The Wildcat Way Defined

What exactly is The Wildcat Way?

The Wildcat Way for our faculty and staff can simply be defined as all the actions that we take to develop our students above and beyond standardized test scores.

There are many facets that comprise The Wildcat Way so we use the graphic below to easily communicate what it's about.

Let's break the graphic down and explore all the components of The Wildcat Way.

You'll notice that at the pinnacle of The Wildcat Way graphic we list the students that we serve, our Wildcats.  We strive to be about more than test scores and to connect with students on a personal level.  We know that the specific lessons that we teach may not be remembered for years to come but the relationships that we build, the life skills that we help instill, and the success that we help inspire will be.

Our CORE values are at the base of The Wildcat Way.  Our commitment to our CORE values of Collaboration, Observation/Ongoing Learning, Relationships, and Expectations drive us rather than reactions to mandates or accountability measures.  Our CORE values ensure that we keep the focus on what is most important.

Next, the arrow represents our actions.  You see, The Wildcat Way is more than a slogan.  It's a system that we operate within.  Our staff understands the need to move from beliefs to behaviors.  We do more than "say" The Wildcat Way, we live it.

At the center of The Wildcat Way is our Focus on Excellence Framework which helps ensure that students master essential skills.  Our teacher teams use Professional Learning Community (PLC) practices to constantly assess student progress and develop intervention and enrichment activities based on student needs.

In addition to our PLC efforts, we systematically "Look Back/Look Forward" which means that on an ongoing basis, we seek input, review feedback, and brainstorm ways to constantly improve in order to live up to our motto of "Excellence in all that we do- Academics, Activities, Arts, and Athletics."

Finally, we strive to model the traits that we want our Wildcats to be embody.  Those traits are Welcoming, Involved, Leading, Dependable, Cooperative, Ambitious, Teachable, and Serving.

That is The Wildcat Way.

Tim Sparacino, Principal