Page 251 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

232 The Disney Way

The realization of this dream did not happen overnight. It took three
years of research and long hours of hard work to create Downtown School’s
child-centered educational model. But the research continues. Renee Harmon,
Downtown School assistant principal, said, “Our education model is very
eclectic. It takes whatever research has proven to be best for children and we
implement that. We are constantly looking at what we are doing, looking at
what research is discovering, and changing what we do to fit that.” 86

Believe

The Downtown School Mission reads

The Downtown School, in collaboration with parents and the business
community, will provide a research-based learning environment that
ensures each child’s success.
Our common goal is to enable children to mature into responsible
and respectful citizens capable of independent problem solving, team-
work, and leadership. We are committed to a world-class educational
opportunity for the benefit of all students of the Downtown School,
their parents, and the community.

When asked to evaluate the culture of an organization, we seek to deter-
mine if the behaviors are consistent with the mission. Let’s test the critical
elements of the Downtown School’s mission.
“Collaboration with parents and the business community.” In Chapter 6,
we described the creation of the Downtown School and the critical roles of
both the Des Moines Business Alliance and the Des Moines School District.
Collaboration with parents has been nothing short of miraculous. Because
of the proximity to the workplace, flexible time, and the dedication of both
teachers and parents, parent-teacher conference participation is over 99
percent. Downtown School also boasts an extremely active Parent Teacher
Association (PTA). Meetings are often held during the lunch hour in a
downtown business conference room. We had the good fortune to attend a
PTA meeting during our research for this book. The conference room was
about 85 percent full, although the president apologized for the low turnout,
stating that typically the room is filled to capacity. We also observed some
parents entering the school to have lunch with their children, and others who
were on site to watch their children give presentations. During the first two