As an educational leader and lifelong learner, I am always working towards improving as the superintendent of Mountain Valley School District. Currently, I am reading a book called Kids Deserve It!: Pushing Boundaries and Challenging Conventional Thinking by authors Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome. During my reading, I often find myself thinking about Mountain Valley students and what they deserve.
Although these reflections often extend to staff, parents and community, here are some of my thoughts on what our kids deserve:  
Mountain Valley students deserve a safe school where 21st century learning can take place in an updated facility. We are educating the future leaders of our community and world. Students should have equal access to engaging educational environments where collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and creation are fostered through adequate learning spaces and technology.
Mountain Valley students deserve a thorough education that prepares them for their futures and allows them to successfully compete with students and graduates from other schools. Before technology, knowledge was power. Today, knowledge is everywhere and creation is power. We want our students to investigate problems, find solutions, create, innovate, connect globally and change the world.  
Mountain Valley students deserve a school that is the focal point of the community, a place where people come together to celebrate, share and learn. The African proverb so accurately states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Together we can create educational synergy and accomplish much more than would ever be possible alone. When we come together to share our stories and experiences, we leave with a better understanding of the people in the world around us.  
Mountain Valley students deserve a welcoming school culture that encourages risk-taking, experimentation, reflection, iteration and innovation. Failure is an important step in learning anything new. Often times, we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Students should follow their educational passions and believe that the only true failure is the failure to learn from past mistakes.  
In closing, I would like to hear what you think Mountain Valley students deserve. Stop by the school, email me at [email protected], connect with me on Twitter at @TravisDGaroutte, or leave a comment on my blog at superintendentscorner.com. Your feedback is welcomed and appreciated!

Travis Garoutte
is the Mountain Valley superintendent/high school principal.