Mission, Vision, Belief Statements & Key Purposes

It is not new to public education or private industry that the more clearly you can align people around a common goal, a common set of beliefs and priorities, and a shared vision of what is to be achieved, the more successful you will become. The Board of Education studied the elements of the community’s vision for its public school system. This information was obtained during the Board’s Future Search process, entitled Framework for the Future. In this three-day conference, a large, broadly representative group of citizens and educators laid out the foundation of the Vision for the school district. The Board utilized that input to design the district’s Mission, Vision and Belief Statements, as well as the key purposes of our work. Developing structures, policies, and practices that sustain these fundamental priorities for our District constitutes the basis of most for what is happening in our school system today.

Mission
The mission of the DeForest Area School District is to provide an excellent education by engaging, challenging, and inspiring all students to pursue their full potential.

Vision
The DeForest Area School District is committed to a culture that honors knowledge, respects individuals, demands excellence, fosters life-long learning, and supports relationships that strengthen individuals, families and community.

Belief Statements
Individuals

• We believe that all children are naturally inclined to learn.
• We believe every person is unique and brings individual talents, experiences, abilities, interests, and learning styles to the District.
• We believe every person deserves to be respected.

Learning Process

• We believe the learning process is enhanced by caring relationships built on mutual respect, self-discipline, initiative, and persistence.
• We believe a commitment to continuous improvement and personal and organizational accountability are essential to the educational process.
• We believe a culture for learning is nurtured and sustained by cooperation among students, parents, staff, faculty, taxpayers, and other stakeholders.
• We believe knowledge enhances our lives because it gives us greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
• We believe a sense of perspective and humor is important to the learning process.

Learning Environment

• We believe schools must establish supportive and engaging learning environments that nurture every child’s natural inclination to learn.
• We believe a healthy, safe, and secure school environment provides the best opportunity for learning.
• We believe collaboration between family, school, and community is necessary to sustain a successful learning environment.
• We believe successful learning experiences require positive relationships based on trust, collegiality, and open and honest communication throughout the community.
• We believe setting high expectations, modeling principled behavior, accepting personal responsibility, and displaying professional and personal integrity are essential to establishing a successful learning environment.

District's Primary Purposes - End Statements

•  student ends
•  community_ends