Real talk: does ANYONE actually read these (mission statements. I know for a fact that maybe two people read my blog) ? I know I don’t. I was never directed to these as an employee of NVUSD. Do parents check this out? I would probably say this is a “box to check” that some small group worked diligently on but in reality, it serves mostly as a symbol of a system that is united than a doc that in fact has meaning. A former principal of mine said that, “a mission statement is only worth it’s significance to teachers and staff.” Using that as a barometer— I would have to say it’s not worth much, currently. I did check it out. It’s not bad. If I were moving into Napa and I were curious, it would suggest that we are a great place to go for learning. But as a teacher, and dept chair, there are things on there that just don’t really hold as much weight as they once did. Like PBL. That is not across the board any more. But if the purpose is to look good on paper— it does a passing job. But until I am given a survey by the district that asks how realistic all of this is, or how much buyin my dept has, or if we have feedback to improve it (and to be followed by actual discussion) I think just seeing it as a placeholder on a website is mostly my take. And the ubiquitous “box to check” has become such a synonym with teaching in this day. The problem though is that type of system is a house of cards (a good series by the way, until Kevin Spacey revealed himself as a really, really not cool dude. And at that point, I have a really difficult time separating the art from the artist. Like R Kelly. How can anyone support artists like that????) because once you ask teachers what their day to day practice is, or what their planning looks like, it’s not as if we are using the mission statement. Which ideally we probably should be. Maybe simpler is better: ”Hey, we are going to work really, REALLY hard to make sure your child matters to us. We are going to take their growth personal and make it our professional mission that they learn, become better people, and play an active role in that process. And we expect that at home, too, your child works on these things. That part’s on you. It takes a village, right? Together, we can help prepare your child for life in 13th grade— whatever path that might be.” If I have a school district, this might be my first draft of a mission statement. But more than likely, this statement probably ended my bid for superintendent in year 2035.
2 Comments
Dustin Green
3/8/2021 01:35:30 pm
Jason, I like your mission statement very much - Simple is better! To your point however, less boxes will be checked with such a straightforward and realistic mission statement. If I’m being honest, I didn’t analyze the specific goals of the current NVUSD mission statement too closely in order to see if we are meeting them as teachers, perhaps because I was already thinking of it in a similar way before even giving it much of a chance… It's an awesome collection of goals on paper which look good to an outside observer, but probably an unrealistic standard for all teachers to actually attain. I’m voting for you in 2035!
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Kathy Flynn
3/8/2021 08:48:40 pm
Hi Jason,
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