December 17, 2010
When asked the question, what do children do in school? Most people would simply answer, “They learn.”
Okay...
Learn what? Learn to read? Learn to add? Learn to think? Learn to reason?
Truth be told, the list of what students actually learn in school has been placed into books – so many that you could fill rooms with them from the floors to the ceilings. Some books are about what students learn in classes, while others focus on what they learn in the hallways, in the cafeteria, or on the sports fields.
Here is a more difficult question: What do schools learn? Quite often when leaders wish to improve schools they explore the practices of the most successful businesses in America. They try to uncover philosophies, paradigms, and practices that have helped their upward movement.
There are five characteristics that tend to present themselves in these companies:
1. They have strong organizational cultures (people believe in one another);
2. They have huge ambitions (far-reaching goals);
3. They try and try (experiment to find what works best);
4. They grow their own leaders (management development);
5. They never stop trying to top prior achievements (never good enough).
In order for these five characteristics to work, organizations (like people) need to continuously adapt, grow, and change with their surroundings. In successful organizations, change is not viewed as a hazard. Rather, change is an opportunity to become better.
In 1995, two authors by the names of Leithwood and Aitken defined “Learning Organizations” as those with groups of people pursing common purposes who are willing to constantly change – in hopes of becoming better.
One would expect that since schools in general are viewed as the center of learning that they would be the organizations most likely to adapt to changes in student populations and new ideas in teaching and learning, but this is often not the case.
For starters, the organizational structure of schools has been the same for many years and those who have worked in these structures often resist change. Even worse, there are often leaders who haven’t the slightest clue about the power of a shared vision and the impact that it can have on teaching, learning, and adapting the educational organization to best fit the needs of learners.
Undoubtedly the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District has made remarkable progress in improving educational opportunities for the students in Orange, Wendell, Petersham, New Salem, and for those who choose to come from other communities via school choice policies.
You may have read about our partnerships with Mount Wachusett Community College (The Gateway to College and Pathways Early College Innovation School), our three in-house alternative programs, the partnership with the CAPS Educational Collaborative, our relationship with the Illinois Institute of Technology, or perhaps our recent improvements in student test scores on the MCAS.
The reason that there are so many successes found in our district is rooted in our strategic planning efforts, which were recently renewed.
In April 2010, the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School initiated the process of updating and revising the district’s Strategic Plan under the guidance of hired consultant and Boston College Professor Emeritus, Dr. George Ladd. To accomplish this task, a steering committee comprised of members from within the school, the school community, and the communities-at-large was selected from a pool of applicants.
The committee was charged with reviewing a number of key areas including: student achievement, personal growth, school climate, collaborations and partnerships, and resources.
Over several months, the eleven-member Strategic Plan Steering Committee met numerous times to update and revise the Strategic Plan.
As part of this course of action, the committee surveyed nearly 800 members of identified stakeholder groups, their constituents, and the community as a whole, to ascertain a much broader perspective. The information collected in this survey guided the committee in updating the school’s core values and the school’s vision and mission statements.
The ultimate purpose of this five-year Strategic Plan is to ensure that the R.C. Mahar Regional School continues to move in a direction congruent with the school’s vision and mission and that the school’s efforts and actions are reflective of the plan’s core values.
Our district is guided by a carefully crafted Mission and Vision. From this mission and vision a set of Core Values was also renewed. While you review these core values think about the fact that any and every decision that is made in our district educationally and fiscally is rooted in these values.
You will then understand why our school has progressed so rapidly, and how our partnerships have developed. It is my pleasure to share our core values with you!
Student Achievement
- We believe all students learn best when actively engaged in the learning process.
- We believe education is about student growth that includes core academics, the arts, cultural awareness, and physical, social and emotional well-being.
- We believe the purpose of education is to enable students to become self-reliant learners and productive, responsible citizens.
- We believe in promoting personal responsibility in students so they may reach their full potential.
- We believe all decisions should be made in the best interest of students while recognizing and welcoming their individual differences.
- We believe in a safe environment built on communication and a shared decision making process that supports curiosity, creativity, respect, and positive attitudes.
- We believe in identifying and developing diverse opportunities for students to engage in active learning within their communities.
- We believe the education of a child is the shared responsibility of town, educational, family, and student communities.
- We believe in school personnel working with family and town communities to provide ongoing information regarding student achievement, school-related activities, and annual budget and expenditures.
- We believe in utilizing fiscally responsible strategies which support teaching and learning to meet the unique needs of students.
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