I believe that social-emotional learning and support in school is the key to academic success and creating a community of life-long learners.  All students can achieve at high levels, but first must feel and believe that they CAN despite cognitive, social, and/or emotional needs.  Our teachers will help students move past the "roadblock mentality," and present their issues as speed bumps - they slow us down to get over and past them, but we don't stop.  Once students feel they are able to make mistakes, learn and grow from these mistakes and develop a healthy sense of self in a safe supportive environment, a highly rigorous curriculum can be faced and presented as a challenge to push thinking and develop deeper critical thinking skills for the 21st century global community.

It's through my moral imperative that Elm Street's guiding principles enable our students to feel like a member of a safe, supportive, and caring community.  We believe in:

• Compassion - an empathetic ear is a rational response to an irrational world
• Connection - we all need to feel connected - otherwise we are isolated and lost
• Trust - believe in yourself and others best intentions
• Love - binds us together
• Equity - everyone gets what they need to be successful
• Engagement - we must engage if we wish others to
• High Expectations - everyone can achieve at a high level
• Perseverance - everything is difficult until it's easy 

We believe that every child can succeed - every child, every classroom, every day.  

Leadership

• The principal will serve as the instructional leaders of the school.
• They will provide positive support to all Elm St. School constituencies and be actively involved in all school activities.
• The principals will actively seek all necessary resources necessary to facilitate the instructional process.

Staff

• The teaching staff will serve as positive role models for the students and the community.
• They will work cooperatively to enable the learning process and to encourage their students to express their creativity and to be responsible risk takers.
• Curriculum and Instruction
• The Elm St. School curricula will be guided by our local learning standards and will require our students to become active participants in their learning process.
• Our program of studies will be sequential, integrated, and developmentally appropriate.  
• We will enable students to organize, process, and present information utilizing a variety of resources.

School Climate

• Elm St. School will strive to provide a safe, supportive, and intellectually challenging environment that contributes to the academic and social development of each individual.
• All members of the Elm St. School community will be valued and recognized for their achievements and efforts, treated with dignity and fairness, and expected to support the school and district's vision in all of their daily endeavors.

Community Support

• Elm St. School is committed to working with families of its students to provide the best possible education for their child.
• Families will make the time to be active participants in their childs' education.
• Elm St. School will provide ample opportunities for family accommodations / learning activities.
• School and community resources will work together to enable children and their families to be successful in school. We recognize that community support is vital to the education of the whole child.

Students

• Our students will learn to accept responsibility for their learning, their decisions, and their actions.
• Our students will abide by our basic principles of safety, respect, honesty, courtesy, and responsibility.
• Our students will be supported and guided in their efforts to achieve.