MBE Brand Camp 2018: ‘Lancers Lead from the Heart’

When Mountain Brook Elementary Principal Ashley McCombs and Assistant Principal Brannon Aaron became an administrative team three years ago, they launched the MBE Brand Camp.  McCombs and Aaron designed Brand Camp as a time for teachers and students to investigate and appreciate MBE’s historic and current identity, as well as more concretely conceptualize the kind of school MBE aspires to be.

The first year of Brand Camp identified key characteristics of the MBE brand by analyzing a number of data points, engaging in formal and informal dialogue with MBE stakeholders and reviewing professional learning goals. Key characteristics identified during the first Brand Camp included “Community that Thrives,” “Sense of Pride,” “Collective Pursuit Towards Excellence,” “Thoughtful Innovation,” “Students as Influencers of All Decisions” and “Rich History.” Last year, Brand Camp participants explored how those MBE characteristics were visible in daily practices in and around the school.  

This year’s Teacher Brand Camp worked to more narrowly define the essential principle that makes MBE unique, resulting in a core touchstone: “Lancers Lead from the Heart.”

As McCombs noted, “All financial and instructional decisions we make are centered on what we know about the community we serve and the individual needs of each of our learners. We can only truly help them grow academically, socially, and emotionally when we understand their motivations and talents, as well as their areas for development.”

During Teacher Brand Camp, MBE teachers were asked to work together to design a visual depicting the MBE brand. That work led to productive conversations about what the MBE community collectively values, which McCombs said “will be our next step in effectively aligning our systems and structures to those core values so we can adequately measure the impact on our learners and develop an even deeper sense of community at MBE.”

Students engaged in similar conversations during Student Brand Camp in August. “I have already heard teachers and faculty make the comment that they can tell a difference in the students’ behavior toward others after going through Brand Camp and focusing on how our own behavior affects others,” said Margaret Hudson, MBE Media Specialist.

MBE parents will also be able to participate in Parent Brand Camp during the 2018-19 school year. Through the collective Brand Camp process, all members of the MBE community will have the opportunity to more fully understand and appreciate what it means to be an MBE Lancer.

Submitted by Kitty Rogers Brown