Angels and Superheroes by Jack M. Jose & Krista L. Taylor

Author:Jack M. Jose & Krista L. Taylor [Jose, Jack M. & Taylor, Krista L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2018-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

Tips of the Trade

Really Use the Core Values, Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Staff Agreement

Before each staff meeting, use one of the values statements—core values, mission statement, vision statement, staff agreement—as a reflection piece. Some schools add other core pieces, for example, a district statement about inclusionary practices or nondiscrimination policies.

Post the statements in the classroom. Placing attractive and legible versions of the values statements in a prominent place in the classroom helps provide a framework for the expectations in your classroom. This is strengthened if the values are posted throughout the school and as they are used in the following additional steps.

Use the statements in your classroom and school rules. Relating each of your classroom rules to the core values, perhaps using each value as a “header” with specific rules beneath it, moves you toward several important goals. First, you justify each procedure or rule as belonging to a larger structure of rules, giving each a raison d’être. Second, it helps students categorize each expectation, which aids their memory and makes it more likely the rules will be remembered and followed.

Place the statements throughout the staff manual and student handbook. Core values can help serve as an organizational structure for your handbooks. Much like with the classroom rules, using them as an organizer helps justify rules and expectations. Placing them here also ensures they will be seen at least once a year as you review the expectations with your staff and they, in turn, review the expectations with their students.

Include the statements in student reflection forms.

Refer to the statements constantly in disciplinary conversations. Your student reflection sheet should ask students, “Which core values were broken?” The student is then prompted to explain how specific values were broken. (Interestingly, the frustrated student sometimes goes to great lengths to explain how another student, or even the teacher, violated a core value. That works too.)

Use the statements on student commitment forms. Many schools ask students and parents to make a series of commitments as they enter the school or progress to new teams. This is certain to include following the rules and not committing certain infractions. It may also address doing work of a certain quality and exhibiting exemplary behavior. Using the core values in this document, especially in combination with those items mentioned earlier, helps send a unified message to students.

Use the core values on your school letterhead and other public sites. The core values should saturate your school. The message you send outside the school is important, too. Showing partners, parents, and others that you have a thorough commitment to your values sends a message that a school has thought about what it expects from students. Beginning with the end in mind is an attractive trait to parents who might have to wade through a wide range of choices or be seeking reassurance that their only choice is a good one.

Place the statements in new and unusual places—on teacher appreciation mugs, T-shirts, screen savers, the price board at the football field concession stand, and so on.

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