Our Core Purpose

If you have ever looked for a mission statement for the Hudson Community School District, you probably haven't had very good luck. Mission statements are usually designed to encapsulate the ultimate aspirations of the organization and have a lot of flowery words. They can be very useful if people actually know what they are and what they mean. While we do have one, I typically don't spend a whole lot of time reflecting on, or draw too much attention to the mission statement. It may take a little searching on your part, but it can be found on page 9 of the student handbook:

"It is the mission of the Hudson Community School District to develop responsible individuals with the skills and commitment to pursue their potential in an ever-changing society by providing a secure, nurturing environment for learning in partnership with the greater community."

It's quite a mouthful, isn't it? Truth be told, I doubt very many people in our district know the missions statement, what it truly means, [or even what it is] or where they can find it. Admittedly every time I need the mission statement for something I have to look it up myself. Then I have to spend about five minutes dissecting it to get at the true essence of what it means: prepare our students to be productive citizens in an ever changing environment. Keep in mind that is my interpretation. You may read that mission statement and arrive at a wholly different conclusion. Perhaps this entire discussion about our lack of a living, breathing mission statement is a failure of leadership. If that be the case, I'll certainly own that and work harder to ensure that mission is, and becomes a part of the fabric that is our district. I doubt that to be the case though. If' I'm wrong please let me now. That's because I'm pretty sure if you don't know what our mission statement is, you most certainly know our Core Purpose:

"We Create Effective Learning Environments That Result in Success for ALL students."

This statement can also be found on page 9 of our student handbook, is also in our faculty handbook, and can be found on the school website. Further, it is posted in almost every instructional space throughout the district, and if you ask our employees what our mission statement is, they more than now will recite this statement. Perhaps the greatest legacy left for me by my predecessors, the Core Purpose has stood the test of time, is durable, and well known. It says everything we need to know about our mission statement, and is really what our mission statement means. If we do our jobs as educators, students will find success. In what? School as a start. Then whatever comes next. 

Yesterday was the first day of work for our new teachers. In addition to starting a new career they are transitioning from college life to a very noble career. Indeed they are well prepared in pedagogy, have a toolbox full of instructional strategies, and are incredibly excited to welcome students into their classrooms in just a little more than a week from now. With license in hand they are fully capable of educating our youth. They are teachers  and know how to teach.

This week though, they learn about what it means to be a teacher at Hudson. And that; well that flows from our Core Purpose. They will learn that we value robust professional development programs that are designed to sharpen their skill set because creating effective learning environments is a task that we have to work at each and every day. What works today may not work tomorrow. 

The Core Purpose can be traced back several administrations and has been modified only one time: that one time was to add emphasis to the work 'all'. So when we are ensuring that we are creating effective learning environments, we mean effective learning environments for every student. Every day.