In a nutshell...

As one of our first assignments, we were asked to create our own vision of an outstanding school, including defining one core belief that would guide our leadership of that school.  Here is my belief:

The primary core belief that I hold about all school stakeholders is the importance of self-efficacy.  I believe that we can accomplish anything if we believe we can enough to effectively work towards it.  Holding this as my core belief impels me to ensure that all stakeholders have the resources, knowledge, and confidence to be successful.  Believing that all students can learn and be successful forces me to hold my teachers accountable for facilitating and encouraging that learning.  Believing that all teachers can teach what they are passionate about pushes me to facilitate their learning through PLCs, shared leadership, and positive reinforcement for their efforts in ensuring student growth.  Believing that all parents can help their children be successful drives me to create programs and activities that teach them appropriate ways to be involved in the school and their student’s learning.  Believing that the work the support staff does is critical to the daily running of the school prompts me to build on their strengths and interests so that they feel as if they are making an impact.  Believing that the community at large has the capacity to move a school to greatness motivates me to make the connections necessary to bring in the people and resources that will make the being impact.  Of course, my core belief is about self-efficacy because it is not enough for the principal to believe these things, it is imperative that all of these stakeholders also believe they are capable of being successful in their roles within the school.