TIMPANOGOS HIGH SCHOOL

MISSION, VISION, and BELIEF STATEMENTS

Before opening in 1996 the Timpanogos High School community recognized the importance and power of developing a mission statement that would focus our efforts and help us achieve our potential as a school. Our initial meetings to write these guiding principles took place during the summer of 1996 and included all new staff members, parents, and community representatives. A statement was adopted which guided our efforts for the first few years.

During the summer of 2002, parents, students, faculty, and staff met to revisit and revise our mission statement. Approximately one-third of our staff had been hired since our initial meeting and thus had not participated in previous efforts. Stakeholders at the 2002 meetings refined the wording, but confirmed the concepts contained in the original mission statement. A vision statement was added, which has especially guided our professional development efforts at THS. Two years later, in September 2004, further discussions were held by all stakeholders delineating the beliefs which underlie the mission and vision we are pursuing as a school.

A strong sense of mission has been constant, yet evolving, since THS first opened its doors. We have worked especially hard during the past few years to give these formal expressions broad exposure, and to make them the guiding values for the decisions made in our classrooms and our conference rooms. They are proudly posted in the school commons area, in each classroom, on the back of faculty and staff ID cards, on the school web site, letter head, etc. More importantly, in both informal discussions and structured planning meetings alike, we are hearing these statements referred to regularly as we work together to improve student learning.

Timpanogos High School Mission Statement

v We are a community of one striving for excellence.

v Our mission is to empower students to commit to lifelong learning, to exemplify character, and to contribute to society.

Vision Statement

All students will be competent in every area of their educational experience and make annual progress toward the goal of excellence.

Belief Statements

WE BELIEVE THS IS A COMMUNITY OF ONE

ü Getting to know one another and working together improves performance.

ü Every one is important and can make a difference in our community.

ü A positive attitude makes a difference in student performance.

ü We all perform better in response to positive reinforcement.

ü Students learn best when they feel welcome, safe, and have a sense of ownership in our school.

WE BELIEVE IN STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

ü Excellence is a process of continual improvement.

ü In recognizing student achievement and that success leads to further achievement.

ü Excellence is more likely achieved through collaboration.

ü It is important to do our best no matter where we are or what our job.

ü Student achievement is enhanced by identifying and focusing on what matters most.

ü Students achieve their best when parents are actively included in their educational activities.

WE BELIEVE IN EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO COMMIT TO LIFELONG LEARNING

ü Students can enjoy the process of learning.

ü It is important for students to understand their personal strengths and weaknesses as learners.

ü Learning is passed along through generations and that what students learn now will affect them throughout their lifetime.

ü Students learn by example and that educators should model life long learning.

ü Students learn more when topics are relevant to them personally.

ü Continued learning depends on literacy (reading, writing, and communicating).

ü Our job includes two goals: give students the skills to be learners, and the desire to continue learning.

WE BELIEVE IN EXEMPLIFYING CHARACTER

ü Students need direct instruction in ethics.

ü Students will act responsibly when there is strong support at home, at school, and in our community.

ü We must all be good examples and do what we say we will do.

ü Setting high expectations for our students encourages performance and development of character.

WE BELIEVE WE ALL NEED TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY

ü We should give students opportunities to contribute in our classrooms and in their school experiences.

ü Every person can be part of the solution.

ü We should give students opportunities to gain empathy for others.

ü The better the individual is, the better the group is.

ü Students need to be taught appropriate ways to express differences.

ü Our influence on others is more important than our individual or collective accomplishments.

Desired Results

The mission and vision statements developed through the past four years form the broadest statement of desired results for student learning here at THS. Recognizing the need to focus our efforts, our School Improvement Team organized and conducted a process to define specific desired results that we want all our students to achieve during their high school experience at THS.

We began by gathering current educational research relating to student learning and asked parents, students, faculty, and staff to review this research. A meeting including all these stakeholders was held in the fall of 2004 where research was shared, existing desired results (from our mission, vision, and belief statements) were reviewed and discussed, additional desired results were considered and generated, and indicators were developed.

The School Improvement Team collected and consolidated this work into a set of proposed desired results which was again reviewed by faculty, staff, students, parents, and the community at large. This information was disseminated in many different forms: in the PTSA newsletter, on the school web page, at School Community Council meetings, mailings and visits to business partners (see sample responses in appendix), at Student Council activities, at faculty and staff professional development meetings, etc.

Many good suggestions for student learning resulted from these meetings and reviews; we have chosen to focus for now on just these three desired results which were deemed most important by stakeholder groups.

Timpanogos High School

Desired Results for Student Learning

Desired Result (What we want all students at THS to achieve)	Indicators (How we will know if students have achieved it)
Competence and Excellence Students will be competent in every area of their educational experience and make annual progress toward the goal of excellence. (THS Vision Statement)	§ Students meet established THS course competencies. § Students make progress towards excellence.
Communication Students will be able to communicate in the English language through reading, writing, listening and speaking.	§ Students locate, understand, and interpret written information. § Students read on grade level. § Students identify main ideas and focus on themes. § Students write with good organizational skills, include meaningful content, and follow standard English conventions. § Students attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues. § Students organize ideas and effectively communicate orally. § Students use technology to communicate.
Character Students will live in a way respectful of others, and help others achieve their highest potential.	§ Students participate in voluntary community service. § Citizenship grades show students display good character. § Students attend regularly and punctually. § Students understand and demonstrate ethical academic behavior. § Students show good sportsmanship both as participants and spectators. § Students show respect for others and their property. § Students demonstrate good discipline and self-management at school.