Perhaps we are all too familiar with Goals and Objectives (-: but if a school community can commit to a consensus statement in writing, the job is more than begun. The adage of 'with awareness comes responsibility' is appropriate here as we try to build both an awareness to the problem and possible solutions.

How one school district chose to handle the problem -
Schools have traditionally used the Middle States evaluation as part of their accreditation. "Accreditation for Growth is one of two accreditation processes that Middle States developed and offers to its members and those schools considering membership. This option represents a shift in school evaluation by assessing outputs instead of inputs. As a result, schools can now opt for accreditation on the basis of continuous growth in student performance." (from the MSA web site)
By establishing a school goal as part of the Accreditation For Growth (AFG) process, Mountain Lakes began to deal with the problem in a positive way. This process began with the 1999-2000 school year; the timeline continues through 2006 with periodic measures and reports on their progress.
From the 40 people involved with AFG, two goals were decided upon - one concerned technology integration and the other, Academic Integrity. By the spring of 2002 a definition, goals and objectives, a survey, timelines, and a philosophical approach, stated below, were undertaken.

 

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King

Definitions

Goals

Objectives

Samples

I would like to thank Dr. Sandy Svenningsen for her expertise and assistance. Dr. Svenningsen is the AFG Internal Coordinator and English Supervisor at Mountain Lakes.