Vision

                For the children of the Helen Mae Sauter School to benefit from an exemplary education, the school must have a clear sense of its goals, the characteristics of its school, and the contributions of the various stakeholders in the school to transform the goals into reality.  The vision statement intends to provide the standards towards which the school should strive to achieve and maintain.  These standards serve as both the blueprints for improvement efforts and the benchmarks by which we will evaluate our progress.

I. Leadership

      An exemplary school requires effective leaders – leaders who are able to involve others to build a vision that serves as a bridge between the school’s present and the future that it desires.  At Sauter School, the leaders:

¨       Promote and protect the school’s vision on a daily basis.

¨       Establish priorities and focus that provide a sense of direction for the school.

¨       Are committed to continuous improvement and ongoing professional development.

¨       Facilitate teacher participation in the decision-making process.

¨       Facilitate positive relationships among community members, parents, students, staff, and faculty.

II. Staff

    An exemplary school operates on the premise that a school is only as good as the people who work in it.  Therefore, the Helen Mae Sauter School is committed to recruiting and retaining outstanding educators who can advance the district’s vision.  At Sauter, all staff members:

¨       Are guided by shared goals and a sense of common purpose.

¨       Have high expectations for student achievement and accept responsibility to help students meet those expectations.

¨       Collaborate with one another on a regular basis on curriculum, instruction, individual students, and school improvement initiatives.

¨       Model the importance of life long learning by their commitment to their personal professional growth.

An exemplary school provides curriculum that specifies the learning standards that all students are to attain.  The school designs its educational programs to enable all students to acquire these outcomes through their Personal Education Plan.  At Sauter:

¨       The Learning Standards are guided by specific, clearly stated goals for each grade level and course.

¨       The Learning Standards are aligned from grades 1-3 and subject to subject so those teachers understand the relationship of their teaching assignment to the rest of the curriculum. The use of student portfolios and grade level assessments assist in coordination with grade level instruction.

¨       The academic progress of each student is closely monitored by Reading Recovery, Star, CCC and state mandated assessments. Support is provided for those who require additional assistance and/or opportunities.

¨       Learning strategies and methods recognize individual learning styles, result in students who are actively engaged, and promote independent and cooperative learning.  All children work to potential.

¨       Systematic process of analysis, goal setting, and implementation are in place to demonstrate the district’s commitment to continuous improvement.

  V. Community Support

An exemplary school has created an effective partnership with its community.  The school is committed to addressing the needs of the community and establishes effective two-way communication to keep residents informed of district policies and initiatives.  The community provides the school with the support that is essential to an improving school.  At the Sauter School the community has helped develop and has endorsed the school’s vision it strives to provide.

¨        The community provides the resources – personnel, facilities, materials, equipment, and time – that enable the Sauter School to offer exemplary programs.  Some examples are:

-            Fire Safety

-            GFA Banking

-            DARE Program

-                      VIP Readers

-                      Tae Kwon Do

¨        The community has access to the schools’ resources and facilities.

¨        Parents play an active role in the education of their children, monitor their children’s academic performance and attendance, work with teachers to emphasize the importance of education, and model a commitment to lifelong learning.  Some examples are:

-            P.T.O.

-            Student Led Conferences

-                      Community Reading Day

-                      School Council

-                      Volunteers in the classrooms

¨        Accomplishments of staff and students are communicated to the public regularly through:

-            The Gardner News

-                      Yearbooks

-                      Monthly School Newsletter

    VI. Students

In the final analysis, the effectiveness of a school is determined on the basis of the conduct, character, and achievement of its students.  At the Sauter School, students:

¨       Accept responsibility for their learning, decisions, and actions.

¨       Set challenging goals and give their best effort to achieve them.

¨       Believe in themselves and take pride in their achievements.

¨       Demonstrate a desire to learn.

¨       Become actively involved in school activities.

¨       Conduct themselves in a way that contributes to a safe, orderly, positive school atmosphere, and respect and ensure the rights of others.

¨       Form partnerships with their teachers in working to realize their goals. 

Outreach to the community:

·         CAC – Annual Penny Drive

·         School Fair

·         American Cancer Society (Daffodil Day)

·         Cancer Walk

    Foster community among students:

·         All School Picnic

·         Helen Mae Hop

·         All School Field Trip

·         All School Meeting (weekly)

·         Post Office (run by second grade students)

·         School Store (run by third grade students)  

RB-10/04