What traits reflect the best of our Wildcat faculty? How do we ensure those traits are consistent experiences at Westbury Christian?
These two questions inspired the creation of a new set of core values over the past year for our Wildcat faculty. After months of development, revision, and feedback, the final list includes relationships, commitment, teamwork, growth, and creativity.
“We realized that we needed to make an intentional effort to capture the traits and values that have defined the best of WCS faculty over the years,” says Nathan Wagner, Head of School. “Our people are our most valuable assets. They work in the classrooms, on the sidelines, and throughout the building to shape and mold our students. We want the experiences and interactions that students and families have with our faculty to be consistent and predictable.”
The initial draft of core values was developed by campus leaders at an off-site retreat last winter. The list was derived by identifying distinguishing traits of Wildcat faculty members, including teachers, coaches, administrators, and staff. In the following months, the leadership team spent many hours revising the list.
“When working on the core value development process, it was so encouraging that many of our teachers and staff already embody certain values that make Westbury Christian such a special place,” says High School Principal, Kaitlyn Ballard. “It was challenging to identify the specifics of each trait, but the time working together to reach this goal was well worth the investment for our school and culture.”
After making revisions, the leadership team presented the list to the faculty for their feedback and questions. The faculty adopted the core values in the spring and officially implemented them this fall.
“The new core values are really no different than how we live as disciples of Christ,” says kindergarten teacher Maria Reynolds. “These traits mirror our faith and describe the Christian ethic we pursue each day.”
Through the summer, more extensive examples and descriptions of the core values were shared with faculty, and these traits were the focus of daily in-service training.
“We have to be disciplined in our hiring practices, in our talent development, and in crafting our culture,” says Mr. Wagner. “We are making a concerted effort to emphasize, repeat, clarify, and illustrate these values with our faculty. They’ve also begun to shape our hiring practices and processes. Over time, our goal is to have our entire faculty embrace and eagerly reflect these core values. We want every student and family to have a consistent and predictable experience at WCS. When you are on our campus or interacting with our faculty, you will know exactly what to expect.”
New habits and change are developed over time, and the initial efforts can be challenging. The core values are talked about regularly on campus, and the faculty is becoming more familiar.
“No matter the quality of the adjectives, a list doesn’t change anything. An organization, starting at the top, has to be disciplined in the pursuit and application of those traits. They are intended to be descriptive of our best qualities, but also aspirational to guide our growth.” Mr. Wagner adds, “We are in the early months of this new work, but it is exciting to see glimpses of the impact this will have on our campus.”