BOE Philosophy of Education

Here is a first draft from Dr. Leary to the BOE members of what could become a Policy that defines what the Philosophy of Education is in the ECASD. Again, totally new territory for our district and it will be part of the foundation for future decisions, strategic planning and priorities. Please see below the draft a sample of the Philosophy statement of Palatine, IL School District (a Baldridge Award winning school District!)

My comments about the first draft :

1. It seems a little old fashioned in its wording, i.e., "creed", "truthfulness" and "station in life."

2. It has language that does not seem to reflect so much potential to go from "good to great" for things like student achievement, i.e., "attainment of basic skills" and "acquiring job entry skills." What about students who go to post secondary education?

2. It does NOT have any of the words that I would hope are part of our philosophy, i.e., "excellence", "best", "enrichment," "electives," "core knowledge or content," or "high expectations."

More importantly: What Do You Think?? Please comment on the blog and share your thoughts as well as to BOE members and Dr. Leary.

Thanks, Maria

1ST DRAFT OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION FOR THE ECASD:

The Board of Education of the Eau Claire Area School District, recognizing both its legal and moral responsibilities to the community-at-large and specifically to the children and youth of the community, does hereby attest its commitment to the aforementioned obligations through adoption and acceptance of the following:

We believe that all students of the school district, regardless of age, race, creed, sex or environment are entitled to educational opportunities consistent with their interests and commensurate with their abilities, to the extent the school district is able to provide the financial, physical and human resources required to meet those needs. Further, the school system shall, through the development and provision of programs, procedures, practices, and a well-qualified staff, endeavor to:

Promote education as a right, as well as a privilege.
Promote the development of capable, enlightened, effective and responsible citizens through the attainment of basic skills.
Provide the opportunity for acquiring job entry skills.
Provide an awareness of the need for living in a manner that appreciates nature and provides for a sustainable future.
Promote individual success in a supportive, challenging, and non-critical learning environment conducive to a feeling of self-worth.
Promote development of the powers of logic and reason.
Provide for an awareness and understanding of the processes of the democratic form of government and the role of the individual as a participant in that government.
Develop respect, appreciation, and acceptance for the principles of honesty, integrity, and truthfulness.
Engender a respect for all persons regardless of their beliefs or station in life.
Encourage an awareness of, and appreciation for, the contribution of the humanities to the cultures of the world.

To this end, for the enhancement of the future of humankind, the Board of Education commits its understanding, appreciation, time and abilities.

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School District Philosophy (Palatine, Illinois)

The District 15 community agrees that mastery of basic skills in all subject areas is fundamental, but it also realizes that with information doubling every 18 months, the mastery of facts and concepts is not adequate to prepare the community’s children for tomorrow. They must have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to become lifelong learners, productive workers, and contributing citizens. We must encourage them to become enthusiastic about learning.

Such a set of priorities and conditions redefine how we think about the district’s mission. As a result, the mission of District 15 is to produce world-class learners. The mission is accomplished by building a connected learning community.
World-class learners are competitive with students worldwide. World-class learners achieve exemplary levels of understanding in academics and the arts compared to world-class standards and internationally recognized tests.

A connected learning community shares information, develops leadership from many sources, invites citizen participation to work actively together, promotes volunteerism to increase the leverage of what people know and can do, provides civic education that makes the community the classroom, and promotes intercommunity cooperation to develop the capacity for producing world-class learners.

The District’s core values, which are the foundation for continually improving performance, are described below:

Student and Constituent-Driven Quality

Students and constituents judge the quality of education in School District 15. This means that we focus on expectations and constantly monitor expectation levels among various constituents. Quality expectations include the relationship between the district and its constituents and the results the district achieves that meet or exceed those expectations.

Public Responsibility and Citizenship

School District 15 needs to stress its responsibilities to the public and practice good citizenship. This responsibility refers to basic expectations and the organization’s ethics and protection of public health, safety, improvement of all citizens, improving health habits in the community, environmental excellence, resource conservation, community service, and sharing facilities and other resources.