School board settles on belief statements
Ontario elected leaders finish up goal process
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Friday, October 30, 2009 11:05 AM PDT
ONTARIO — A commitment to educating the whole child, excellence and accountability, achievement, resources and safety are the five “belief” statements the Ontario School Board members agreed upon Thursday night in a special session to be included in a resolution and voted upon in November’s regular school board meeting.
They also wrapped up a process that began in July to establish goals, a mission statement and beliefs to identify the themes for the school district. Thursday’s session on beliefs began in a meeting Oct. 10 that named the core beliefs the School Board will follow when conducting business in the school district.
Ontario School District Superintendent Linda Florence said the point of the session was to both let people know what the Ontario School Board’s principles are, as well as establish guiding statements for making future decisions. Florence said it was intended to be a useful tool to follow in the future.
“Because it draws all of us closer together, and it gives us a common vision for the district,” she said.
While the School Board members debated whether to refine certain pieces of language in their belief statements, they did not waver on what their beliefs were.
School Board member Renee Corn said she appreciated how the district’s mission statement and beliefs flowed together and centered around children.
“I’m really a believer in identifying where we want to go and what we have to do to get there,” she said. School Board Chairman Kathie Collins said, for an organization or leadership to be successful and efficient, they must have common goals, beliefs and a mission statement in place for them to follow.
“All those three tie together, but they’re real critical to an organization’s success,” she said.
She also agreed she believes the School Board is better having done those things in the three-month long process.
“It’s just so easy to get off track if you don’t have some things you’re focused on,” Collins said.
Happy wrote on Oct 30, 2009 10:44 PM: