This post is a preliminary statement about what I plan to include in a new manifesto on transforming our schools. I welcome any remarks any reader may wish to make.
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PROPOSED MANIFESTO

THE THREE PRINCIPLED SCHOOL: A Path to Consistently
Effective Schools in Which Everyone Matters

By
Jim Evers

All of us need to know that we matter, and when we are treated as such, it validates our sense of self worth and inspires us to be fully functioning at our best.

Based on my commitment to help initiate schools and other organizations in which everyone – all stake holders – matters, I’m creating a manifesto: a study/proposal about how to effectively achieve that.

Though my focus will essentially be on schools, what I suggest in the manifesto is also applicable to any organization. I have worked most of my adult life in various education capacities: a class room teacher, private school co-founder/co-director, college and graduate school adjunct instructor, consultant, corporate trainer, and a long time organizational researcher and writer.

Three Principles:
There is compelling, robust evidence of high and consistent success in organizations that are committed to the principles of everyone matters. For schools, particularly, I have narrowed these down to three key principles:
1. Respect
2. Responsibility
3. Relevancy.

And, from that same compelling evidence, I note that organizations guided by the three principles use all or some of the following seven key management practices.
1. Appreciative Inquiry
2. Servant Leadership
3. Open Book Collaborative Stewardship
4. Systems Thinking
5. Awareness and Review of its Organizational Metaphors
6. Story Collecting, Telling, Sharing
7. Facilitated Equalitarian Consensus Circles (FECC)

Being committed to the three key principles and the seven key management practices, schools and any other organization can be transformed into highly successful organizations where everyone one matters and can thus attain high levels of accomplishment and strong feelings of self worth.

The manifesto will include explanations of the three principles and seven practices along with example organizations where each is practiced.

As each section of the manifesto is drafted, I will post it for readers to read, react, and make suggestions, so that the final version will reflect a collaborative perspective.

06/04/’11