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0000 VISION STATEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY The Board of Education’s vision, which guides instruction and learning throughout the District, is that all members of our learning community will demonstrate an enduring curiosity, engage in the pursuit of inspiration, and develop the habits of mind to promote personal growth and the well-being of society. In instruction, curriculum, assessment and feedback, and co- curricular activities, the District will strive to incorporate this vision and to realize its objectives. By incorporating this vision in the District, the Board, administrators, professional educators, and other staff will seek to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge, skills, and expectations of excellence needed to make informed choices and achieve their goals. Among these objectives are the development of learning and innovation skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, as well as the provision of a strong foundation in academic and social-emotional skills to enable students to succeed in future educational and career opportunities and in life. Recognizing that individuals learn in various ways, the District will ground its work upon the research and evidence of effective practices that promote student learning and well-being. The educational program will provide every student with the fundamental academic skills and knowledge required for their educational development, the opportunity to develop their interests and abilities to the fullest extent according to their individual potential, and resources that promote their physical, mental, and emotional development. The District will offer students a broad range of experiences and values face-to-face dialogue, hands-on learning, outdoor activity, reading physical texts, and collaborative problem- solving. The District will ensure that technology use is developmentally appropriate, active, intentional, and adds to the student experience. The District will encourage students to rely not only on a single text or medium but to seek information from various sources; to acquaint themselves with a variety of ideas so that they may analyze them critically, question them, and then form their personal conclusions; and to engage in civic and charitable activities as members of our local community and the wider world. Cross-ref: 0350, Evaluation of Instructional Programs 4000, Student Learning Objectives and District Instructional Goals 4321, Programs for Students With Disabilities Under the Federal IDEA and New York Education Law Article 89 4321.1, Provision of Special Education Services in the Least Restrictive Environment 4322, Programs for the Gifted and Talented 4325, Academic Intervention Services 4326, Limited English Proficiency Instruction 4526, Access to Computer Network for Use in Instruction 4510, Instructional Materials 4510.1, Instructional Technology 4513, Library Materials Selection 4524, School Libraries 4531, Field Trips and Excursions 4770, Graduation Requirements 4771, Early Graduation 4773, Diploma and Credential Options for Students with Disabilities 4810, Teaching About Controversial Issues 5151, Homeless Children 5151-R, Homeless Children Regulation 5500, Student Records 6700, Purchasing 9280, Staff Development Ref: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 USC §§1400 et seq. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC §794 34 CFR Part 104 34 CFR Part 300 Education Law Article 89, §§4401 et seq. 8 NYCRR Part 200 Adoption date: November 14, 1994 Revised: March 12, 2015 Reviewed and maintained without change: May 9, 2019 Revised: __________________ [formerly titled “Educational Philosophy”] FOR BOARD DISCUSSION 5-7-26 BEFORE SECOND READING [RETITLED--REVISED POLICY ABOVE; CURRENT BOARD POLICY BELOW] ***************************** 0000 EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY The mission of Croton Harmon Schools is to affirm our commitment to the idea that each student can learn and to instill in all students a life-long love of learning. The district will seek to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge, skills and expectations of excellence needed to make informed choices and achieve their personal goals as productive members of society. Among these are learning and innovation skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity, as well as skills to enable our students to succeed in future educational and career opportunities and in life. The district seeks to help students to develop all of their capacities: mental, moral, physical, cultural, aesthetic, emotional and social. The philosophy of the district concentrates on development of the whole student because it is a person's value system that truly distinguishes him/her from others as an individual. We believe that each child is a unique and valuable human being, worthy of being accorded respect and dignity at all times. He/She is entitled to a personally tailored educational program that meets his/her needs and temperament, thereby providing him/her with an opportunity to experience continuing successes at each level of endeavor. Recognizing that people learn in various ways, the district offers students experiences that involve the full range of documentary and electronic media, speakers, field trips, etc. The Board encourages students to rely not only on a single text but to seek information from various sources, many of which will not be the printed word. Recognizing also, that the school is only one part of our community, the Board encourages our teachers and students to move out of the classroom and involve themselves in civic and charitable activities. The Board also recognizes the responsibility of the school to teach the basic academic skills in an orderly and sequential manner allowing for individual differences among the students. While the Board recognizes that standards and assessments of student learning are appropriate tools for evaluating the success of its instructional efforts, these are not the sole, or indeed, primary measures of our students; rather, it is our unceasing goal to go far beyond the norm to enable all students to reach their full potential. The Board believes that by focusing on the uniqueness of the individual, we will be meeting the primary needs of all students. The development of a truly personal set of values stems from exposure to the values of differing varied beliefs among contemporary and historic figures, and inquiry into prevalent values within their locality. Teachers guide the student's total development in accordance with his/her abilities and interests, realizing that such progress plays an important supportive role in the formation of beliefs and attitudes. Thus, by acquainting and confronting students with a variety of ideas, we expect him/her to analyze critically, to question, and then to form his/her personal conclusions. This teaching must be based on a recognition of the varying needs and differing backgrounds of individual children, as well as an awareness of their similarities in development and a knowledge of how all children learn and grow. Then, combined with this knowledge of children, in general, must be added a particular knowledge and an understanding of our own children, their backgrounds, needs and environment.