Mission
The mission of Church Street Elementary School is to prepare students to live responsible, productive, meaningful lives in an information based society, a democratic America and a competitive world. In order to realize our mission we must create, develop, nurture and reinforce the success of all the people within the school.
Commitments and Principles
- The school will maintain high performance standards for all students. The use of time, space, knowledge, technology and people will be sufficiently flexible to ensure the attainment of such standards.
- The home, community and school will collaborate to provide the programs, services, support and environment necessary for all students to be successful.
- The school will welcome and seek the participation and opinions of community members by providing appropriate opportunities for communication.
- Decisions will be evaluated based on the results produced and the consistency of these results produced and the consistency of these results with the purpose, mission and beliefs that guide the school.
- Consistent with state law, school board policy and the purpose, mission and beliefs that guide the school, decisions will be made as close as possible to the point of implementation.
- The school will work with the community in determining and addressing needs for lifelong learning opportunities.
- The school will provide a work environment in which open communication, risk taking and innovation are encouraged and where concerns and problems are addressed quickly.
- The school will strive to ensure that economic status will not be a barrier to student participation in programs and activities offered by the school.
- The school will work diligently to ensure that the school environment is safe, comfortable and free of harmful influences upon young lives.
Beliefs about Students
- Students and their needs shall be the focus of all school activities.
- Students can learn more than they are now learning in school.
- Students are the customers for the schoolwork created by the school.
- Students have the right to learn in a challenging, safe, caring and nurturing climate where a spirit of cooperation, respect for others and feelings of self worth are valued.
- Students can learn to make responsible choices, to set goals and priorities and to evaluate their own progress.
- Students shall share in the responsibility of producing, developing and using their own knowledge through quality work.
Beliefs about Staff
School employees shall be leaders and will be given appropriate opportunities to lead.
School employees shall be responsible for guiding and influencing students positively.
School employees shall provide all students with experiences to ensure they learn more than they are now learning in school.
School employees shall demonstrate support for the purpose, mission, beliefs and principles of the school.
School employees shall take the lead in working with child-serving agencies in the community to ensure that each child and family have the support needed to succeed.
School employees shall demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and professional growth.
The principal’s top priorities shall be to serve as a spokesperson about education to the community and to develop leadership throughout the school.
The principal shall facilitate the continuous improvement process necessary for leadership development.
The principal shall provide assistance, encouragement and technical support to all staff in the development of programs and services to meet the needs of all students.
The principal shall nurture leadership among all staff members and students by initiating and supporting activities that engage them in leadership roles.
Teachers shall design high quality schoolwork that actively engages students in processes, which result in students developing skills, attitudes, leadership and the habits of mind that are of lasting value to themselves and society.
Beliefs about Parents and Community
- The first and most important teachers of children are parents, guardians and other caregivers. In this role, parents, guardians and other caregivers should work cooperatively with teachers and other school employees to ensure that each child has the support to be successful in school.
- The school families and all community groups and agencies that serve children and youth in Tupelo should form collaborative, networking relationships that are child-centered and focused on providing the necessary support for all children to succeed in school.
- Parents and community members are colleagues with school staff. Decisions reached collaboratively with parents and community members on the policies and procedures of the school shall be consistent with the mission, beliefs, and principles of the school.
- The continuous involvement and support of parents in their children’s learning and work shall be encouraged and expected by school staff.
Beliefs about Quality and Accountability
All policies, programs, practices and procedures of the school shall be evaluated in terms of results produced and the consistency of those results with the purpose, mission and beliefs that guide the school.
The product of Church Street Elementary School is the goal-oriented, intellectual activity created for all students.
The quality of the schoolwork and experiences provided to students will primarily determine the quality of student performance.
The community, along with each student, parent and school employee, is accountable for the success of all students.
Beliefs about Support and Innovation
Church Street Elementary School shall be responsible for providing appropriate training and development opportunities for all employees.
Risk taking and innovative thinking shall be valued and supported. The lessons learned from such efforts are of value to the individual and the school.
The principal, Superintendent and TPSD Board of Trustees shall share the responsibility for obtaining the necessary resources to support activities within the school. They shall ensure that activities are evaluated in terms of the results produced and the consistency of those results with the mission, beliefs, and principles of the school.
Beliefs about Curriculum and Instruction
- The primary responsibility of the school is to provide high quality schoolwork and experiences for all students.
- Quality schoolwork is goal-oriented, intellectual activity that engages students in using knowledge to produce significant intellectual performance. Quality work encourages students to persist until accomplishment is realized and results in students developing desired skills, understandings, attitudes and habits of mind that are valued by the student, by the parents and by society.
- Instruction and assessment shall be consistent with the written curriculum.
- Curriculum shall be organized, presented and assessed in a way which is meaningful, relevant and appropriate for each student.
- Curriculum and instruction shall focus on basic skills, strategies, and learning processes for developing lifelong learners.
- Curriculum and instruction shall encourage students to think critically, solve problems, and demonstrate understanding.
- Curriculum and instruction shall encourage students to apply skill and content in the context of real-life problems.
Beliefs about Governance
- The principal shall be the ultimate source of decision making in the school and shall develop policies to ensure that the school is accountable to the community and responsive to the needs of students, families and staff.
- The principal’s and School Improvement Team’s overall parameters for school operation are:
To seek the necessary resources for the school
- To support the development of strategic planning for the school
- To inform the community about educational issues
- To provide for the evaluation of programs and personnel
- To ensure that resources are used in an efficient and effective manner.
- Participatory decision-making shall be encouraged within the context of school district policy and local, state and federal laws and regulations.
