The Partnership fosters in educators a commitment to renewal through consistent inquiry, reflection, and action in their professional practice, resulting in continuous improvement

Renewal goes to the heart and soul of the Partnership. It is a process of continuous reflection defining the timeless character of a life or an organization and those components that need or ought to change. Renewal involves everyone. It connects individual purposes and commitments with the larger organization in ways that enable members to combine their energy and talents for a common purpose and find satisfaction in so doing. Passion and conviction are enlarged. Learning and continuous improvement are pathways to renewal. The Partnership approach is that everyone learns and everyone supports learning for others.

Education is a system. At its foundation is the classroom where students gather together with teachers to pursue learning. Parents and guardians of students, though rarely present in the classroom, provide a needed support system for their students. Schools and school districts provide an additional level of support for the activities and functions related to teaching and learning. Universities are the primary place for the preparing educators and for providing centers of research and inquiry into school effectiveness. When state and federal units are included, the system is complete.

All members of the education community, from citizens and parents to students and professional educators, have a stewardship relationship with education. All are participants in the learning community and accept some responsibility for it. This commitment extends to the entire community behind each school, not to just one classroom or to certain students.

How does such a system of education improve? How does it prevent decay? How does it rejuvenate itself and remain viable?

Renewal is the key.

THE FOLLOWING ARE NECESSARY FOR RENEWAL TO OCCUR :

There must be critical agreement on common goals and moral principles that guide collaborative work.

There must be ways to deliberate and come to working agreements on common purposes and processes.

Responsibility for change must be in the hands of those who must make the changes or are largely influenced by the changes.

These conditions must be operational on both individual and collective levels.