Happy new year and a warm welcome back!
Core Values
I learned the other day that Enron had it's core corporate values engraved on marble plaques in the lobby of their office building.
Impressive, aren't they? Integrity. Communication. Respect. Excellence.
Good stuff. Except they weren't.
In the end, Enron's core values would seem to have had little or no effect on the organization. Enron's demise in 2001 remains the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and "it was revealed that its [falsely] reported financial condition was sustained substantially by an institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud." Twenty-thousand people lost their jobs when Enron collapsed. Innumerable stock-holders and business partners lost millions if not billions of dollars. In Enron's wake their accounting firm, Arthur Anderson, was also compelled to surrender its license and was subsequently dissolved. Enron's CEO, Ken Lay, who was to stand trial on charges that would have imprisoned him for up to 45 years, died of a heart attack before his trial began... though rumors that he faked his death (too) persist.
So, there's that. Core organizational values are great. Unless they're not. If they're just platitudes, empty words engraved in stone, what's the point?
On the other hand there's Netflix, one of the most successful tech-companies in the world right now, having successfully negotiated a rapidly changing marketplace and quickly adapted from a company that sends DVDs to customers through the mail into a company which now streams a whopping one-third of all the Internet content in the U.S. on a daily basis. Netflix has grown immensely in both size and profitability in the last several years.
Netflix corporate values and its statement of corporate culture (called "the most important document ever to come out of the [Silicon] Valley" by no less that Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg) are widely admired in the corporate world. In all they have nine core values at Netflix which are all focused on maintaining optimal "freedom and responsibility" within their organization. The values that matter to Netflix are Judgement, Communication, Impact, Curiosity, Innovation, Courage, Passion, Honesty, and Selflessness.
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I will admit to being intrigued by these core values and the postive impact they may (or may not) have on an organization. I believe Marshall has a number of great core values, but I don't believe we've identified them well at this point. If someone were to ask us what we held as the key, most-important attributes of our "corporation" what would we tell them? Who do we want to work alongside here at Marshall and what do we want them to be like? What traits and ideals do we aspire to live up to as coworkers and team-mates at Marshall? And, as we peer a ways into the future, what attitudes do we want our new coworkers to embody?
I think it's important that we become better able to articulate these ideals.
Most especially because I anticipate that we will start the year next year with a number of new faces in our midst. As we plan to replace a number of excellent teachers with new faculty members, I think it would be of great use to us as we seek, interview, and hire new employees to be able to identify, first for ourselves and subsequently for our candidates, what attributes and behaviors we value in our coworkers here at Marshall.
I'd like to begin the process of identifying and articulating our core values at Marshall Magnet School. As a first step in this process, I'd like to know what you value about our community, your coworkers, and our culture at Marshall. In lieu of our typical "Please acknowledge" link, please complete and submit the form below.
Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill
Nurse Gilmore sent the following to you via email on Wednesday. Please consider joining in this effort:
Hi all! It's almost February and that means the Agassiz Uphill is right around the corner. This is a wonderful event/fundraiser put on by Kahtoola with 100% of the proceeds going to Camp Colton, attached are more details.
I think it would be REALLY fun to get a Marshall team together to support Camp Colton! You may remember me sending out a similar email last year around this time but I ended up doing the race alone (guilt trip). The event is Saturday February 8th at 5pm and is always a blast! I would like to make it clear that this event is not a race but an uphill fundraiser. Teams are not required to finish the race together but function more as a collective way to raise money for Camp Colton. I do realize however, that many of you might think the idea of climbing up a snowy mountain nearly 2,000ft on a Saturday evening sounds horrid and you're probably smart. However, there is still a way you can participate and be a part of the Marshall team. If you are a lover, supporter, or believer in Camp Colton, and believe that children benefit from the rich experiences nature has to offer, you can participate in Support a Friend up the Mountain (SFUM) hike-a-thon. This is a one time tax-deductable donation of any $ amount you feel you could pledge, an remember 100% of the proceeds go directly to Camp Colton.
There is a pledge form posted outside my office where you can sign-up to donate. This year Agassiz Uphill's fundraising goal is $30,000. Let's raise as much as we can for Camp Colton to help ensure that the students we have at Marshall today will have to opportunity for the wonderful experiences Camp Colton will offer them down the road!
Round Two TPEC
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You may recall that the state of Arizona now requires that all teachers, regardless of tenure status, must complete two annual observations each school year (two observations equal one evaluation). At this time, I have all-but-completed everyone's first-round observations. Here are a few things you should know about our next steps in this new process:
- Your TPEC evaluation rubric will show you both an overall numeric score (ie: 2.85) and a narrative identifier such as Emerging, Applying, Integrating or Innovating (see image above).
- If you have received all Integrating (3.0) or Innovating (4.0) scores on your eval and thus have an average score of 3.0 or higher, you and I can together determine if you should sign a waiver to forego your second observation (effectively duplicating your first score).
- If you have any Applying ratings you will need to do a second-round observation to "fix" those areas.
- If you are a teacher with less than three years experience in FUSD you must complete a second observation.
- If you have a score in the 3.0-3.5 Integrating range you and I together may elect to sign a waiver, however, please keep in mind that this number, coupled with your years of experience, committee participation, as well as with a few other variables, may become components of your RIF Rubric, should we end up in a RIF year. If your score is at the low end of this range, it might be advisable to consider doing another observation (both scores are averaged) in order to raise your overall points and thus make you more competitive among your peers during a RIF. If you have an average score of 3.0-3.5 and would like to discuss the option of signing a waiver, please make an appointment to meet with me.
- If your score is 3.5-4.0, or if you are a well-seasoned veteran teacher with many years of experience with a score in the 3.0-4.0 range, I have already prepared a waiver form for you to consider signing. I will be seeking you out next week to discuss this option with you.
Week A
- Monday, 13 Jan.
- Coe @ Admin Council, 1:00-4:00
- Tuesday, 14 Jan
- Clark Headstart visit, 8:15
- Science Council in the Science Lab, 4:00
- Site Council, canceled
- Wednesday, 15 Jan
- Coe @ Elementary Admin @ Kinsey 7:30-10:30
- Federated Headstart visit, 8:15
- Thursday, 16 Jan.
- Faculty Meeting, canceled
- Coe @ Move On When Reading meeting, 3:30
- Friday, 17 Jan.
- Lockdown drill, ~9:30
- Monday, 20 Jan.
- NO SCHOOL, MLK Day
Please complete the Marshall Values form above to acknowledge this post.
