“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”
At Mount Vernon our teachers, parents, and students are creating a culture in which five cultural norms are inherently important…
- Start with Questions – curiosity, a growth mindset, and a pathway to wisdom
- Fail Up – embodies taking a risk, shipping ideas, and overcoming setbacks
- Share the Well – involves serving others, sharing ideas, and transparency
- Assume the Best – requires believing the best about each other
- Have Fun – promotes celebrating the wins, enjoying the ride, and spontaneity
We recognize better solutions are reached when we start with questions. We embrace the power and the humility of failing up. Our community shares the well because so much of what our students are able to learn and experience would not be possible without the philanthropic support of our families. In any challenging or tenuous situation we emphasize the importance of assuming the best, and we wholeheartedly believe the best way to learn is to have fun.
Expressions of MV Culture
Mustangs in Training: The Present Leading the Future
It's a win-win situation. Varsity athletes #sharethewell by teaching, coaching, and guiding their Lower School counterparts in both football and cheer. Mustangs in Training is a new program at Mount Vernon, introduced just this fall. This athletic initiative is a...
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Kindergarten PBL: Happy Habitats
“Zoo Atlanta called. They need to design better habitats for their animals that reflect their natural habitats. What should we do?” This was the initial, challenging question that launched the PBL unit for the Kindergarteners. When I first met with...
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Purpose-Based Learning (A Fail Up Moment)
I don’t want to say I planned to fail, but I also don’t deny that I didn’t see this coming. This year’s major project for my technology, engineering, and design class (T.E.D.) is a prototype in more ways than one. The Bike Project was born out of a generous grant from...
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