Policy 201 - County Educational Mission
Adopted on December 20, 2018
Effective December 20, 2018
Each Roane County school is dedicated to the task of educating our children to become lifelong learners and to assume responsibility for their actions as they participate in the life of the community. Our ultimate objective is to enrich the mental, physical, and emotional development of each child. We strive to create environments and opportunities in which every student can learn, while also endeavoring to nurture each child's self-esteem. We seek to challenge our students to strive for personal excellence, to honor the diversity of our country, and to use their talents in service to the community, State, country, and world.
Core Beliefs
We believe every child can learn and succeed.
We believe students learn in different ways and at different rates; therefore, all students should be held to high standards with flexibility in the time to achieve them.
We believe our schools should be safe, welcoming environments that support learning.
We believe an ethical school system requires fair treatment, honesty, openness, integrity, and respect.
We believe a high quality school system strives to be responsive and accountable to students and to the community.
Statement of Philosophy
The Board of Education believes that the purpose of education is to facilitate the development of the potential of each student. In a free society, every individual has both the right and responsibility to make choices and decisions for himself/herself, giving due consideration for societal expectations and norms. A prerequisite for every member of such a society in meeting those responsibilities is competence in the use of the rational thought processes needed to make intelligent, ethical choices and decisions. If our society, as originally conceived, is to survive and function effectively, its young people need to be prepared to exercise their rights and their responsibilities in ways that benefit them and the society. Likewise, if individuals are to be able to achieve their life goals in a free society, they need to be competent to choose among the myriad alternatives that are and continue to be available to them.
The enculturation process in our society focuses on preparing the young to meet certain expectations and to avail themselves of opportunities to attain personal goals within that society. The school program, should reflect the formal aspect of the enculturation process, and needs, therefore, to focus on both societal expectations and personal opportunity available in our society.
With regard to societal expectations, people in this society are expected to:
- be self-sufficient -- that is, to meet their own needs, to the extent they are able, in their own way and without inhibiting others' opportunity to do the same;
- fulfill their responsibilities to contribute to the "common good" by actively participating in affairs affecting all members of society.
Today there is ample evidence that many students are not learning how to make effective, rational, responsible or ethical choices or decisions in regard to how they treat their minds and bodies, how they plan their futures, how they cope with frustration, or how they solve personal, social, and economic problems.
The Board and staff believe that the thought and action processes involved in making intelligent and ethical decisions can be learned just as any other set of procedures can be learned, provided that students are given consistent and appropriate opportunities to:
- see the procedures modeled;
- learn what the procedures are;
- practice using the procedures and learn to recognize and correct the ineffective use of them; and
- apply the procedures to a variety of relevant situations.
The County Board is committed to making adequate provision for such opportunities and to the applications of these processes to achieving the other educational goals associated with the County Board's mission.
Educational Outcome Goals
The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) includes the following educational goals for students:
- All students shall master or exceed grade level educational standards.
- All students shall receive a seamless pre-kindergarten through age twenty (20) curriculum designed and delivered with broad stakeholder involvement to promote lifelong learning.
- All students and school personnel shall develop and promote responsibility, citizenship, strong character and healthful living to enable students to succeed in the classroom and the workplace, lead healthy, rewarding and productive lives, and participate responsibly in society.
These and other goals are being accomplished when there is valid evidence that the Board's educational programs are making it possible for students to achieve the following educational outcomes, commensurate with their ability and potential:
- literacy skills
- technology utilization skills
- the ability to perform mathematical functions
- the ability to make informed choices among persons and issues that affect his/her governance
- the ability to assess self and the total environment to know options and choose life work
- the ability to perform in the world of work and postsecondary education
- the ability to live a health lifestyle
- the ability to participate in recreational activities
- an understanding of the creative arts
- a sense of responsibility to facilitate compatibility with others in society and with other cultures
In achieving these student outcomes, the Board also believes its mission is being accomplished when there is valid evidence of one (1) or more of the following additional outcomes:
- job skills for the workplace and the skills and attitudes to obtain further education
- an understanding of others, including but not limited to those with social and cultural characteristics different from his/her own and of those with mental or physical disabilities and the ability to engage in responsible personal and/or support relationships with those who are different from one's social or ethnic groups
- use of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to contribute effectively to the decision-making processes of the political and other institutions of the community, state, country, and world
- use of the knowledge, habits, and attitudes that assure good personal and public health, both physical and mental
- the willingness and ability to apply ethical principles and values to his/her own life
- an understanding of his/her own worth, abilities, potentialities, and limitations
- enjoyment of the process of learning and commitment to continuous learning throughout one's lifetime
- the capacities for fulfilling satisfying and responsible roles in family life
- use of the knowledge, habits, and attitudes that assure good personal and public healthy, both physical and mental
- an understanding of and the ability to cope with change
- the educational goals specified in individual education program plans (IEPs)
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