About MSJHS / Our Vision Statement

About MSJHS

Our Vision Statement

"The mission of our school is the development of the mind, character, and physical well-being of our students through the creation of an environment fostering academic excellence, maturity, responsibility and mutual respect."

Expected Learning Results for Every MSJHS Student

Masters of Basic Skills: Reading - Writing - Listening - Speaking - Computer

All students are expected to:

demonstrate effective reading, writing, listening, speaking, and computational skills;
demonstrate mastery of their courses of study;
demonstrate technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project.

Collaborative Workers

All students will:

solve a variety of problems in a collaborative environment over an extended period of time;
function as leaders as well as active and effective team members by demonstrating relevance to the subject matter and use of creativity in the production of projects and presentations.

Effective Communicators

All students will:

read and comprehend a variety of materials;
listen and interpret messages in a discerning manner and respond appropriately;
speak and write in a logical, coherent, well-organized manner;
recognize, develop, and appreciate artistic and aesthetic communication.
acknowledge the role of audience in developing an effective communication style.

Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers

All students will:

evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information from a variety of sources and learning experiences;
identify needed information in a given problem and state what information is needed for the solution;
use multiple strategies and application of academic knowledge to solve a variety of problems.

The process used to determine the expected school-wide learning results

The Mission San Jose High School community began the process of renewing its vision for the education of all the students during the 2000-01 school years. We reviewed our school-wide, instructional, and staff development goals, the demographics of our student population and made an assessment of student needs in the light of the recommendations of the WASC Focus on Learning criteria. This background work was completed by June 2001.

Staff, students, and parents spent the second semester of the 2000-01 school year carrying out the actual process of renewing our school vision. We began with our understanding of what lies ahead in the 21st century, drafted vision statements, compared them to those of like and neighboring schools, promulgated them throughout our communities of stakeholders via newsletters and meetings, revising continually. Student leadership, under the direction of the ASB president, was instrumental in the process, as was the PFA under the direction of its board. Once the vision statement was formulated, we began the process of determining the ESLRs, once again in a series of meetings involving staff, students, and parents.

We based our vision upon current research and the precepts set forth by the California State Standards, the WASC criteria, upon student, staff, and parent surveys and perceived local needs and values. Our vision and school-wide learning results existed in draft form while promulgated throughout our community and revised. They reflect our belief that all students can learn to the best of their abilities. This belief is sustained by the high standards set by our entire community and is the focal point of all our educational activities.

The ESLRs were developed as a consensus from input provided by all stakeholders, parents, students, and staff. On February 20, we implemented the sample procedure for establishing expected school-wide learning results described on page 113 of the FOL manual during a faculty meeting. Additional time was devoted throughout the spring semester to refining and clarifying the expected school-wide learning results. A fairly well-refined working document was agreed upon and disseminated as the working draft for the 2001-02 school year.

The task of actively translating our expected school-wide learning results into specific classroom action plans is ongoing. In order to embed the ESLRs into the culture of the school, the staff posted them in all the classrooms, offices, and the library, and published them in the parent/student handbooks and school newsletters. The teachers spent the first day of school in September 2001 discussing the ESLRs with the students. All certificated evaluation objectives, teacher and administrator, are written with the attainment of the ESLRs as their goal, and all classroom observations conducted by administrators speak to them.

The staff and school site council dedicated two in-service days to work together on WASC this year and to develop programs, activities, and assessments designed to support and assure that each student achieve the expected school-wide learning results. The ESLRs, widely disseminated, have been used by every committee throughout the self-study. The school leadership team, made up of the administration, the department heads, School Site Council, the Parent-Faculty Association, the Student Leadership have cooperated to focus virtually all school resources on the realization of our vision for the students. These groups monitor and assess current needs, surveying all stakeholders, and use the feedback to adjust programs, assessment, and instruction as needed. We recently polled our staff, students, and parents about the school climate, curriculum, staff and outcomes. The results will be used as part of the school's ongoing improvement process.

Last Modified on 04/05/2011 02:14:52 PM