CORE VALUES

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

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The cooperative model requires that members step outside themselves and consider the best interests of the community over their own. This process can be incredibly rewarding but also presents challenges. This document is designed to hold co-op members accountable to basic tenets of mutual respect and affirms our commitment to sustaining a considerate and nurturing community. 

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Our Core Values aims to align the Vision, Goals, and Expectations for communication and behavior among the staff and families of Chickpeas. 

• VISION: To create a learning environment and community that reflects the inclusive, equitable, and joyful society we want our children to live in.

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• GOALS: To foster productive and respectful dialogue surrounding the operation of Chickpeas.

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• EXPECTATIONS: All members of the cooperative will abide by the values laid out in these Core Values.

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VALUES / AGREEMENT

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1. Community

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

- Coretta Scott King

We are a Community first. Chickpeas depends on each member fulfilling their assigned role. We are dependent on each other to make the school function and we are stronger when we operate as a team.

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2. ​Communication

It’s important to make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.

- Barack Obama

We communicate openly, honestly, and with compassion. We acknowledge that we each come to the table with implicit biases and narratives and will endeavor to communicate with humility and kindness. All questions are good questions. 

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3. Both / And Thinking: 

Everything can be a 'that'; everything can be a 'this'.

- Chuang Tzu

We promote both/and thinking. We acknowledge and understand the way that binary thinking limits what we see as possible and undermines efforts toward compromise. We strive to move beyond good/bad, right/wrong, us/them stances and understand there are rarely only two options.

4. Accountability

Mistakes are proof that you are trying.

- Jennifer Lim

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We practice accountability and restorative justice. We can all cause harm, even with the best of intentions.We can assume that everyone in our community has positive intentions and yet we will still need to respond to negative impact as it occurs. Restorative justice is the commitment to repairing harm while staying in community. No one is disposable.

5. Risk Taking and Growth

When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision - then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. - Audre Lorde

We lean in to risk-taking, growing edges, and unease. In our efforts to foster an equitable, inclusive, and joyful community we understand there will be growth required of each of us. We understand that discomfort is at the root of all growth and are willing to jump into the messiness, whether or not we feel completely ready. We acknowledge that perfectionism and expectations of comfortability hold us back from the important work we have to do together. 

6. Equity and Inclusion

The function of freedom is to free someone else. 

- Toni Morrison

We use an equitable and inclusive lens to assess our community and acknowledge that we have blind spots when it comes to evaluating our own access to power and privilege. We understand equity and inclusion are necessary frameworks for both our interpersonal relationships and our organizational structure. We pay attention to who is and who is not in the room.