Mission & Vision Statement
Mission:
Empowering students, families, and stakeholders through education, advocacy, and community
Vision:
Tennessee School for the Deaf students will be linguistically and culturally competent. They will exhibit a mastery of both American Sign Language (ASL) and English and possess self-knowledge and skills necessary to succeed academically and socially as a productive member of society.
Students will:
- Approach challenges with optimism and perseverance while working toward solutions, asking for help when appropriate, collaborating with others to problem solve, and self-advocating
- Respect themselves and others
- Exhibit curiosity and creativity
- Demonstrate a mastery of both ASL and English
- Develop short- and long-term plans for learning and develop career goals that give purpose to their learning
- Exhibit a joy for learning through free thinking and creativity while developing self-confidence
Teachers and Staff will:
- Respect, value, and honor the language and culture of Deaf and Hard of hearing individuals
- Demonstrate a mastery of ASL and English
- Approach their work with optimism, humility, and teamwork
- Set high expectations for students’ behavior, academic performance, and creative endeavors
- Develop lessons and tasks that align to grade-level standards with appropriate support for student success
- Collaborate effectively to promote learning through incidental learning in school, at home, and in the community
- Model behavior and mentor students to set high aspirations for themselves and to develop appropriate plans to achieve those aspirations
- Provide support and resources to facilitate student success
In an environment that:
- Is language and information rich, exhibiting appreciation of and value for identity, language, and culture
- Respects all employees and values the purpose of each job
- Displays strong leadership and effective communication
- Is safe, nurturing, and professional
- Allocates resources effectively for student success