There’s a great story about a nomad coming out of the desert to a town. A wise man met him at the gate.
“What’s the town like?” asked the nomad.
“What was it like where you came from?” answered the wise man.
“It was awful. People were mean and hateful. They stole. It was a horrible place to live.”
“Hm,” said the wise man. “This town is like that too.”
The nomad turned back to the desert and did not enter the town. Soon a second nomad approached the town. Again the wise man met the newcomer.
“What’s the town like?” asked the nomad.
“What was it like where you came from?” answered the wise man.
“It was wonderful. I hated to leave. Everyone was friendly and warm. They helped each other. We enjoyed being together.
“Hm,” said the wise man. “This town is like that too, welcome.”
And the man entered his new town.

Your school is like any town. It is what you see it to be for yourself and your children.

Last week the Murphy School District in Phoenix Arizona relooked at their schools to see if the place their children enter was a warm and friendly one. The leadership asked a group of people from the district-administrators, teachers, and parents-to relook at the Vision and Mission of the school district. If their vision is of a great place to be and their mission is to turn the schools into what the stakeholders want it to be, then they know they can deliver what is best for kids.

If a wise man was at the gate of one of the Murphy Schools, I might ask, “What’s the school like?”

Simply telling me the vision of the folks at Murphy would help me know whether I would want to bring my children here:

Educational success to achieve tomorrow’s dream.

Think I’ll stick around for awhile. Sounds like they’re on target for kids.