How would I, as superintendent, develop or update a school district vision and mission?

           "Leadership is as simple and as complex as establishing a clear direction for people throughout the organization and influencing them to move in that direction.”  (Louis est al., 2010, pg. 6, ).  Without a clear direction, a vision, there is organizational confusion, lack of direction, and lack of purpose.  A clearly communicated vision addresses these issues.  In the school setting, in particular, vision is essential to the well-being of our greatest asset:  the children for which we are responsible.  If the children are our focus, which they should be, then the vision for our school community should reflect a desire to increase or improve student achievement.  That achievement need not only embrace higher levels of learning but should also include increased opportunities for career exploration, social growth, and cultural appreciation.

            Having experienced, the Bruce Miles approach to vision/mission development through the “chainsaw management” tools that he utilizes and after reading several of the examples (specifically, Kettle Moraine School District and Cashton School District) provided in our resources for this course, my views have been broadened.  Not to de-value Bruce Miles’s leadership completely, because several of the tools he shared with our team were valuable in establishing a focus and identifying problems, but I believe that a more comprehensive, long-term system will be my choice if given the opportunity. 

            So given the information I have learned so far on vision/mission development, these are the components of vision/mission development that I would include in this process:

1.      Planning:  Planning for a vision/mission system of development is essential.  Time lines, tools and strategies need to be thought out clearly. 

2.     School Board Support:  The school board must be behind the importance of this activity and believe that the information that is derived from the process will be useful in driving the district forward.

3.     Community Involvement:  Involve as much of the community as possible in the process.  The “World Café” discussion process, facilitates the involvement of many people in small group settings to have purposeful conversations that lead to vision development.

4.     Communication:  Keep the process transparent by providing ample opportunities for the entire community to be involved and informed about the process and the outcome.

5.     Follow-Up:  The outcome of the process needs to be shared with all who are involved, the school district employees, and the community.  The vision needs to be visible and referred to regularly to keep the vision in focus.  A time needs to be set for revisiting and revising the vision which communicates the fact that this is an on-going process.

REFERENCES

Cashton 2014.  http://www.capzles.com/#/1a7192f4-d1fd-45ab9c-8a2ceb19a6bc5d-.

Kettle Moraine School District:  Transforming Education. http://www.kmsd.edu/transforming.cfm?subpage=1296599.

 Louis K., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K., & Anderson, S. (2010).  Learning from leadership:  Investigating the links to improved student achievement.  Minneapolis:  University of Minnesota.