2.1 Mission and Vision Statements, Expanded Vision, Personal stories
From Afehandbook
AFE Mission and Vision Statement
Mission
AFE helps each family design and implement their own mission and vision of education as a home/community-based family centered experience.
• Teaching strategies are tailored to the students’ educational needs.
• Instructional activities are integrated and developmentally appropriate; connecting what is being learned with students’ interests, past learning, and with real-world/real-life experiences.
• Lessons and units of study are enriched through play, field trips, tutorial sessions, and apprenticeships, and by using the whole community as a learning environment.
• Students work in mixed age groups.
• Students are honored, valued, and appreciated. They are in an environment that is positive and safe (without letter grades, non-threatening, free of humiliation and where competition between students does not impede learning).
• Students are encouraged to work & learn at their own pace.
Vision
AFE cultivates:
• The ability to use our minds well.
• The tools to choose our paths
• The ability to act upon our passions.
• The desire to contribute to the local community and the world.
• The vision and heart to see and feel things from other perspectives.
• The ability to express our own voices.
• The habit of self-reflection.
• A sense of well being.
Expanded AFE Vision and Goals Statement (from Teachers' Procedures Manual)
Alternative Family Education provides education with support that meets the needs of families and their children who desire a home community-based, family centered educational experience.
Each student at AFE is honored as a unique human being with valuable talents, abilities and potential that can best be developed through personalized education. We encourage the unique unfolding learning process as each student discovers the world within and around, and we help students engage in their community in active and meaningful ways.
We provide a community that supports students and their families pursue learning in a form that best meets their needs by honoring the family unit and acknowledging the potential in each student.
AFE supports parents' direct involvement and responsibility on a daily basis, allowing greater impact and influence on their child's education.
We view education as an attitude and developmental process, not just a collection of facts.
Education is the shared responsibility of student, family, school, and the community.
There is neither one philosophy nor one right way of educating a person. Each family's approach is a unique and individual growing process that develops and is redefined as new ideas are discovered, explored, experienced, and learned.
It is our goal to meet the needs of each student and family as best we can in educating the whole child. Learning is integrated, acknowledging the intellectual, social, spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each student.
We believe learning takes place best when:
• Parents and families are an integral part of a student's education.
• Teaching strategies are tailored to the student's individual needs.
• Instructional activities am integrated and developmentally appropriate, connecting what is being learned with students' interests, past learning, and with real world, real life experiences.
• Lessons and units of study are enriched through field trips, tutorial sessions, and apprenticeships, and by using the whole community as a learning environment.
• Students are not segregated by age.
• Students have a strong sense of self and family.
• Students are in an environment that is non-threatening, free of humiliation, and where competition between students does not impede learning.
It is our goal to enable students to be self-directed, motivated, and competent life long learners through learning that is initiated and pursued by the student We offer an education that leads to being well-rounded productive citizens who will contribute to their community.
