Mission & Values
At Explorer West Middle School, we are more than just an educational institution. We are a community dedicated to nurturing the unique potential of each student.
As you explore our website, you'll learn more about our mission, our values, and our commitment to creating a nurturing and inclusive environment for our students. Whether you're a prospective family or a current member of our community, we're excited to share our vision with you.
Our Mission
We empower young people to explore and grow their unique intellectual, ethical, and creative capabilities, and to treasure diversity and growth in others.
Our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Mission
To be a community in which all members have a voice, are given respect, and see their identities reflected and affirmed in the curriculum, activities, and physical and virtual environments of the school.
Land Acknowledgement
We honor and acknowledge that Explorer West Middle School stands on the traditional territories and ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish Peoples. We acknowledge the contemporary Tribal Nations that continue to steward these lands and waters and that we reside among. Our collective responsibility is to honor, protect, and sustain this land.
More information and resources about land acknowledgments can be found on Seattle University's website.
Our Core Values
Explorer West develops students with a global perspective who will actively contribute to a sustainable future. The entire community—teachers, students, parents and administrators, and the Board—supports values that promote a strong and healthy learning environment. These values form our school culture and aim to maximize learning and achievement, emphasizing challenge, inquiry, expression, and reflection.
We believe that challenging classroom content and experiences encourage all students to engage actively in their learning, and all classes are equally crucial for fostering and developing a vibrant citizenry. A balance of disciplines gives students the tools and skills they will need as members of their communities. Respect is our overarching value in and outside the classroom.
Confidence
Working persistently toward a state of mind and self-respect that allows students to perform their roles comfortably and courteously. Students are encouraged to seek a healthy balance between leading and supporting as they work together for the good of the classroom and the school community.
Creativity & Inquiry
Encouraging multiple or novel solutions that respect diverse perspectives and take advantage of all available resources in independent and collaborative settings. Information gathering and interpreting meaning lead to a broad range of options and applications.
Integrity
Behaving and speaking in such a way as to foster trust from individuals and the community at all times. This includes honest, respectful, moral, and ethical speech and actions. Open and honest communication is critical to the healthy functioning of the school.
Personal & Community Responsibility
Accountability for one’s own words and actions and respect for the right of others to that same opportunity. We recognize that one’s membership in a community requires active participation, and sometimes the needs of the community supersede the needs of the individual.