Week+4

**Week 4: Vision**

 * Facilitator: Leslie**
 * Coach: Beth** **(away 8/4-7)**
 * Reporter: Barb**
 * Resources: Brooke (away 7/31 - 8/6)**
 * Wildcard: Shannon (away 7/31 - 8/7)**

This Week's Team Projects: August 2 - 8
We reach the halfway mark this week - who would have guessed!

__ **AUGUST 4, 2011 from 7 - 8:30 pm** __
As part of the JHU/ISTE Speaker Series, Jayne James, EdD, and senior director of Educational Leadership at ISTE, will join us to share some ideas and perspectives on visionary leadership and shared vision. A shared school vision grows from collaboration between educators, families, and community members to illustrate the desired future for the school and all students. Whether a school’s vision incorporates values related to academic success, equity and justice, respect for diversity, and/or family and community involvement, the vision determines how time is spent, what problems are solved, and how resources are allocated. - @http://iste.adobeconnect.com/jhulead/



** Critiquing Mission Statements (Team) **
Some newly appointed leaders assume that everyone will follow. You know what they say about making assumptions...it’s a recipe for disaster. Today’s leaders must understand the importance of including all stakeholders in the decision-making process. Remember that a staff “allows” you, as leader, to accomplish certain goals. In order for you to be successful, your staff must share your ideas and values for the school. Once a school vision has been created, a more specific mission statement must be written. This process requires the leader to foster agreement between stakeholders so that their beliefs about student success become transferable to the daily operations of school life. This week, you will identify evaluation criteria for school mission statements based on your readings. Then, you will use your criteria to first critique sample school or district mission statements and then critique your own school's mission statement.

__** Part I **__  ** Tip ** The team facilitator may find it helpful to create a new thread in the team forum to keep the critiques organized. Or alternatively, organize an online tool such as a Google Doc or Wikispace to post mission statements and critiques. __** Part II **__
 * 1) Be sure that you have thoroughly reviewed this weeks readings before beginning this activity. Consider how the authors’ ideas contribute to your understanding of the development of a school mission statement. Consider//what components are needed to create an effective mission statement?//
 * 2) This week's facilitator should initiate a process to brainstorm a list of mission statement criteria. Begin the process in your [|Team Space] by creating a ** Week 4: Team Mission Statement Activity ** forum, but feel free to use other non-ELC tools for your brainstorming.
 * 3) With your teammates, develop an evaluation tool in the form of a chart, graphic organizer, or rubric that helps evaluate a mission statement based on your identified criteria. The reporter should post the tool to your Week 4 forum.
 * 4) Once the evaluation tool is developed, as a group, select two mission statements from the list provided and engage in a dialogue with your teammates, critiquing the statements using the criteria you developed.
 * 1) Using the criteria you developed for evaluating mission statements, critique your own school's mission statement.
 * 2) Share both your school's mission statement and your critique with your team.
 * 3) Review the your teammates mission statements and critiques and consider the following:
 * //The differences across mission statements//
 * //What you have learned about the development of a mission statement and how this type of statement support school vision//
 * //As a school leader, how you might go about modifying your school's mission statement (if needed)//

This is a lengthy activity, so if you need to continue a few days into Week 5, that is fine.   **Here is a link to the Mission Statements**   **Here is our Mission Critique Assignment of Dawson vs Applegarth (also in our forum for Week 4, and Beth's Google Doc):**   ** Mission Statement Critique: Team Starblazers **


 * Statement #1 ** : The ** Mission of Dawson Elementary School ** is to develop each student's knowledge, skills and talents to the fullest, so that, as a participant in a community of learners, he/she can use these to make the world a better place for all.


 * ** Criteria ** || ** Yes ** || ** No ** || ** Comments ** ||
 * Clarifies school purpose ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Message is evident ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Future oriented ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Concise ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Easily understood by all stakeholders ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Appropriate length ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Measureable goals ||  ||   ||   ||


 * Statement #2: **The mission of ** Applegarth Middle School ** is to provide a safe, supportive, and healthy environment that meets the educational, social, emotional, and physical needs of all students. We recognize that students are valued individuals who learn differently. All stakeholders have a shared responsibility to fulfill this mission.

  ** Team Assessment (Team) ** Team progress is assessed in each course of the A&S program. For this activity you will discuss your team’s performance in relation to your team operating standards, work quality, and your effectiveness in collaborating to complete team assignments. <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Your team should strive to be //high performing//, but you may not be there yet. It is important to reflect and evaluate your team’s performance to be sure that you improve your ability to work together effectively.
 * ** Criteria ** || ** Yes ** || ** No ** || ** Comments ** ||
 * Clarifies school purpose ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Message is evident ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Future oriented ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Concise ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Easily understood by all stakeholders ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Appropriate length ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Measureable goals ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 1) Review the Conditions of Effective Group Work resource.
 * 2) Using the Google Doc template  this week's t**eam facilitator** should re-create a Google doc by making a copy of the template provided.
 * 3) Team facilitators should share the document with each member of the team.
 * 4) Individually by midnight Friday, fill in a rating using the ** 4-3-2-1 scale, next to your name. **//Note, you are** NOT ** rating yourself or individual team members. You are rating your ** team's **overall performance based on the criteria provided in the Conditions of Effective Group work resource.//
 * 5) By Monday, the coach should analyze feedback from each team member, and assign an overall team rating and justification, filled in directly on the team's Google Doc.
 * 6) The coach should post the public URL of the spreadsheet in a new thread in the team's forum titled, **Week 4: Final Team Evaluation.**