Superintendent's Vision for MPLSD

“As a partnership of rural, agricultural communities, the Madison-Plains Local School District will achieve excellence through quality educational resources to maximize student success.”

MPLSD will be a model of excellence in rural education.

 

MPLSD will strive to be a first-class organization.

 

We will be grounded in research-based best practices.

 

We will work to be more data-driven in making decisions, recognizing, though, that it is also important to know the story behind the numbers.

 

We will be focused on the District’s mission, vision, values, and goals.

Love, Learn, Lead 

           Care about them.  Show it.   Make them feel it.  

           Have high standards.  

           Have kind but honest conversations.

           Work to build people up while correcting them.

 

 

(SMART = Strategic, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Time-bound)

SMART Goal 1:  Improve attendance by 3% for all students in all grade by June 30, 2028.

 

SMART Goal 2:  Improve academic growth by 10% in all core subject areas by June 30, 2028.

 

SMART Goal 3:  Improve graduation rate by 3% by June 30, 2028.

We are human beings, and we are a human organization.   The business of education is about people -- their learning, growth, and development.  We are intended to be, and must be, in relationship with each other.   Solid, trusting relationships must be established for progress to be made.  

 

The first piece of relationships is love (sincere care and concern for others and treating people with kindness).  This means treating people with dignity, class, and respect.  MPLSD will be a place where people are loved.  To fall short of this mark does not meet the standard toward which we are striving, and we must work to improve.  

 

Loving people does not mean there is always agreement or that “anything goes.”  There are standards, norms, and expectations for behavior.  Smart, reasonable, and rational people will sometimes disagree with each other.  Intelligent, thoughtful people discuss ideas.  Disagreements are addressed through civil, respectful dialogue.  Just because two people do not see a matter in the same way, and disagree, does not mean they do not care about (i.e., love) each other.

 

A second piece of relationships is trust.  Trust is both earned and given.  We build trust by following through on what we say we will do when we say we will do it and acting with integrity.  Part of trust is that we presume positive intentions.   Sometimes people say or do things we do not understand or may have questions about.  In those scenarios, when appropriate, we strive to ask about things in non-threatening ways to help us understand (e.g., I noticed this … can you help me to understand why this occurred?)  Part of earning trust is being honest.  

 

A third piece of relationships is accountability.   We should be able to give an accounting (i.e., an explanation) for what we did and why we did it.  We are responsible for the decisions we make and the outcomes they produce.  Poor decisions lead to poor outcomes, poor results, and poor consequences.  Though no one wants poor outcomes, poor results, and poor consequences, wise and reflective people realize this is how we learn and grow.   

 

Another piece of relationships is forgiveness.   Everyone makes mistakes.   Forgiveness does not mean that consequences necessarily get cancelled.  Rather, forgiveness means that once justice has been administered, the parties move forward in peace and civility and without ill-will.

 

Our organization exists to help facilitate the learning and development of the children of our community.  Because we value them, and each other, our first priority is their, and our own, health, safety, security, and wellness.  MPLSD strives to be a safe and orderly environment.   Students need love and limits (i.e., care/concern and boundaries) to thrive.

 

Because a safe and orderly environment is a priority, we want to develop a “culture of safety” or “safety culture.”  As such, health, safety, security, and wellness are routinely discussed.  Improvements in processes, procedures, and resources are sought.  Drills are conducted routinely.  Though it is understood that nothing is a cure-all, there is an over-arching feeling that MPLSD is a healthy, safe, and secure school.  

 

Having a healthy and safe environment also means having a healthy and safe environment from a social-emotional standpoint.  This goes back to our treatment of others within the organization.  It also involves having resources available – or the ability to connect people with resources – to assist people when they need support.  This is true for both students and staff, as well as parents and guardians.  

 

Wellness is something that is important for everyone.   Understanding how to be healthy is something that is regularly and routinely discussed and acted upon.  

 

Other thoughts on wellness are included in a later section of this vision document.

We are a learning organization.  As stated above, this is the reason our organization exists – to facilitate, support, and cause student learning.  We value the importance of life-long learning, for our students, our staff, and for everyone.  

 

We value strong academics.  We value both academic growth and academic achievement.  It need not be an either/or proposition.  We can do both, and we must be intentional about this.   Academic growth leads to academic achievement.  We understand that academic growth comes first.

 

We recognize that the world is changing much faster than it did for previous generations; this is due, in part, to advances in technology and connectivity.  With these rapid changes in the world, there are many more options for students these days to pursue, in terms of learning and careers, than there were even a decade ago.   It is true that our students are preparing for jobs and opportunities that in some, perhaps many, cases do not exist yet.  

 

As such, our students need a well-rounded education that prepares them for one of several choices they may make in terms of their post-high school advancement.  In general terms, those options are as follows:  

 

 

MPLSD graduates will be strong in the following areas:

 

 

Learning does not stop with the students.  As a staff, we value the importance of life-long learning, and we learn on a daily basis.  We learn through reflection on our experiences, and we intentionally seek out both formal and informal opportunities to learn.  Feedback from others is a significant part of the learning process, as well.  We seek to apply what we have learned so that we are continually getting better.

Our students learn about right and wrong and how to think critically.

 

There is an understanding that we are responsible “to” our “neighbor,” but we are not responsible “for” our neighbor.  

 

There is also an understanding that we must engage in moral reasoning.  

