This should surprise no one: I was listening to a sports radio show this past week when the conversation turned—unexpectedly—to parenting. One of the co-hosts is expecting their first child and was seeking advice. A fellow father, whose children are now grown, offered something simple yet profound:

“Put your child first.”

He went on to say that while countless books exist about parenting, none of them can tell you exactly how to parent your child. Mistakes will happen—but if your guiding principle is to always put your child first, you’ll find your way to the best decisions.

If we had a motto at school—aside from “We want to be better today than we were yesterday, but not as good as we will be tomorrow”—it would be this:
Do what’s best for kids.

Every day, we make decisions about curriculum, discipline, culture, safety, and student well-being. Sometimes it's about one student, sometimes a classroom, sometimes the entire school. But at the core of every decision, we ask ourselves: What’s best for kids?

Like parents, we don’t always get it right. When we make mistakes, we own them and we fix them. We believe our daily actions are the biggest drivers of growth—for our students and for ourselves. We strive to model enthusiasm, a growth mindset, hard work, and what it means to be a lifelong learner.

At MVJHS, we proudly embrace our identity as a community school. We are your school. We are each individual’s school. And I promise you this: we will never waiver in our commitment to care for, support, and educate every single member of our school community.

You’ve likely heard the battle cry, “We Are MV.” But it’s more than a cheer at a game. It’s a pledge—to have each other’s backs, to rise together when challenges come, and to stand united as one school family. It reflects our loyalty to one another and our shared mission as your public school.

We will strive every day to be better than we were yesterday—but not nearly as good as we will be tomorrow.

We ARE MV.

- Marc Hostetter, Principal at Mt. Vernon Junior High School