The Importance of a Set of Core Values

Contributor: Sahba Rohani

Before we even opened our doors, we were asked to think about what our Core Values look like tangibly within our school walls.  “We don’t want these to be just words on a poster or written on our letterhead, we want these Core Values to set our culture.”  

We have six core values:  

Honor Yourself and Others

Work Together

Work Hard

Help Each Other

Try New Things

Be Reflective

What will these core values look like in our students during a class discussion?  What do they look like in the hallways? In group work?  In our lunchroom?  What will they look like embodied in a staff member, an administrator, or a family member?  

The more years that go by, the more we understand the significance of having a set of values, particularly being an intentionally integrated space.  Everyone who enters our school walls represents a different set of family values, a unique perspective, and their own belief systems.  But when we are together, we all understand that we will be a space where every person is honored and will honor other people.  We are a place that practices how to be reflective and what that means in terms how how we work together, how we help each other, and how we work hard.  We are place where we will always try new things - to grow in our understanding.  

These Core Values have become the foundation on which we have built our community and their creation and implementation have been critical to who we are today.