 

There is an understanding of the “Golden Rule,” – do to others as you would have done to you.

Our students learn the value of healthy eating and how to prepare healthy foods.

 

Our students learn the value of exercise and the need to take care of one’s physical body.

 

Our students learn the importance of emotional health and learn tools/strategies for how to maintain it, and they learn strategies for coping with the difficulties in life.

Our students understand financial responsibility and how to keep and work a budget.  Students are able to balance a checkbook.  

 

Our students are taught the value of living beneath one’s means, saving money, and having something in reserve for a “rainy day.”   

 

Our students are taught that accruing consumer debt, other than a home mortgage, is something that is not particularly wise and, therefore, is not recommended.  Our students are taught the value of paying for things with cash, rather than through credit, which ultimately causes the cost of goods and services to increase through the paying of interest.  

 

Further, rather than paying interest to a bank, our students are taught about investing and the value of earning compound interest through investments and how it can work in their favor.  (Again, they are taught the value of taking the long-view and the dividends it pays, as opposed to the short-view and the consequences it brings.)

Our students understand that, at its core, leadership is about service and contribution to others.

 

Our students learn about leadership and the fact that being a leader involves being wise about what tenets and people a leader is following and, thus, what a leader is leading people toward.  

Our students learn about the agricultural industry.   They learn the importance of it locally, nationally, and globally.  

 

Our students learn how agricultural methods have traditionally been done, and they also learn about how agricultural methods are being updated and gain knowledge and experience in how to do those things.   Enhanced technology is part of the education.

Our students learn about technology, how to use it productively in a positive way, and how to do so in a safe and secure way (i.e., cybersecurity).

Our students learn to appreciate and to create art, both visual and performing art (i.e., music and drama).

It is understood that the primary goal of the athletics program, as in all other areas of our programming, is to help prepare students for life after their K-12 education.  It is a learning opportunity.

 

Students learn the value of hard work, dedication, team play, fairness, toughness, grit, and tenacity.  Students learn the fundamentals of the sport they are playing, and they make life-long memories of striving towards a common goal with friends, teammates, and coaches.  Students learn how to compete.

Our students understand the importance of assisting others who are in need.  There is also an understanding that to be able to assist those in need often involves being in a position of preparedness in order to be able to assist.  There is also an understanding of the axiom, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”

 

Our students are self-aware (i.e., have an awareness of who they are).  They have taken various assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs and the DISC assessment to help them have an understanding of themselves so as to assist them with things like career choices, how they present themselves, and how they interact with the world.  Our students have also taken assessments and learned about their interests and abilities with regard to potential career paths.  

 

Our students are aware of choices they have upon graduation because they have been exposed to and have explored options.

 

Our students have spent time reflecting on what is important to them, and they have developed a life plan.

Our students know that learning is an essential part of life and that they have to keep learning and progressing throughout their lives.

The ideas our nation was founded upon ideas and beliefs (e.g., All men [i.e., people] are created equal.  All men [i.e., people] are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.).  Ideals such as representative government and capitalism are celebrated.  The work of our founding fathers is celebrated and taught.   The blemishes of our country are not glossed-over, but, rather, they are discussed objectively and in context.   The many contributions our country, and its many citizens, has/have made to the world are also celebrated and discussed.

 

The unique nature of the style of government we have, a constitutional republic, which was especially unique at its inception, is also discussed and celebrated. 

 

We intentionally seek to foster patriotism (i.e., love of country) in our students.  Being a patriot does not mean, though, that we do not question our country – rather, it is understood that asking questions, seeking to understand, and engaging in dialogue about what is happening in our country is true patriotism because we want what is best for our country and its citizens.  

 

Traditional American values, such as industriousness, ingenuity, creativity, and entrepreneurship are celebrated and developed.  We live in a global society, and our students need to be prepared to engage in that society, but values such as those previously listed are part of what has helped to make the United States of America strong and a leader on the world stage.  

Our students understand our veterans fought for the ideas this country was founded upon and have defended freedom around the world.

Our students understand that without order we have chaos.

Our students understand this is one of the things that has allowed the United States of America to be strong and help the rest of the world.

First and foremost, schools are to be safe and orderly environments.  

 

Respect is a cornerstone in making schools safe and orderly.  People must have respect for others and their right to an education, respect for property, and respect for themselves.  

 

In the pursuit of having a safe and orderly environment, there may be times when adults need to be firm and direct in their communication with students.  When this occurs, the boundary that should not be crossed is when the communication becomes disrespectful.

 

With regard to student discipline, the ultimate purpose of it is to bring about learning and to correct behavior; it is also, though, to support the standard and expectation that the school will be a safe and orderly environment for all who learn and work there.  Depending upon the circumstances, that may mean a conversation, a warning, a detention, suspension, expulsion, or permanent removal.   It may also involve referral to law enforcement or juvenile court.  In some circumstances, restitution or community service may be assigned or some other outcome that supports the stated purposes and intended outcomes.  

Good things – great things – do not happen by accident.  Great things are the result of intentional decisions that are made and followed-through upon.  MPLSD can be great.  For our District to do so, we must be intentional about the direction in which we are moving and the decisions we make.  Then, the Madison-Plains Local School District will be a model of excellence in rural education.  

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance.   Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”

-- Jim Collins, Good to Great 

 

 

Win the day!