Review the Vision of the Graduate protocol. Then answer the following questions.
Philosophy statements are excellent ways for groups of teachers to define for themselves a common view of why they teach and how they instruct in a particular subject area. Not only is it a clarifying document for the “why” and “how”, it allows teachers to clearly articulate their hopes for students’ knowledge and skills by the end of their time in a particular grade level, course or school.
Choose a subject area (math, ELA, science, art, etc.) and write a philosophy statement in one to three paragraphs that describes:
If philosophy statements are regularly used at your school, what would you tell others about how you use them with parents and students, when you review them and how they help as you develop your annual goals.
If you have clearly defined mission, vision and/or school wide expectations, write ten questions that you could ask on a survey for staff, students and parents that asks them to reflect on how well your school is adhering to its goals.
If you already engage in a cycle of review and feedback on your school’s vision, mission and expectations, what advice would you give to another school who is not engaged in this practice? How often do you review? What does your revision process look like?
How were your vision, mission and expectations developed for your school union? What was successful about the process? How would you improve the process?
Revisions High School has never engaged parents as it reviews its vision, mission and expectations. The new principal wants to ensure that these voices are heard, so he created a survey that was emailed to parents. Very few parents responded. He is a little confused because parents seem very involved attending sporting events, open houses and other events at the school.
What are three ways the principal can ensure that he gets more parents to take the survey?
Use the Center for Collaborative Education’s Vision of the Graduate Protocol to collaboratively develop a vision of what a graduate from your school should know, understand, and be able to do.
Watch this video from the Karen Martin Group to learn more about Creating a Continuous Improvement Culture.