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The author was the first generation in her family to go to college and ended up with a doctorate at Oxford.  Her story is a quick and compelling read.

"A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much." At the first RF conference Peter McConville and Tom Sabo ran a really interesting activity where we looked at schools' mission statements from across Vermont. As a part of this activity they asked if individuals could recall their own. Not many (if any) could. It is too bad really. Coming from a corporate background myself, I understand the power of an organization having a common and driving statement of intent. To me what was striking, and unfortunate, was that it wouldn't be at all challenging to get fairly close if you just said something about students who strive to become life-long learners who are global citizens that give back to their community. Maybe it is just me, but I think that a mission statement should be as unique as the schools, communities, and individuals that are striving to fulfill that mission. It should be a mantra, a way to identify what is truly important to your school, a means of sharing your school's common sense of purpose, to communicate your school's common sense of direction to fulfill that purpose. My sense is that a mission statement should be the keystone for the very unique work that we do in our schools, it should be more akin to Dan Pink's My Sentence. But, read though most and you'll find that they seem interchangeable and ambiguous. I think that it may be better to not have one at all if it doesn't really share the message of what your individual school is about and what it specifically strives to be. Does your school's mission statement really share your school's mission?

Jason Thanks for posting this. Question - how do I copy this post over to another Diigo group I am working with? Jim

Mission statements are pretty generic... NEASC is moving away from asking schools for mission statements but instead for statements of core values and beliefs about learning in the hope of getting more school specific statements.

"...draws on interviews and site visits with innovators and the limited literature that has been developed on the topic of competency-based approaches. The first section introduces a working definition for competency-based pathways that hopefully will be the beginning of creating consensus on the characteristics of a high-quality approach to guide policy. The second section explores the driving forces behind competency-based innovations and implementation issues. The last section highlights a number of challenges facing states and districts as they explore competency-based approaches."

EdCamp Flyer "EdCamp Vermont (http://edcampvt.posterous.com), an education conference like no other, will be held at Essex Middle School on Saturday, April 14th. The structure of the conference is very informal, with attendees signing up to run sessions first thing in the morning. The conference will be free from corporate vendors and booths, with the focus being solely on conversations about education. Attendees will come from all over Vermont and will range from classroom teachers to administrators to coaches and school board members. There will be time for attendees to gather informally to share ideas as well as a variety of sessions for them to attend, run by their colleagues and fellow educators."

What a great way for a group of Fellows to share either individual initiatives...or to talk about the process of change...how change happens...how to maintain an initiative...how admin can be generative leaders...or any of a number of pieces that Fellows and their schools have learned from our experiences.

I am going to be there with our school's art teacher. We couldn't miss this.

"This question is motivated by two everyday intuitions, both of which have been confirmed in empirical research: First, some people are, in general, more persistent and passionate about long-term goals. Compared to their less gritty peers, these individuals are more resilient in the face of adversity, bouncing back after failure and disappointment and otherwise staying the course even when progress is not obvious. Second, grit predicts success. Grit is not the only determinant of success - opportunity and talent matter, too. But on average, grittier individuals are more successful than others, particularly in very challenging situations."