School Days : Morgan Hill Unified School District
School Days : Morgan Hill Unified School District
The Heart of Morgan Hill
By Steve Belando , Superintendent , Morgan Hill Unified School District
Photos provided by MHUSD
The start of a new school year is filled with a tremendous amount of excitement . As a school district and the largest employer in Morgan Hill , we welcomed back over 500 employees at the beginning of August . With campuses to ready and classrooms to organize , our schools were abuzz with activity long before the students arrived . Even before staff returned , our administrators convened for a two-day “ Leadership Charge ” to set the tone and vision for the year .
Our theme this year was based on the book , “ Lead Like a PIRATE : Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff ,” by Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess . The authors describe what it takes to lead like a pirate :
• PASSION — both professional and personal
• A willingness to IMMERSE yourself in your work
• Good RAPPORT with your staff , students and community
• The courage to ASK questions and ANALYZE what is and isn ' t working
• The determination to seek positive TRANSFORMATION
• And the kind of ENTHUSIASM that gets others excited about education
Our school district leaders were tasked to build “ pirate ” teams and choose a captain before they set sail on a treasure hunt to businesses and other locations to discover what downtown Morgan Hill has to offer . We took advantage of having such a unique and quaint downtown and wanted the new people now working in our district — as well as people who have been here for a while — to have a chance to explore and get to know it a bit better .
After charting the waters of downtown Morgan Hill , it was time to get to work . One of our focuses at the Leadership Charge was the importance of upholding our school district ’ s six core values and developing an action plan around them .
At MHUSD , we know that above all else , students learn best in an all-inclusive , safe environment . That ’ s our number one value . We have to have safety and inclusion before all other values are recognized .
The second value , thinking critically . We ’ ve moved forward in education from teaching our students academic information to teaching them how to learn and how to access resources . In our modern world of digital devices providing us with an unending deluge of information , thinking critically has never been more important . If people are still wondering what Common Core is , it ’ s about teaching how to think , not what to think .
The third value , to be present , holds that daily attendance and engagement in the classroom are essential to the learning process . Being present requires that a student is not only physically at his or her desk , but also mentally attentive and focused on understanding the lessons taught .
The fourth value , focus on achievement , requires that every available resource be used to support academic success and growth for all students . This goes back to the idea of using our educational resources to provide the best education we can to all our students .
The fifth value , to embrace diversity , means that the learning outcomes for students are maximized when a diverse group values individual strengths to work toward common goals . We see this as one of the most critical aspects of our work in public education . To feel safe as an individual means that no matter what your religious preference , sexual preference , ethnicity , gender or any other difference , you feel safe in that environment and included in the school community .
The sixth value , nurture community , broadens our activities beyond the campus where we encourage parents and community to be more engaged with our students ’ learning success . The school is more than a building , and it ’ s more than the people who work and study inside the building . The school is the heart of the community .
As Morgan Hill Unified School District , we encourage our entire South County community to be engaged in the values of our school district . We hope every resident and business will be part of the process of guiding our children and young men and women to develop themselves both in and out of the classroom .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018 gmhtoday . com
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