MISSION, VISION AND GOALS
PAUL SIMS, Ph.D.
Monday October 29, 2012
Curriculum Leadership Development
Network
WHY DOES MISSION MATTER?
Mission statements do no good when
they’re just hung on the wall. They
must truly drive all decisions
regarding curriculum, instruction,
assessment, personnel and
programming!
WHO ARE WE?
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2000
12,000 students
1 high school
2 middle schools
5 elementary schools
88% whites
1.8% African-American
6% Hispanic
1.9 % Low income
.5% IEP’s
90.9% Christian
0.5% Muslim
2012
28,000 students
4 high schools
7 middle schools
15 elementary schools
35% whites
20% African-American
43% Hispanic
52.6 % Low income
15.8 % IEP’s
61% Christian
20% Muslim
WHY DOES MISSION MATTER?
• It is the fundamental starting point for your
sustainability planning.
• If your school lacks clarity on the mission,
everything else is irrelevant.
• It serves as the central focus.
• It is one thing to move in a general direction.
• It’s altogether different to move towards a
given target.
WHY DOES MISSION MATTER?
• As Yogi Berra said: “If you don’t know where you
are going, you might end up somewhere else.”
• Clarity about your mission provides focus and
freedom.
• The focus comes from being clear about your
primary aim.
• The focus results in your school developing goals
and strategies for how best to use your resources
to advance and fulfill your mission.
WHY DOES MISSION MATTER?
• Clarity about your mission provides freedom.
• Freedom to say yes to those opportunities
that move you closer to your target.
• Freedom to say no to the distractions that get
in the way of reaching your target or goal.
What is a Mission statement?
Activity in Groups, Part 1
“Café Conversation”- Take 3-5 minutes to
think about the 3 most important qualities
and/or actions of effective
instruction/teachers. Write your thoughts
on the large Post It (independently at this
point).
*Do not write in the circle in
the center!
Activity in Groups, Part 2
Take 5 minutes to each report out to the
table on what your thoughts were in
regard to effective instruction/teachers.
Activity in Groups, Part 3
Elect a note-taker and a spokes-person.
Your task now is to “wordsmith” a
mission statement based on common
themes in your individual thoughts.
Here’s the challenging part—your
mission statement cannot exceed 18
words.
Activity in Groups, Part 4
Report out to whole group.
What are the common threads
or themes in all of our mission
statements?
Mission Statements…
• The reason for being: it is the question of
ultimate purpose
• Why does your school exist?
• What do you seek to accomplish?
• For schools, it is a general statement of what
you are in business to accomplish with your
students.
Mission Statements
• “The Mission statement should
highlight the long-term outcomes
of student achievement,
behavior, attitudes and abilities
to which you are committed and
obligated.” Grant Wiggins.
Examples of Mission Statements
• “The Mission of Township High School District
211 is to serve the educational needs of the
community by developing and implementing
quality programs which challenge students to
achieve their potential to become
contributing, informed citizens capable of
meeting the demands of a changing world.”
• adopted by the Board of Education February,
1999
Examples of Mission Statements
• District 205 Mission Statement
• The mission of Elmhurst Community Unit
School District 205 is to meet the
educational needs of all students,
challenging each to his or her full
potential and ensuring a foundation for
future success in life.
Examples of Mission Statements from the
Business World.
• Walt Disney: “To make people
happy”
• Walmart: “to give ordinary folk
the chance to buy the same
things as rich people.”
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
• We need to include representatives from all
stakeholder groups: teachers, leaders, students,
parents and community members.
• We need to remember that those included reflect
the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity as well as
diverse learning styles.
• A statement of mission has little meaning or impact
unless it reflects the thoughts of the school
community and is collectively embraced by those
whom it affects.
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
• Evaluate what already exists by doing the
following:
• 1).Assemble a task force made up of
representatives from each stakeholder group
to solicit feedback from their constituencies.
• 2). Task force creates a written survey
instrument or conducts focus groups to
evaluate what already exists.
