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Show Board okays goal statement.. By MARC HADDOCK After months of debate and discussion, the Alpine School District Board of Education has adopted a philosophy statement which says the schools share with the home and the community the responsibility to educate children. See full text of statement on page 22 "The mission of the Alpine School District is to help students acquire the skills, understandings, attitudes and values necessary to become productive, responsible members of society," the document says. "The schools share this role with the home and community." The document, entitled "Philosophy of Education and Statement of Goals," also says, "Schools should not be expected to become the primary agent for resolving all of society's social, economic and political ills." According to the statement, when schools are given additional tasks outside of education, they "lose their focus and dilute their resources." Board President Richard Heaps said the statement is more than just a document. "Our intent is that these philosophical guidelines be practical and that they be used," Dr. Heaps said. "We believe that because of the extensive input received during the past months, the goals accurately represent the philosophical views of our public." The statement includes a list of "intended student outcomes" or goals and defines the conditions that make those outcomes possible. Among the goals are a proficiency in communication (reading, writing, speaking and listening), mathematics, citizenship, consumer awareness, as well as an understanding un-derstanding of the basic concepts of science and an appreciation of the arts and humanities. But also included are concepts like "self-directed learning," a positive self-concept and skill in making decisions and accepting responsibility respon-sibility for those decisions. The conditions that the position statement says will help the district reach those outcomes include the student being an "active participant rather than a passive recipient in the eductional process," support from the home and community, teacher excellence and enthusiasm and the regular evaluation of school policies, programs and practices. The conditions also call for cutting down on activities that interfere with time spent in the classroom and stress the need for "open, honest, courteous, and effective communication" com-munication" at allllevels of the school district, from the patrons to the board members. The philosophy statement has been under discussion by the board for almost a year, with the debate often centering on semantic differences dif-ferences and word changes. The board passed the statement at last week's regular meeting with nothing more than a comma change, however. |