(Mock speech)
Dear teachers, families, and community friends,
Think back to a time when maybe you had a broken bone and were in a cast or a boot; or maybe undergoing a surgery that brought with it some extended healing and recovery time. Maybe it was a sprain or simply an untimely injury. In those moments, your body is impaired. It cannot function at full capacity and your capabilities are limited. I want us to begin to think of all of us as a body, not an organization. And each of you are an important and necessary part of this body. You all have unique experiences, gifts, and personalities to contribute to the body. When you are missing, the body is impaired; it can't function at full capacity and our capabilities are limited. We hang together or we hang. Here at Stephens Elementary, we have a vision of becoming an open door, glass walls school. We are not there yet, but today we begin taking the steps to see that vision become a reality. A vision to be a school where student learning and growth is the result of a powerful partnership where teachers, families, and the community are engaged and empowered to work together as one team. This intentional relationship is loaded with wins for the main character of the story.....your child. Research tells us that when parents and community members work as partners with educators, that this new model of working together leads to the following:
1, Children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. And we're building a massive fan base and support for our students.
2. Schools can overcome challenges such as achievement gaps and limited resources by radically increasing the size of the team and the possibilities that accompany that partnership.
Other thoughts..........
I would say we are currently an Open-Door school with some elements of a Partnership School. Some short-term goals would be to begin with our faculty/staff, casting vision of this partnership and communicating the WHY? I would then build a core partnership team of teachers, parents, and community members (not too large) to go through this book, establishing clarity of vision as we prepare to go public. This team can establish short and long term goals and they must "drive" it, not the principal. This must be a movement, not a person or personality. The best people to reach parents.........are parents.
We must realize this is a process. Sometimes process feels like a four letter word. However, slow does not mean stagnant or ineffective. Great things are not built overnight. This will be a paradigm shift for some and will require some gentle but challenging conversations for those who tend to build and enjoy a fortress classroom. So, I leave you with this wonderful wisdom from the great Henry Ford:
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
Dear teachers, families, and community friends,
Think back to a time when maybe you had a broken bone and were in a cast or a boot; or maybe undergoing a surgery that brought with it some extended healing and recovery time. Maybe it was a sprain or simply an untimely injury. In those moments, your body is impaired. It cannot function at full capacity and your capabilities are limited. I want us to begin to think of all of us as a body, not an organization. And each of you are an important and necessary part of this body. You all have unique experiences, gifts, and personalities to contribute to the body. When you are missing, the body is impaired; it can't function at full capacity and our capabilities are limited. We hang together or we hang. Here at Stephens Elementary, we have a vision of becoming an open door, glass walls school. We are not there yet, but today we begin taking the steps to see that vision become a reality. A vision to be a school where student learning and growth is the result of a powerful partnership where teachers, families, and the community are engaged and empowered to work together as one team. This intentional relationship is loaded with wins for the main character of the story.....your child. Research tells us that when parents and community members work as partners with educators, that this new model of working together leads to the following:
1, Children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. And we're building a massive fan base and support for our students.
2. Schools can overcome challenges such as achievement gaps and limited resources by radically increasing the size of the team and the possibilities that accompany that partnership.
Other thoughts..........
I would say we are currently an Open-Door school with some elements of a Partnership School. Some short-term goals would be to begin with our faculty/staff, casting vision of this partnership and communicating the WHY? I would then build a core partnership team of teachers, parents, and community members (not too large) to go through this book, establishing clarity of vision as we prepare to go public. This team can establish short and long term goals and they must "drive" it, not the principal. This must be a movement, not a person or personality. The best people to reach parents.........are parents.
We must realize this is a process. Sometimes process feels like a four letter word. However, slow does not mean stagnant or ineffective. Great things are not built overnight. This will be a paradigm shift for some and will require some gentle but challenging conversations for those who tend to build and enjoy a fortress classroom. So, I leave you with this wonderful wisdom from the great Henry Ford:
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.