Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
St. Elizabeth School graduates students who are successful at home, in the workforce, and in the community. By maximizing each student’s unique abilities, we enhance the quality of life for elementary, middle, and high school students with cognitive and other disabilities.
Our program focuses on the realization of personal potential by integrating academic growth, social/emotional development, functional life skills, and vocational training. We create a community environment that fosters a sense of belonging. Students, faculty and families are committed to the stewardship of a learning environment with these core values:
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All people are respected and valued
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Every student can learn
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Competence, compassion, support and safety are essential
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Communication and collaboration are standard practice
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Time and talent are given generously in the service of others
VISION of the Sisters of St. Francis
of Assisi for St. Elizabeth School
Founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore and inspired by the spirit of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi and the heritage of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, Saint Elizabeth School provides educational, therapeutic and vocational services for students with intellectual disabilities and other challenges as well as support services for their families and caregivers.
St. Elizabeth School grounds its core activities in the belief in the goodness of all creation and views all human persons as created in the image of God and endowed with individual dignity. Inspired by the words of the Psalmist – “You formed me from my inmost being: you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me: wonderful are your works!”1– it offers the students opportunities for holistic growth as it provides for their intellectual, physical, psychological and social development, maximizing their gifts so they become independent and confident.
With a history of excellence, innovation and creativity, St. Elizabeth’s programs model “best practices” drawn from research evidence and experience. St. Elizabeth School extends the primary mission of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, “that of fostering Christian community,”2 in an atmosphere of mutual caring and respect among students, staff and families. Staff members consider their ministry at St. Elizabeth to be a vocation. They build on the strengths of each other, laying their gifts at the service of one another for the good of all. They are appreciated and empowered, and have the support they need to partner in the school’s mission and that of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Elizabeth School ministers in the spirit of the Beatitudes, which blesses those on the margins: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, peacemakers, those who seek justice.…3 The school values diversity and welcomes individuals of all faiths and spiritual traditions. Specific Franciscan values derived from the Gospels and given prominence at St. Elizabeth School are those of creating a caring and compassionate community, reverencing creation, practicing Gospel stewardship, and peacemaking.
Finally, it offers values-infused programs for its personnel, recognizing that only when values permeate St. Elizabeth School can it provide holistic services in the Franciscan tradition for students with intellectual disabilities and other challenges.
March 2013
1 Psalm 139:13-14
2 Call and Response (the Constitutions and Directives of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi), paragraph 15.
3 Matt. 5:3-12