We believe that the Emerson Public Schools exist for all the children of all people in Emerson regardless of race, color, creed, economic status or handicap since our schools, along with home, church, and other educative agencies help determine what our future citizens will be.

We believe that each child should be provided with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, and cultural heritage necessary to be an active and productive member of the democratic society. To this end, we are pledged to a strong fundamental education for the transmittal of the critical skills, basic knowledge and cultural heritage which are the cornerstone of civilization.

We believe that each child should be respected as an individual and should be provided with a stimulating environment and opportunities to develop the child's potential to the fullest extent. Therefore, we need to know each child as an individual the child's strength, the child's problems, and the child's interest, the child's aspirations, the child's needs.

We realize that this is a highly complicated task. To do this well, we need adequate facilities, a wide variety of materials, competent teaching staff, adequate testing and guidance, classes of reasonable size, and administrative and supervisory help. We are committed to the task of providing, within our means, what is needed in order to fulfill our basic goals for children.