POLICY 1-1.5 MISSION, VISION AND PRIORITY GOALS
Mission
The mission of the Montgomery County Public Schools is to prepare all students so that they develop the knowledge and skills to achieve success and become active citizens who contribute to their communities.
Vision
The Vision of Montgomery
County Public Schools incorporates the following principles:
All students will enter
school ready to learn.
The MCPS will be adequately
and responsibly funded and supported by the citizens of Montgomery County.
Optimal educational achievement will be promoted for all individuals regardless of ability, creed, gender, geographic location, national origin, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
All students will understand
and use the latest technologies and information sources. All schools will serve
as community centers.
Volunteerism will be
encouraged and supported so that all citizens may be involved in the education
of Montgomery County youth.
All students will learn to
live and work in a community that uses its diversity as a strength.
All students will develop an
appreciation for the arts and their relationship to academics and community
life.
All students graduating from the MCPS will be employable, will have the knowledge and skills to begin a productive and satisfying career, and will be prepared for a life of continued learning.
The MCPS will be a cornerstone for economic development in Montgomery County.
Priority Goals (2002-2008 Six-Year Plan Comprehensive Plan for School
Improvement)
Area
for Development: Curriculum
I.
Develop
and implement a K-12 curriculum that is aligned with state and local learning
expectations, maintains an emphasis on core subject areas, articulates
cross-curricular links, and is supported with research-based instructional
practices and a variety of assessments.
II.
Develop
and maintain comprehensive balanced programs that enable all students to
achieve to their fullest potential.
III.
Continue
to develop K-12 career and technical educational opportunities that reflect
existing and emerging workforce needs, and that provide authentic workforce
experiences for students.
Area for
Development: Health and Safety
IV.
Provide
resources to ensure student and staff health and safety.
V.
Reduce
disruptive behavior at schools and on school buses through research-based
prevention and intervention strategies and programs.
VI. Continue to incorporate substance
abuse education at all levels of instruction in ways that will facilitate the
development of healthful decision-making skills for students.
Area for
Development: Equal Access
VII.
Develop
and implement a division-wide plan to provide positive supports and eliminate
barriers to allow students of all races, cultures, socio-economic levels,
disabilities, religions, and other diverse attributes to access and participate
in the full range of MCPS programs and activities.
VIII.
Improve
early identification and interventions for at-risk students through expansion
of preschool and alternative education programs.
Area for
Development: School and Community Relations
IX.
Encourage
schools to continue to seek ways to increase and enhance communications,
partnerships, and parent and community involvement in the schools.
Area for
Development: Infrastructure and Resources
X.
Continue
to employ, train, and retain a highly qualified staff, and continue to seek to
compensate all employees at a competitive level.
XI.
Reduce
the pupil/teacher ratio to 15:1 at grades K-3, and do not exceed a maximum of
18 students in any K-3 class. Maintain
the pupil/teacher ratio of 20:1 at grades 4-8, and do not exceed a maximum of
24 students in any class in grades 4-5.
Maintain the pupil/teacher ratio of 22:1 at the high school level.
LEGAL
REFERENCE: Code
of Virginia, 1950, as amended, § 22.1-78.
Adopted: April 2004
Reaffirmed: January 2005
Revised: September August 2005
Reaffirmed:
January 2006
