About NPS

The Mission of the Newton Public Schools

To educate, prepare, and inspire all students to achieve their full potential as lifelong learners, thinkers, and productive contributors to our global society.

Our Core Values:

The following Core Values are guiding principles for the Newton Public Schools. These values represent how we want to “live” within our school communities. Core Values are for children and adults to embrace, internalize, model and live by. They are an expression of what is deep and enduring in our school system.

Excellence:
We will

Set high expectations and standards for all students and staff
Educate the whole child by striving for excellence in academic, artistic, physical, interpersonal and vocational pursuits
Inspire a lifelong love of learning in students and staff

Innovation:
We will

Be a recognized leader in education and curriculum development
Foster inventiveness, open-mindedness, critical thinking, creativity and collaborative problem-solving in our students and staff
Continuously assess and improve our teaching and learning

Respect:
We will

Create an environment where everyone feels known, safe, and valued
Recognize the uniqueness and dignity of individuals of differing races, religions, classes, ethnicities, sexual orientations, learning styles and abilities
Build upon the strengths of our diverse community

Responsibility:
We will

Foster an environment in which all students and adults take responsibility for their individual and collective behavior
Create a culture of collaboration, collegiality and honest communication
Cultivate citizens who contribute to and care about their community and the world

Strategic Goals

Support high academic achievement

Improve achievement for all students, including defining and narrowing achievement gaps for identified student groups.
Provide students with a coherent, consistent curriculum aligned from Pre-K through Grade 12 that includes authentic learning experiences, a variety of assessment strategies, and the use of digital tools.
Ensure that instruction cultivates curiosity and incorporates communication, collaboration, critical thinking and opportunities for students to create and invent.
Develop and support educator collaboration around looking at student work, sharing effective instructional practices, and analyzing data on a variety of student learning measures, and provide focused and job-embedded professional learning that supports district teaching and learning goals for all teachers, administrators and staff.

Promote local and global citizenship through collaboration

Nurture a respectful and caring educational environment in which all students learn to become empathic, engaged and ethical citizens.
Expand beyond traditional school boundaries to cultivate collaborations within and beyond the district that support and enhance improved teaching and learning.

Ensure up-to-date teaching and learning environments

Engage in multi-year financial planning that maintains educational excellence, supports equity, and is financially sustainable.
Develop concrete next steps to address the short-term and long- term needs of facilities across the system.
Across the district, build and support network infrastructure and hardware environments that support robust access to the Internet and allow students to learn anywhere, anytime.

To view our strategic goals and systemwide goals, click here (PDF).

Approved by School Committee November 2011