At ABC Elementary School You Will Observe

Erin Rosselli 11/17/2006 Personal Vision Statement

At ABC Elementary School you will observe  A safe, inclusive, and inviting learning community with high expectations for all members  Dedicated parents and educators collaborating and communicating regularly to form a cohesive and supportive educational team  All educators modeling life-long learning by participating in professional development and collaboration to actively contribute as a member of a community of learners  All students actively engaging in standards-based data-driven differentiated instruction using research-based strategies to maximize achievement  Caring staff promoting and valuing each student’s social and emotional growth through positive behavior support and individual respect

Reflection: This process was definitely significantly more involved than I realized when I began. I read all the articles, I looked at my district’s vision pamphlet, I reviewed my school’s vision, and I collected a pamphlet from our PTA. It wasn’t until Judy pointed out to me that my original “vision” statement described how things will look and not actually how it does look that I realized I had written about actions I would take, instead of describing how the school would actually look. Once I had this realization, it became much easier for me to actually write the vision statement; however I still went through many revisions! Judy also pointed out to ask others how they would envision their own child’s or grandchild’s ideal school. While she was using this as an example of a way to focus people who were having difficulty understanding the task, it made me think about the type of school I would want my own sons to attend. This allowed me to add the parent perspective to my vision statement. I had already been able to think like a teacher and an administrator, but I needed to be reminded of the parent role. After this, it made me think about the need to at least talk to students, if they are too young to participate in this process, for their input. I would love to ask my students what their perfect school would feel like. I think this would help them focus in a little more on a vision and not just on the desire to have ice cream and pizza parties everyday! I have really enjoyed devising a personal school vision statement, and I feel it has helped me realize how important it is to go through this process at a school site to develop a shared vision.