12/20/2011

Work begins on renewed vision, mission statements for schools

The School Board has started developing a revised vision and mission statement, and will soon be asking the public for help.

At the board's meeting Dec. 13, 2011, Superintendent Meredith Nadeau delivered a draft timeline for the project, with anticipated completion in March 2012.

The schools' current vision, mission and statement of beliefs were adopted by the board in 2001, along with the School Department's first Future Directions Plan. Short-term goals were revised in 2007, but the vision and mission statements and supporting statements of beliefs remained unchanged.

Nadeau, hired as superintendent this summer, said the vision and mission have been a major point of discussion during her hiring and entry to Cape Elizabeth. She described the vision as the community's definition of "what would success look like"; the mission as the School Department's role and responsibility for achieving that vision; and the accompanying values as the beliefs that we as a school system have that translates into best practices.

"And so this process will kind of unfold in the coming months. and we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders," Nadeau said at the meeting.

Her plan is to begin reviewing the current vision, mission and beliefs with staff, teachers and administrators as early as this week. "We will take them through some exercises to look at, 'where do we want to be?'", she said.

The next step will be to take those ideas and ask the same questions of the wider community - students, parents, town representatives and the community at large. Then, "feed that back to the district staff, the teachers and the leadership team to create a renewed vision mission and values which will then be presented to the School Board for adoption," Nadeau said.

And, because the process has no budget, Nadeau is also asking for volunteer help to augment school resources.

"If you have expertise in publicity or public relations, or if you don't mind making phone calls to gather donations for things like refreshments, or if you have expertise in compiling data and doing data entry or wordsmithing and editing, please contact the superintendent's office (207-799-2217) and I will be happy to have a conversation with you and see how we can put your skills and talents to work," Nadeau said.

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Current Mission, Vision and Beliefs

adopted 2001

Our Mission
Our mission is to ensure that all of our students develop the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes to become successful individuals and citizens.

Our Vision
Cape Elizabeth Schools will be one of the top public school systems in the U.S. having created a dynamic organization which inspires an enthusiastic, innovative and collaborative environment that results in a high level of learning and achievement for all.

Our Beliefs
About Students and Learning, we believe that:

All students can learn
All students should be challenged and supported in their learning
All students have abilities and talents that are worthy of being recognized and developed
All students benefit when they are held to clear and appropriate expectations
As educators, we will connect with the strengths and passion for learning of each student by providing a meaningful and engaging education
Education must prepare students to become competent individuals and productive citizens

About Teachers and Teaching, we believe that:

Teachers need time for collaboration, reflection and professional development on a regular, consistent basis
Teachers need to understand and address the different learning styles of their students
Our community expects, values and supports excellence in teaching

About schools as Learning Communities, we believe that:

Students and staff have the right to a safe, respectful, and challenging environment conducive to learning
Education is a shared responsibility among students, teachers, staff, parents, and the community
A wide range of learning opportunities must be provided in order for our students and staff to be successful
The quality of relationships directly impacts learning and achievement