District 204 working to define mission
Preparing a road map to the future, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials have spent several months drafting a vision, mission and guiding principles statement they believe reflects the community's desires.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. The statement is available online and the district is seeking feedback at www.surveymonkey.com/s/L3L2Z7F.
The community has about a week left to comment on the statement that school board members hope clarifies the district's purpose and ensures its resources and energies are focused on that purpose.
District 204 covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield.
School board President Curt Bradshaw channeled a baseball great when explaining the importance of a good mission and vision statement to the district.
"Yogi Berra once said 'If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.' The vision, mission and guiding principles will provide a clear picture of where District 204 is going," Bradshaw said. "Clarity and focus are incredibly important at all times, but especially so when resources are constrained. If all our stakeholders work toward a common goal, we can achieve extraordinary results even with limited resources."
District spokeswoman Janet Buglio said 1,055 people have viewed the statement and offered comments during the past week.
Buglio said she will summarize the results and share the feedback with board members at the district's March 1 meeting. The board is then likely to refine the draft based on Buglio's summary.
District 204's proposed vision statement Vision- Excellence in every endeavorMission- Inspiring all students to achieve their greatest potentialGuiding PrinciplesStudents will be best prepared to achieve their greatest potential if equipped to:- Engage in relevant and rigorous learning- Live and work productively with others- Embrace their role and responsibility within their community and world- Value and respect self and others in a diverse society- Be lifelong learnersWe will best serve our students if our: - Schools, families and community are actively engaged in the district's mission- Staff is highly skilled and motivated- Culture is characterized by high expectations and excellence- Schools are safe and caring places where all are valued