Rouses Point Elementary School, 80 Maple St, Rouses Point, NY 12979, US

We, the Missisquoi Valley Union Middle and High School ( MVU ) Learning Community, are committed to the establishment of high standards for student learning. Our mission is to create an active learning community where adults and students alike are respected, valued, and required to take responsibility for achievement. Before setting our mission on high standards, we believe it crucial to assure that every student exits MVU with the fundamentals they must embody to enter a democratic society. We must provide foundational skills in the important areas of basic literacy, numeracy, technology, civics, and finance. No one will be left without these aspects of an educated citizen. Individual learners will build upon this foundation, using their imagination and willingness to take risks to achieve their greatest potential. A democracy requires two goals for education that are sacred. Schools must be both equal and excellent. Equality in education is founded on the belief that in a democracy all citizens are entitled to the skill necessary for thoughtful and active citizenship. Excellence in education is derived form a commitment to learning. Equality does not require that everyone in a diverse and valued multi-cultural atmosphere learn exactly the same things in exactly the same ways. It does require that differences in rates of learning, in interests and in the purposes of schooling not be used to diminish opportunities to learn or to gain access to knowledge. Differences must not be converted into inequalities.