February 21, 2008

Mission Statements
The mission of the Dunlap Leadership Academy is to graduate students who will be innovative, ethical, collaborative, and effective citizens who know how to utilize computer and online technology to be leaders in the local community and global economy.

Utilizing a rigorous, college-preparatory and career oriented curriculum embedded with the concepts of natural and agricultural sciences, students will apply 21st century learning to real world situations through partnerships with business, educational, community and governmental agencies.

Belief Statements

• We believe that everyone is a lifelong learner and that learning can occur in a variety of ways including teacher to student, student to teacher, student to student, community member to student, etc.
• We believe that all people, regardless of social or economic condition, must be provided the capacity to take charge of their lives. Through new models of teaching and learning, they will be enabled and empowered to make critical decisions for their futures.
• We believe in sharing our knowledge and experience with other educators and institutions in order to foster and enhance educational reform.
• We believe that reading is a window to the world and that learning has a social context.
• We believe that ethical behavior and information literacy must be taught so everyone learns how to best access, filter and use information so they can compete in a local, national and global economy.
• We believe that there should be daily learning experiences that integrate the use of computer and online technologies and provide real world application of learning.
• We believe that equal access is a key component for education.

Structure of Courses

Embedded into each standards-based course will be:

• Online technologies for teaching learning and interaction with others
• Integration of the principles of natural and environmental sciences
• Business and real world applications
• Critical thinking and problem solving skills
• Communications and information literacy skills
• Self-direction and ethical use of information