Do You Know Your School's Mission and Vision Statements?

Well ... Do you?

Most of us don't. However, a mission and vision statement can be a powerful unifier for a school and provide much needed direction. Here are a few examples from corporate America:

Google - Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Exxon - Exxon Mobil Corporation is committed to being the world's premier petroleum and petrochemical company. To that end, we must continuously achieve superior financial and operating results while simultaneously adhering to high ethical standards.

Target - Our mission is to make Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand promise.

Mission statements should be succinct and to the point. Long, verbose statements have little meaning or impact. I always cringe when I read a school's mission statement and I see the phrase "we believe that all children can learn". It is this type of vagueness that is plaguing our schools.

Learn to deliver the "elevator talk". You should be able to tell someone about your school in the time it takes to ride an elevator to a destination: about 30 seconds. If you your school community can't do this, then the school doesn't have a clear mission, vision or goal.

Here are a few questions to answer to get this conversation started at your site: