What is Your School's Mission?

This goes out to principals everywhere:

You know, if Google Teacher Academy taught me one thing (other than giving me a shiny badge- har har), it's that Google has a crystal clear mission. Now, I'll be the first to say, I drink the Google Kool-Aid, but mostly that's because I've never used a learning tool as intuitive as the Google Ed Apps suite. I wish that there was a larger conversation about how Google Tools are incorporated into pedagogy and best practices, but that conversation is just not happening very much.The tools have helped me incorporate previous best practices, like text coding, very easily into my teaching.

But, the more and more I go to school websites, I see something lacking: a mission, a vision. Or if there is one there, it's a standard cracker-box type of mission.

Where's the mission?

Does your school have a clear mission? If you go your website, do you have to search far and wide for it, or is it pretty easy to find? If one can't find it clearly, what does that say? Is it currently in development? Or does that mean that your school's mission is, by default, to comply. And by comply, I mean, to comply with RTI, to comply with CIPA, to meet AYP. There are things your school is required to do to keep some funding, but is that a mission? A vision? Is meeting AYP a mission?


Is maintaining the status quo a mission? To have affective leadership, a school has to reach farther than meeting standards. Illinois standards are confusing and lacking, anyway, and I'm not sure of others' state standards. 


Here's what I know:

• Meeting state standards is a goal.
• Meeting AYP is a goal.
• Complying with CIPA for E-rate is a goal.
• Complying with RTI is a goal. 
• ___(Add your own)______ is a goal. 
  

These are all goals, but what is the mission?  What makes a school stand apart from the rest? Or is standing apart not important?


Mission Statements: What's your favorite?
Every year the Chicago Sun Times publishes the list of the state's top ten schools (of course this is based on test scores, but let's forgive that fact for a minute), but I thought to see if the top 5 Illinois schools had a clear mission:

1. Northside Prep:  Their mission is clearly stated under the About NCP page. It actually includes a philosophy statement, which I think is very cool. (this link wouldn't allow direct links, so go to the About NCP link)

2. Walter Payton Prep: This mission was easy to find, under the About Us page. It's got the standard Mission and Vision statements.

3. New Trier H. S.  The mission is clearly stated on the bottom of their home page. To commit minds to inquiry, hearts to compassion, and lives to the service of the community. That's a pretty good mission. They also have something called a "diversity statement."

4. Whitney Young Magnet:  The mission is again, under the About Us page. It's a pretty typical Vision and Mission statements duo.

5. Hinsdale Central H.S.: These missions are so vast, they look like standards.                                           
As I look at the above mission statements, it does occur to me that meeting AYP is important, a necessity in these times. But I think that at least two of the mission statements above are from schools who clearly want to stand apart and reach farther than the status quo. I'll let you be the judge as to who those are.

So what is it? Does your school wish to simply comply? Or does your school wish to stand apart?

Thanks for the image.