The committee's growth has also improved our school's goals and intended outcomes for STEM initiatives. 

In addition to a STEAM committee, we recognize the importance of our parents understanding and involvement to have success in our STEAM initiative.  A PTO parent representative is our STEAM liaison who works specifically with the STEAM lead teacher to support WTJ's STEAM initiatives and to encourage parent understanding and support of the program's implementation. This is also representative in our PTO's budget that strongly supports our STEAM initiative through the creation of new spaces (Makerspace, Collaboratory, Science Lab, Smile Center, and STEAM Lab). It also is present in the goals and priorities of our school.  Our school's governance team, Go-Team, which is comprised of teachers, parents, and community members, places emphasis on the importance of STEAM through our school's priorities.