Mission/Vision/Goals

Mission Statement

To educate all students to be contributing members of a global society by inspiring them with a lifelong love of learning, challenging them with rigorous curriculum, and empowering them with 21st century skills.

Vision

To be an innovator and leader of public K-12 education within the state and nation by meeting the needs of all students with excellent programs and staff.

Mission Supported by Beliefs

1. We believe we must develop and nurture intellectual curiosity and a thirst for discovery and achievement.

2. We believe that all students can learn and must strive to attain high academic achievement and personal growth.

3. We believe our curriculum needs to prepare our students to work and live in an increasingly diverse and global society.

4. We believe our students and staff need to be equipped with 21st century skills, including critical and creative thinking skills, civic literacy, and personal and mass communication skills. (www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/index.php)

5. We believe our students need challenging, relevant, and comprehensive district curriculum based on established Essential Learner Outcomes that are regularly evaluated and improved upon.

6. We believe our curriculum and staff must inspire our students to be lifelong learners by individualizing instruction to meet their needs and interests.

7. We believe in supporting our school community by treating everyone with dignity and respect, and maintaining a safe, supportive environment.

8. We believe our students are best served by having strong partnerships with families and the community.

9. We believe students will become contributing members of a democratic and global society through service learning.

10. We believe that student engagement is enhanced by offering a wide range of co-curricular activities.

11. We believe it is essential to attract and retain the best employees to serve the needs of our school community.

12. We believe that adequate financial resources are essential for excellent outcomes, and that we are responsible for advocating for them and for their effective utilization.

2011-2012 School District Goals

1.  Global Awareness Initiative and 21st Century Skills Statement -- Middleton-Cross Plains Area Schools strives to provide a world-class education for all students. We intend to direct time and resources toward preparing our students for life in a 21st century global society. All students in our District need to be conversant in areas that will prepare them for immersion in a complex global environment, regardless of their chosen field of study or work. This initiative crosses the 4K-12 curriculum and will engage all schools and the community in the planning process.

In a more concerted effort to enhance the manner in which our students are taught to become contributing members of a global society, we would like our schools to emphasize:

* The interconnectedness of the world's cultures, politics, and economics.
* Recognizing, analyzing, and evaluating trends in global relationships.
* Creative problem solving, critical thinking, and innovative thought processes.
* Understanding issues from cultural perspectives other than our own.
* Encouraging study and travel abroad.
* Technical competence and the critical impact that technology has had in our world.
* Technological innovation that can expand curriculum, opportunity, and our students' world view.
* Outreach to the community for resources and expertise to further global awareness.
* The role of world languages in preparing students for an international environment.

It is our hope that all students are touched by this initiative, in all courses and at all levels of our curriculum. We appreciate any innovation that can be brought to our students to achieve this goal.

2. Enhance and improve our technology framework, infrastructure, and support to improve instructional delivery, student achievement, and organizational efficiency.

* Specifically, planning for comprehensive professional development for instructional integration.
* Expanding the ability of students to utilize personal mobile devises at school for educational purposes.
* Developing strategies to support access to students/families with limited or no access to technology to support learning in the home.
* Continue to develop a more sophisticated system of online learning in both the regular 4K-12 program and in the 21st Century eSchool.

3. Increase overall student achievement and reduce the achievement gaps that are connected to ethnicity, socioeconomic status, using local, state and national assessment indicators to document improved learning on the part of our students.  The “Continuous Improvement Process” will be a primary component to achieve this goal.  Expanded benchmark data will be established to monitor and report on to determine progress annually.

4. Increase the overall student achievement in literacy, using local, state and national assessment indicators to document improved learning on the part of our students.  Initiate local assessment that will provide teachers and administrators with more immediate data to address student learning needs.

5. Monitor enrollment growth trends and assess needs for additional facilities, especially at the elementary level.

6. Prepare and implement a plan to deal with budget shortfalls with a combination of revenue generating strategies AND budget reductions/constraints in a proactive fashion.  To engage with state and local leaders to solve the ongoing budget issues facing public education.

7.  Expand efforts to communicate with all citizens of the school district utilizing electronic and traditional communication tools.

8.  Establish the Education Foundation as a vibrant component in the school district and the community at-large.

2011-2012 Board Goals

Board members commit to:

1. Sharing information on relevant pending legislation potentially affecting our schools in order to better communicate with our legislators, lobby, & testify at hearings.

2. Scheduling one DAC , three elementary, one middle, and one high school visit during the course of the school year.

3. Developing a communication/outreach plan to our constituents that include:

* Board members regularly attending parent group & booster club meetings (and staff meetings as requested) at an individual school to which they are assigned, with written reports shared with the entire board.
* Legislative updates available on the district web site and links to our legislators.

4. Continuing the review of board policy at every regular board meeting per policy I-B.1.

5. onitoring and supporting the engagement of all MHS students in co-curricular activities, with targeted increases of involvement of 10 percent yearly and annual year-end reports from administration.

6. Monitoring our facilities to accommodate continued growth as well as maintenance of aging facilities.

7. Supporting the establishment and nurturance of our Education Foundation.

8. Monitoring new assessments of student achievement, curriculum adoption, and technology needs.