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
• 3). Answer three questions in the surveys or
focus groups:
• A). What do we want to do?
• B). How will we know if we are succeeding?
• C). What will we do to ensure success?
• The best mission statements are clear about
why the organization exists and what will be
done to ensure the purpose is met.
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
• 4). Task force gathers the results of surveys
and focus groups and develops a draft of a
mission statement.
• 5). Task force seeks feedback on draft of a
mission statement.
• 6). Once the feedback is received, the task
force writes a final draft of the mission
statement.
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
• 7). Task force presents new Mission Statement to
all stakeholders.
• 8). Print Mission Statement on all school
materials such as agenda books, stationary etc.
• 9). Provide a Mission Statement for each
classroom, office etc.
• 10). At faculty meetings, include Mission
Moments: give examples of achieving the
Mission.
HOW DO WE MAINTAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF
MISSION IN OUR SCHOOL?
• How will Mission be addressed in each course
and in each year?
• A). Proud
• B). Sorry
• C). Passionate
IF MISSION STATEMENTS ANSWER THESE
QUESTONS…
• 1). What do we want to do?
• 2). How will we know if we are
succeeding?
• 3). What will we do to ensure success?
• Which of the following mission
statements would you consider effective?
Mission Statement # 1
• The mission of this school district is to ensure
that each and every student is prepared to
succeed in life. This is accomplished in an
environment of trust and respect that fosters
positive attitudes toward self, others, work
and responsible citizenship. We are dedicated
to maximizing individual potential and
developing lifelong learners who will be
contributing members of a global society.
MISSION STATEMENT # 2
• The mission of our school is to create and
maintain an environment that ensures that
every member of the school community
reaches a high level of academic achievement
as determined by state and national
standards. We commit to a comprehensive
system of support to assure this outcome.
MISSION STATEMENT # 3
• It is our mission as a school district to educate
students to be creative, responsible, selfsufficient citizens who have the capacity and
motivation for continued individual growth
and who will have the ability to make a
positive contribution in our society.
MISSION STATEMENT # 4
• We are committed to the academic excellence
of every student by empowering them with
the means for the successful completion of
high educational standards and by challenging
them to become productive members of
society.
MY SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT IS…
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Does it answer these questions:
What we want to do?
How will we know if we are succeeding?
What will we do to ensure success?
MY PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT IS….
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Does it answer these questions:
What do I want to do?
How will I know if I am succeeding?
What will I do to ensure success?
MISSION STATEMENTS
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Personal
School
Department
Program
District
Courses
The mission statements should highlight the longterm outcomes of student achievement,
behavior, attitudes and abilities to which you are
committed and obligated.
WHAT IS A VISION STATEMENT?
VISION STATEMENTS
• Whereas a mission statement reminds us of
why we exist, a vision statement paints a
picture of what we might become.
• We want to be wealthier, smarter, better
organized, healthier and so on.
• A vision statement describes where you are
going, the direction you are taking and the
destination you imagine.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VISION
• A PICTURE of the future that is better than the
present, an ideal image of where we should be
going.
• A CHANGE in the status quo and moves the
school in a more positive future. Changes may be
in rules, procedures, goals, values or rituals.
• VALUES: a vision in grounded in values and
advocates for positive transformations in
organizational and personal principles.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VISION
• Values: a school leader who emphasizes that
every student is important expresses the
dominant ideal of human dignity and respect.
• Values: a school leader who emphasizes that
every student should have access and support
for success in high status courses expressed
the dominant values of fairness and justice.
SHARED VISION: District 218
– High Expectations for Student Learning
– Equity and Opportunity
– Informed Decision Making
– Orderly Environment
– Rigorous Curriculum & Innovative Instruction
– Meaningful Engagement
– Community of Learners
CHARACTERISTICS OF VISION
• A MAP: a vision provides a clearly marked
path or direction to follow, a guiding
philosophy that offers meaning and purpose.
