The Rebel Way

Every ten years, NEASC (New England Association of School and Colleges), requires each public high school to complete a self study and host a 4 day visit to maintain accreditation. We are in the process of completing our self study, where we are required to analyze our effectiveness in seven different domains ranging from instruction to leadership & organization to community resources. Our visit will take place in September 2011. You can get more information about the standards and accreditation process at http://cpss.neasc.org/getting_started/2011_explanation_of_standards/

Our first task this summer was to review our mission statement and reframe it so that it expressed a belief statement, core values and student learning expectations. We’ve been regularly reviewing our student learning expectations since they serve as the organizing structure for our graduation portfolio. But this summer marked the first time in my tenure (6th year) that we had embarked upon a formal process of reviewing our mission. A group of school and district administrators, teachers, parents, students and community leaders, who were facilitated by Portsmouth High School Principal, Bob Littlefield, spent two days transforming our mission into a belief statement and set of core values that we believed represented who we are as a school and what we want to become. After creating the statement, we vetted it with teachers, our student body and Parent Teacher Group (PTG). The results of that process created the Rebel Way:

The Rebel Way

South Kingstown High School is proud to be a safe and respectful community of learners that recognizes and encourages the talents and potential of every student. We are committed to a rigorous curriculum that fosters and develops identified academic, civic and social skills. The 21st century Rebel is an independent, critical thinker who effectively participates in our diverse community.

We believe students learn best, first and foremost, when they assume responsibility for their own learning. It is incumbent upon the learning community to support them by providing the following:
-clearly communicated expectations
-varied support structures for all learners
-authentic learning opportunities both in and out of school
- Instruction that meets all students’ needs
-21st century learning tools
-opportunities to employ critical thinking skills
-timely and constructive feedback
-teachers who are knowledgeable in content and method
-a positive, safe and supportive environment
-multiple opportunities to engage parents

What I like about the change in format to a Belief Statement and Set of Core Values is how much more measurable they are compared to a generic mission statement. As we complete our self study, we can use these core values as an indicator of how true we are to realizing those values. The process of defining or re-defining our values as an institution is one of the benefits of the accreditation self-study since we rarely find time to reflect given the hectic reality of our day-to-day responsibilities. The process has facilitated conversations that will help us move forward as a school and as importantly, has included voices from all of our stakeholders.