Philosophy of Education

Principal and Director of Instruction

Corey Morning

My “Philosophy of Education” has changed greatly over the course of my career.

In the beginning, I believed education was about the teacher and teaching.  I would

create engaging lessons to help deliver the concepts I was supposed to cover based on

the adopted curriculum of the school district. At the end of the day, I felt good about

what I had taught my students. However, if I am being perfectly honest, I don’t know if I

could say my students had learned the concepts or that I had any true expectations for

them to do so. I had done my job, I taught the lessons.

              Currently, I believe education is about learning. As educators, it is our job to

never stop learning and building our own capacity as educators. To create life-long

learners, we ourselves must be life-long learners. I have learned so much from a

colleague about why it is important to teach students very simple manners and how to

show respect to others. He has opened my heart to reading more books to improve my

leadership skills.

              Greatly embedded in our learning, is the gathering of information and data

about our students and using it to inform our instruction. We must also teach the

identified standards to ensure there is a guaranteed curriculum for all students and we

must have high expectations that they can learn them. For students who are not

achieving, we create a plan to ensure they do. For those who are over-achieving, we

create a plan to enrich their learning.

              It is imperative there is equity in education. We can no longer accept the

achievement gap; we must fight to close it. High expectations for learning need to be set
and we need to believe all students can achieve them. No excuses! I have been

involved in many PLC meetings with our superintendent, who really stresses closing the

gap to make a difference for our students and schools. He always asks us if we are on

the bus or getting off the bus. If we are not on the same page with everyone in the

district it is time to move on. He would like to have a solid team of teachers moving the

school district in a positive manner.

              A trusting environment is essential to promoting learning. Students need to

feel safe to take risks, and view failure as part of the learning process. We need to

commit to learning about the cultures of our students and thrive to make them visible in

our classrooms. All members of the school community must feel as though they belong

and can have their voices heard.

              My desire to become an administrator is rooted in this philosophy.  As an

administrator, I want to create this type of learning environment in my school. Decisions

will be made based on what is best for students. I will support teachers in developing

their skills and provide them with appropriate professional development and resources

to do so. I vow to work with students and their families to give them the best possible

educational experience. I will strive to bring the whole school community together in

support of a single mission – learning!

I am chasing that bright light of passion called educational leadership. I miss the

head coaching roles I have been a part of while coaching high school sports. I miss

connecting with students after they leave my classroom. As an educational leader, I

could talk with them for many years in the hallways of a school I am leading. These

students deserve teachers and leaders who want all students to be successful and safe.