Traits of a Black Knight Logo

The Van Buren Local School District brought together our students, families, staff, alumni, community members, and partners to create our Traits of a Black Knight. 

The Traits of a Black Knight are a collective vision articulating the hopes for our Van Buren students, including the attributes and skills they will need to thrive as learners, workers, and leaders.

WHY CREATE THE TRAITS OF A BLACK KNIGHT?

"Many of today’s school children will work in new job types that do not yet exist, most of which are likely to have an increased premium on both digital and social-emotional skills." - World Economics Forum, Schools of the Future

At Van Buren Schools, we want to ensure we are best preparing our students for the limitless possibilities of tomorrow. The development of traits that define our end goal for our students is the first step in framing a new vision for our school system. 

HOW ARE WE CREATING THE TRAITS OF A BLACK KNIGHT?

The Traits of a Black Knight are a collective vision articulating the hopes and dreams of our community for our Van Buren students, including the attributes and skills they will need to thrive as learners, workers, and leaders. We invited a cross-section of individuals to provide insight as we designed the Traits of a Black Knight. These individuals included business and industry leaders, families, community members, alumni, teachers, administrators, district staff, coaches, and students.

Every effort was made to ensure the Traits of a Black Knight are reflective of all the voices in our community. The Traits of Black Knight will help guide school and district leaders to strategically identify and address the areas of opportunity that exist for our students.

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK & CONTRIBUTIONS

HOW WE GATHERED YOUR FEEDBACK

Van Buren Local Schools asked our community the question, "What are the most important attributes and skills for a Van Buren student to develop?"

Teachers and staff listed their top three attributes on an online survey. Teachers then met in staff meetings to discuss the results and summarize. Each building's representatives then shared their results at the December Superintendent's Advisory Committee Meeting.

A survey with the top results from the teachers & staff was shared with coaches, the community, and high school students. Additional conversations were held with student leaders in middle school and high school.

Partnering with Raise the Bar, we were able to host a meeting in which business and industry representatives were able to share their insight.