“Love, Excellence, Expectations, the 4 Bs, and Family”

-Bobcat Proud

I am privileged to begin my third year as the Principal of Batesville Elementary. Our students, our team,
and the Batesville community deserve the best education possible, and I have been working very hard
with the help of many team members to make our goals a reality. We expect to move our school in the
direction of excellence like the one laid out by Ron Clark in his book Move Your Bus (book study!). This
is the most rewarding work I have ever done, and I know that our team shares my enthusiasm for this
calling.
For many years our school has been gathering the resources necessary to achieve excellence, and these
resources are very important to the success we have set as an expectation for the coming year/s.
However, I know the biggest drivers of success are our teachers, our students themselves, and their
families. What I am seeking in 2018/2019 is a school, where our entire team is guided by Love and a
sense of family with our students, their families, and each other. I know how great a place to work, this
campus has been, but I know we are only scratching the surface of what we can become. I believe in our
team; I believe in every student on our roster. We are built to open pathways toward success and new
and exciting learning experiences for our students.
I enter this year especially thankful as July 17, my wife and I welcomed our daughter to the world, and
we have been so amazingly blessed to watch our 5 other children grow in life. I promise that I am
looking forward to treating every child in our school like my own, and every professional in my building
like a family member dedicated to this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Batesville’s
children.

Vision: To deliver the strongest possible educational experience through a commitment to educational ideals based in Love, Excellence, Expectations, the 4 B’s, and Family.

Love: Our campus is committed to filling all of our processes with a deeply rooted love for children, colleagues, and the community.  We show love each day through our professionalism, how we look at and treat our students from bell to bell and beyond, how we support each other collaboratively, how we listen to and interact with the community, and how we seek to grow and improve each day.

Excellence: We seek to use our 5 guiding pillars to move our students and campus from acceptable status to distinguished recognition: 5 pillars of daily practice for 5 stars of achievement.  We hope to use the Ron Clark’s Move your Bus and the Fundamental 5 to align our energy and effort on campus to support maximum student achievement for 2018/19.

Expectations:  Our school will consistently use student/teacher data points to establish clear expectations for daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly goals.  Students and teachers will (1) Set clear goals; (2) Make clear/doable plans; (3) Work hard, (4) Persist, and (5) Achieve. The expectations will include academics, behavior/professionalism, extracurricular activities, attendance, and leadership.  

Four B’s: We have learned that consistency in learning is about the day to day details of our work.  How we respect ourselves (be respectful) and each other, how we take ownership (be responsible) for our work, how we keep safety in mind at all times (be safe), and how we push to make ourselves and our work production better each day (be proud).

Family:  Our campus has always maintained a sense of being more than an academic institution, but a place where students and professionals come together to form familial links.  This linkage can be an excellent foundation for growing the culture of excellence that we strive toward. At Batesville elementary, our students are our children, and each professional is a sister or brother, and/or a mother or father throughout each day.  We all appreciate our school is a special place to be.