Erin,

You are so right and this is so important.  I am proud to say that my community's mission, core values, and honor code are posted prominently up front of every room.  Every time we are faced with a difficult choice, we can ask ourselves, is this action in keeping with our core values?  It makes everything so much easier.

I think people should be clear on their core values as well.  If anyone is interested in exploring their own values, there is a great free tool here that I use with my students. http://www.franklincovey.com/msb/

Thank you for this important piece.

Deb