Welcome to the Cherry Creek Schools’ “Culture of Learning.” In our district, learning is the action that drives our mission. It encompasses everyone; students and teachers, secretaries and bus drivers, principals and food service workers. Learning is an imperative; something that is essential to our continued success.
Some people might say I’m stating the obvious. After all, Cherry Creek is a school district. What else would we be doing? But it is more complex than that.
Every issue in society is present in our public schools. Additionally, every opinion on every issue is present in our schools and in the communities they serve. History documents that every difficult issue in America has first been addressed in our public schools. For example:
- Early 1900’s immunizations during periods of epidemics
- 1940’s health (school lunch programs)
- 1960’s racial integration
- 1970’s access for persons with disabilities
- 2000’s universal proficiency
Public education has many challenges including funding, calls for reform, questions about the role of unions, equity, and safety. These challenges are not greater than those mentioned above. And, they require us to increase our learning as adults so we continually improve the education of our students.
U.S. First Lady, Abigail Adams, said, “Learning is not obtained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” In Cherry Creek Schools we are proud of our long history of academic success, but we are not satisfied with the status quo. We want to keep learning. We must keep learning if we are to prepare each and every one of our 50,000 students for success in the world that awaits them.
Alfred Edward Perlman, a civil engineer and successful businessman in the 20th century, showed great foresight when he said “Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century.”
How true! How many of us do things today the same way or with the same tools or technology we used five years ago, ten years ago? The pace of change in our world is stunning and only increasing.
We have already learned that the quality of life in a community is positively linked to the quality of its schools. We have intentionally surrounded our students, from the seniors who are the Class of 2012 to the kindergarteners in the Class of 2024, with the dedicated teachers and staff, parents and community members, who are the bedrock of Cherry Creek’s “Culture of Learning.” Together, we are committed to our mission, “To inspire every student to think, to learn, to achieve, to care.”