• A CHALLENGE: to transcend the status quo
and to do something to benefit others. Vision
dares and inspires people to commit
themselves to worthwhile causes.
HOW VISION AFFECTS THE SCHOOL: power to
grab attention and provide focus by:
• Creating meaning in a school: makes the
world understandable and how I fit into it.
• Provides a worthwhile challenge: stretches
people to collaborate and be a part of
something larger than themselves. Teaming
generates pride and makes people feel
important urging them to higher levels of
commitment and performance.
HOW VISION AFFECTS THE SCHOOL
• Energizes people: vision gives people something
to believe in. It encourages risk-taking,
experimentation and new ways to think, behave
and learn.
• Brings the future into the present: vision allows
one to imagine and name what can be, making it
real right now.
• Creates a common identity: encourages people
to work together with a sense of common
ownership and purpose.
HOW LEADERS ARTICULATE AND IMPLEMENT A
VISION.
• PURPOSING:
• 1). Say it: define the core values by
communicating them clearly and often to all
members of the school community.
• 2). Model it: Act on the core values that drive
all decisions.
• 3). Organize for it: put in resources that
support the core values
HOW LEADERS ARTICULATE AND IMPLEMENT A
VISION
• 4). Support it: provide additional resources to
the areas that promote the core values.
• 5). Enforce it and commend practices that
exemplify the core values: embody core
values in personnel evaluations.
• 6). Express outrage when practices violate
the core values: outrage tells people what is
important.
EXAMPLES OF VISION STATEMENTS
• Become the Harvard of the West (Stanford
University in the 1940’s)
• Democratize the automobile. (Ford Motor
Company in the early 1900’s)
• Put a man on the moon by the end of the
decade (1960- JFK).
EXAMPLES OF VISION STATEMENTS
• District 205 Vision Statement
• Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 will
be a national leader in educating children of all
backgrounds and ability levels, promoting high
individual student achievement. The district will
incorporate student-centered decision-making,
the highest academic standards, best practices in
education, the highest caliber educational
professionals, and leading edge resources to
ensure an equitable education for all and success
in a global society.
EXAMPLES OF VISION STATEMENTS
• All students will graduate. As a
result, they are caring, competent,
and critical thinkers, fully informed,
engaged, and contributing citizens,
and prepared to succeed in college
and career.
• (Oakland Unified School District,
Oakland, CA, 2010).
CREATING A VISION STATEMENT
• 1). What concerns you most about the current
situation at your school?
• 2). What is your vision of where you would like
your school to be in three to five years?
CREATING A VISION STATEMENT
• 3). What strategies will you need for leading
your school from where it is to where you
envision it?
• 4). What leadership skills will you need to
move the school toward achieving this vision?
WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL VISION STATEMENT?
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT?
GOALS
• IF mission is who we are and why we exist.
• IF vision is a distant ideal we are striving for.
• What are goals?
GOALS
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Goals give you hope.
Goals are promises and commitments.
Goals are not wishful thinking.
Goals are specific steps that we need to take,
in what order, to create our ideal school.
• Goals give us benchmarks to reach for.
SMART GOALS
• Specific and strategic as they relate to clarity and
as they relate to alignment with our mission and
vision.
• Measurable in that they can be quantified.
• Attainable in that we believe that success if
realistic.
• Results-oriented which means that we focus on
the outcome.
• Time bound which means that we determine
when the goal should be accomplished.
By the end of this year…
• List three goals that you want to accomplish
this year:
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• 3).
By the end of this year….
• List three goals that you want your school to
accomplish this year.
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• 2).
• 3).
How does this fit into the Curriculum
Leadership Development Network?
• What are your Mission, Vision and Goals for
Curriculum in your school?
• What is Curriculum?
WHAT IS CURRICULUM?
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Planned
Taught
Learned/ Understood
Tested
Aligned: vertical/ horizontal/ instruction/
assessment
• A road map
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
• What are your Mission, Vision and Goals for
leadership?
