Every individual is one part of a whole school community. As each of us bring individual lives, experiences and goals through the door each day, it is important to have established common values that offer a consistent vision of how we share this place. The values offer principles that each member should strive to achieve while working to create an environment where all members thrive.

The new values announced this month at opening assembly are Community, Excellence, Belonging, Kindness and Purpose.  They are seen on the back of faculty T-shirts and pointed to in discussions.

But what brought about the change?

A survey sent out in the second semester of last year, designed by a group of student ambassadors, featured questions ranging from faculty-focused to inward-facing. The responses were then evaluated and formed into the five values found on the SPA website today.

Of the former stated values, Achievement, Accountability, Community, Passion, Resilience and Inventiveness, only one stayed the same: community. The website asserts that “Community” is built upon the connections formed between one another. Passion seems to go to purpose, while Inventiveness and achievement are represented in excellence. Belonging and Kindness are newer principles that can be associated with DEIB work.

The redefinition commits to the idea that SPA is more than just a school or workplace; it’s a community of people that one belongs to and is supported by.

While these new values seem promising, is there effort put in to live them? Even with their increased visibility this fall, students don’t know what the values are, why they changed or what they used to be. Awareness is necessary for students to be guided by these values. Reflect in order to take action: how do these principles align with your current values and how can you live them?

Without individual action, the values are performative. Institutionally, they have been mentioned twice at assemblies this year: once as they were introduced and once in reference to the phone policy. In order for them to be effective, the principles should be the vocabulary used to set a foundation for success. They must be taught and brought into aspects of student and faculty life. Teachers and administrators can further the impact and understanding of the five pillars by continually referring to them in the context of academics, Courageous Conversations protocols, and student life.

For everyone to feel the positive impact of these values, everyone needs to put in effort. Think about a time when the community felt welcoming and supportive, and then think of a time when it felt uninviting or toxic. Everyone deserves to show up to a school community that fosters growth, learning, joy, and connection. Through work put in by administrators, teachers and students, the five values can a metric for how we want to learn together every day.