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Our Purpose, Mission and Core Values are Alive and Active

These statements are not just dust-collecting words for our organization. They are alive and active in driving and shaping our daily work. We encourage you to carefully consider the details of our purpose, mission, and core values as you decide whether to partner with us in the education of your child.  

  • Our purpose is "why" we exist.
  • Our mission is "what" we want to accomplish, and we are always striving to improve how we deliver on the mission.
  • Our core values help guide "how" we want to accomplish the mission and are useful in shaping and sustaining the culture of our school.

PURPOSE

 
As Cole Valley endeavors to implement a Christian philosophy of education, this statement guides, focuses and directs everything we do.
  • We exist for one reason and one reason only: To serve our Lord.
  • We value serving God and His people including our students, parents, or one another. 
  • We understand that all we do is enabled by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of God the Father.  
  • We develop each student's body, mind, and spirit in hopes that they will impact a lost world for Jesus Christ.

MISSION

 

  • PARTNERSHIP:  We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to educate their children (Deut 4:9, 6:5-7; Psalm 78:5-8; Eph 6:4), and, therefore, we are serving parents by providing an education that aligns with their beliefs and values.  We also believe that we are not a replacement for the Church, but rather a supplemental support in partnership with the Church for the equipping of our young people.
  • SHEPHERDING AND CHALLENGING:  These two significant verbs create the foundation of our discipleship philosophy.  We are very relational and believe in knowing our students as individual creations of the Lord.  We love our students and guide them along their path.  In addition, for us to fulfill our mission, we must know our students well enough to challenge them beyond their comfort zone, which we call the zone of proximal development.
  • INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL:  Each student has been gifted by God according to His grace.  Therefore, each student has their own unique potential.  The only way we unlock that potential is to know each student and the student's family.  School should not only be for a certain type of person or student who learns by one specific style.  It is our mission that every student, regardless of how they have been gifted or how they learn, be shepherded and challenged to reach their individual potential.  We strive to create an environment where student learning is the measure of success, not "I taught it, therefore, they should have learned it."  It is not one size fits all, nor is it teaching to the average, but rather focused on the growth of each student.
  • TO IMPACT THE WORLD FOR JESUS CHRIST:  Our greatest purpose on this earth is to know Christ and to make Him known.  Our goal is to impart Biblical Worldview in our students so as they engage with the world, they are evaluating and making decisions through the lens and filter of Scripture. 

CORE VALUES

 
As a school that exists to serve God, our core values reflect His character (Ex. 34:6). They provide the context in which day-to-day decisions are made.
 
Expand each core value below for more details. Click here to print your own copy. 
GRACE

GRACE - We believe that our very existence depends on the unmerited favor bestowed on us by God through the
death of Christ on the cross (Rom. 5:8-10; Col. 2:13-14; Titus 3:4-7). Therefore we:

  • Develop an environment where people are loved, not because of what they do, but because we
    choose to love them (Dt. 7:7-8; Matt. 5:43-48; 2 Tim. 1:9).
  • Value students because they are God’s unique and dearly loved creations, we appreciate their
    unique abilities and learning differences given by God according to His grace, and we strive to
    understand how this unique gifting affects their outward behaviors (Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 12:3-
    8).
  • Cultivate an environment where forgiveness is practiced and encouraged (Eph. 4:30-5:2; Col. 3:12-
    13).
  • Endeavor to keep rules to a minimum (Gal. 2:16; Col. 2:20-23). 
  • Strive to encourage success rather than focusing on preventing failure (Rom. 3:20-24; Phil. 3:12-14).
  • Encourage students to develop the resilience of a maturing faith that enables them to persevere
    through difficulties (Rom. 5:1-5; James 1:2-4).
TRUTH

TRUTH - We believe that the Bible is God’s Word (John 10:35; 2 Cor. 4:2; 2 Tim. 3:16), that God’s Word is truth (Ps. 119:160; John 17:17), and that knowledge of it is key to unleashing its transformational power (John 8:31-32). Therefore, we:

  • Teach that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
  • Endeavor to teach truth in all academic subjects (Ps. 19:1; Ps. 25:4-12; Eph. 4:25; Col. 1:16-17; Col.
    2:2-4).
  • Evaluate all truth claims against Scripture (Ps. 119:105; Acts 17:11).
  • Encourage our students to embrace truth and live according to it (John 8:31-32; 3 John 1:4).
  • Strive for growth, learning, and improvement according to God’s Word as individuals and as an organization (1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 3:12-14; Col. 3:23; 1 Thes. 4:1).
LOVE

LOVE - We believe that we are each called to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27). Therefore, we:

  • Cultivate an outward focus by encouraging students to serve others (Mark 10:45; Heb. 13:16).
  • Provide encouragement and assistance to other Christian schools (2 Cor. 8:3-5; Phil. 2:3-4).
  • Endeavor to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) with gentleness (2 Tim. 2:23-26)..
  • Diligently preserve unity (Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:2) while valuing each other’s unique giftedness (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27).
  • Monitor the effect of our behavior on others so that we do not hinder someone’s relationship with the Lord  (Rom. 12:18; Rom. 14:1-15:3; 2 Tim. 2:23-26).