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
For each of the following letters, fill in the qualities or skills of leaders:
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WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
• “Leadership is the process of influencing group activities
toward the achievement of goals.” (Bass and Ovolio, 1993)
• “Leadership is influencing, guiding in direction, course, action,
and opinion.” (Bennis and Nanus, 1985)
• “Leadership is effective influence.” (Argyris, 1976)
• “Leadership is building cohesive and goal-oriented teams.”
(Clark, Clark and Campbell, 1993)
• “Leadership is persuading others to sublimate their own self
interests and adopt the goals of a group as their own.” (Block,
1993)
THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP:
How might these theories ground your leadership?
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Transactional/ Transformational Leadership
Servant Leadership
Instructional Leadership
Distributed Leadership
Situational Leadership
Teacher Leadership
Moral Leadership
Coaching Leadership
Development
http://www.learningforward.org/index.cfm
• Standards for Professional Learning:
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Learning Communities: Professional learning that
increases educator effectiveness and results for all
students occurs within learning communities
committed to continuous improvement, collective
responsibility, and goal alignment.
Leadership: Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and results for all students
requires skillful leaders who develop capacity,
advocate, and create support systems for
professional learning.
DEVELOPMENT
• Resources: Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and results for all students
requires prioritizing, monitoring, and
coordinating resources for educator learning.
Data: Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and results for all students
uses a variety of sources and types of student,
educator, and system data to plan, assess, and
evaluate professional learning.
DEVELOPMENT
• Learning Designs: Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and results for all students integrates
theories, research, and models of human learning to achieve
its intended outcomes.
Implementation: Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and results for all students applies
research on change and sustains support for implementation
of professional learning for long term change.
Outcomes: Professional learning that increases educator
effectiveness and results for all students aligns its outcomes
with educator performance and student curriculum
standards.
DEVELOPMENT
• What are my Mission, Vision and Goals for
development?
NETWORK
• What are my Mission, Vision and Goals for
Networking?
NETWORK
• “…A Professional Learning Community is a
collaboration of teachers, administrators,
parents, and students, who work together to
seek out best practices, test them in the
classroom, continuously improve processes,
and focus on results.”
• Rick DuFour, 2002.
NETWORK
• Six Characteristics of a Professional Learning
Community
• 􀂾 Shared mission, vision, values, goals
• What distinguishes a learning community
form an ordinary school is its collective
commitment to guiding principles that
articulate what the staff of the school believes
and that govern their actions and behaviors.
NETWORK
• 􀂾 Collaborative Culture
• Professionals in a learning community work in
teams that share a common purpose. They
learn from each other and create the
momentum that drives improvement. They
build within the organization the structure and
vehicles that make collaborative work and
learning effective and productive.
NETWORK
• Collective Inquiry
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People in a learning community relentlessly question the status
quo, seek new methods of teaching and learning, test the methods,
and then reflect on the results.
o They reflect publicly on their beliefs and challenge each other’s
beliefs.
o They share insights and hammer out common meanings.
o They work jointly to plan and test actions and initiatives.
o They coordinate their actions, so that the work of each individual
contributes to the common effort.
NETWORK
• Action Orientation / Experimentation
Members of professional learning
communities constantly turn their learning
and insights into action. They recognize the
importance of engagement and experience in
learning and in testing new ideas.
NETWORK
• Commitment to Continuous Improvement
• Members of a learning organization are not content
with the status quo and continually seek ways to bring
present reality closer to future ideal. They constantly
ask themselves and each other:
• o What is our purpose?
• o What do we hope to achieve?
• o What are our strategies for improving?
• o How will we assess our efforts?
NETWORK
• Results Orientation
• Professionals in a learning organization recognize that
no matter how well-intentioned the efforts, the only
valid judgment of improvement is observable and
measurable results. Assessment and re-evaluation are
the keys to continued improvement.
• Adapted from Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker (1998),
Professional Learning Communities at Work