The 4 Climate Values
By that we mean:
Being valued and respected for who you are and showing others that you value and respect them
Being welcomed, honored, and celebrated in all of our spaces
Acknowledging, challenging, and interrupting biases
Celebrating and accepting the cultural diversity and talents of all of our students, families, and staff
In the Classroom, "Equity, Representation, and Anti-Racism" means:
Having students see themselves in what they’re taught
Knowing students for their strengths
Believing all students can meet high academic rigor with the right level of support
Confronting and interrupting our own biases about others
In our Staffing Decisions, "Equity, Representation, and Anti-Racism" means:
Recruiting and retaining staff who are committed to equity and anti-racism
Valuing and respecting the entire identity and lived experiences of all staff.
MPS staff authentically relate to students, families, and each other culturally, emotionally, and mentally.
In our Family and Community Engagement "Equity, Representation, and Anti-Racism" means:
Valuing and celebrating the diversity of lived experiences present in our MPS community
Showing and making sure all families feel they belong in MPS
In our Buildings, "Equity, Representation, and Anti-Racism" means:
Acknowledging and honoring that our buildings are on Dakota homelands
Creating spaces that visually represent our students and families
Designing buildings with spaces that accomodate the needs of our diverse community
Making sure physical security systems and practices interrupt long standing racial inequities
By that we mean:
Supporting physical, social, and emotional, wellbeing
Meeting the needs of each individual, family, and community
Nurturing students’ strengths and interests as they come
Being a place of joy that welcomes and supports growth and learning
Practicing different ways of healing and restoring relationships
In the Classroom, "Physical and Emotional Safety & Wellbeing" means:
Making sure that all students feel safe to express their various identities and academic and social needs
Striving for academic and social inclusion of all students
In our Staffing Decisions, "Physical and Emotional Safety & Wellbeing" means:
Prioritizing the need for every staff member to be heard and seen in a safe environment, free from retaliation
In our Family and Community Engagement, "Physical and Emotional Safety & Wellbeing" means:
Creating a safe environment so that all families can participate
Making sure that all families are actively invited to participate in engagement opportunities that are relevant to them
Removing barriers to families’ meaningful engagement
In our Buildings, "Physical and Emotional Safety & Wellbeing" means:
Making sure members of our community feel safe within all MPS buildings
Making sure all MPS buildings are cleaned and maintained to a high standard
Making sure all MPS buildings can support social and academic learning
By that we mean:
Building positive relationships between students, families, and staff
Creating conditions for students, families, and staff to speak up when they feel wronged and ensuring that they’re heard and are part of a process of reconciliation and repair
Providing multiple avenues for transparent communication
In our Classrooms, "Relationships, Trust & Communication" means:
Building relationships based on respect, trust, and care between students and adults
Seeing that adults are working to make things better for students
Giving students useful feedback on their learning
Co-creating learning with students, families, and the community
Promoting open communication between teachers, students, and families
In our Staffing Decisions, "Relationships, Trust & Communication" means:
Prioritizing the need for every staff member to see, know, and experience their culture and traditions being honored in their workplace.
Providing every staff member with access to effective leadership, and timely, consistent, and equitable coaching and feedback practices that help them grow professionally.
Establishing and honoring commitments
In our Family and Community Engagement, "Relationships, Trust & Communication" means:
Taking action that shows the community that leadership is listening and taking responsibility
Partnering with families in ways that respect and honor their culture
Developing authentic relationships between families and school staff that helps to strengthen the school-home connection
Asking families for input about their student’s strengths and needs at all levels (classroom, school, and district)
Sharing consistent, positive, and transparent communication about students with families
In our Buildings, "Relationships, Trust & Communication" means:
Making sure building structures and systems foster safety and positive relationships
By that we mean:
Creating spaces for students, families, and staff to feel heard and understood without judgement
Involving historically marginalized and underrepresented students, families, and staff in decisions that impact them
In our Classrooms, "Shared Decision Making & Voice" means:
Having student voice heard and valued
Allowing students to give input in their own learning
Allowing regular opportunities for student and family feedback about learning and instruction
In our Staffing Decisions, "Shared Decision Making & Voice" means:
Listening and incorporating ideas, thoughts, and perspectives of staff, and responding to their needs
Empowering staff at all levels by inviting their expertise and skills into shared decision-making processes
In our Family and Community Engagement, "Shared Decision Making & Voice" means:
Making sure that students, families, and staff can participate and share in decisions that affect the student’s well-being and educational experience
Creating clear, accessible and culturally-reflective processes and structures for decision-making
Providing regular up-to-date information about decisions, so families can hold their schools and district accountable
In our Buildings, "Shared Decision Making & Voice" means:
Sharing responsibility to take care of the space among all community members
Empowering youth to have ownership over the space designed to serve them
Collaboratively problem solving so that the space feels safe, and reflects community needs and values