The Link Between Personal Vision

and School Achievement

TEL.A.VISION is a fun way for teachers to lead students through the process of creating a personal vision. But, with so many competing priorities, isn’t this just a luxury?

A luxury? No.

Bob Dockendorf, Big Lake High School Principal, is concerned about the number of students the school loses every year as Middle School students transition to High School. Because of this concern, moving forward, every 9th grader will use TEL.A.VISION to create a vision video that will be shared with other students and staff.

“We believe we can change the climate of the school and reduce our dropout rate by having our students use TEL.A.VISION and create their own vision videos,” said Mr. Dockendorf.

“When one firsts look at TEL.A.VISION, it may not seem particularly significant, but once you see students working with it and showing their TEL.A.VISION videos, the possibilities for impacting students are amazing,” says Mike Dronen District Technology Coordinator at Stillwater Area Public Schools.

When students can envision a future, they are more likely to make the changes, put forth the effort, and acquire the skills necessary to achieve it. Specifically, if you look at two groups most likely to fail, Special Education Students and At Risk students, setting goals by creating vision videos are more likely to help them:

  • Improve test scores
  • Stay in school
  • Graduate and go on to college


TEL.A.VISION Benefits:

Offers Profound Insight: Taking time to help students articulate their dreams is a powerful act in and of itself. TEL.A.VISION offers teachers new insights into students’ goals, gifts, values and dreams. Potential side effects: enhanced communication, deeper bonds with kids and a better understanding of their needs and how to help them succeed.

Easily Integrates into Curriculum: Due to the interdisciplinary nature of creating Vision Videos, TEL.A.VISION can be applied to a variety of subjects, including social studies, health, media, English, history, etc.

Builds Community in the Classroom: Sharing Vision Videos in class is a celebration. Students, teachers and parents have a unique opportunity to learn about and support each other in new and meaningful ways.

Motivates and Inspires Special Ed and At-Risk Students: TEL.A.VISION promotes technology as a positive force in student’s lives by giving them the opportunity to tell their own stories of who they want to be and what they want to do in the future. TEL.A.VISION gives students a voice within this media revolution and provides them with powerful tools that foster authenticity, meaning and life-affirming choices.

TEL.A.VISION was featured in an article in District Administration Magazine, entitled “Vision Videos Empower Students.” In the article Shelly Landry, lead counselor for Minneapolis Public Schools, points out another reason for a district to adopt TEL.A.VISION.

“Our district has a new requirement for graduation that we call ‘My Life Plan,’” Landry explains. “It’s a curriculum framework for college and career planning, with students needing to meet certain milestones in grades nine through 12, whether writing a resume, researching colleges, doing mock interviews or participating in real internships.”

To graduate, seniors will need to complete a capstone project that reflects back on their high school career and clearly communicates their post-high school goals to others. “Tel.A.Vision fits very nicely with the personal, social and career domains that all school counselors need to address,” she says.