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Developing a Mission Statement A mission statement is the driving force behind every decision that influences the practices of a school. Developing a mission statement can be a powerful professional experience. Creating a mission statement is one of the first actions in which a school team should participate. In so defining your mission, your school is making a statement of organizational purpose. Sometimes we tend to get a vision statement confused with a mission statement. "A vision statement pushes the association toward some future goal or achievement, while a mission statement guides current, critical, strategic decision making." (Drohan, 1999) In The Mission Statement Book by Jeffrey Abrahams, TRINOVA Corporation defines a mission statement in the following way, "A mission statement is an enduring statement of purpose for an organization that identifies the scope of its operations in product and market terms, and reflects its values and priorities," (Abrahams, 1995). Christopher Bart a leading researcher in the art of mission statements says, "A good mission statement captures an organization's unique and enduring reason for being, and energizes stakeholders to pursue common goals. It also enables a focused allocation of organizational resources because it compels an organization to address the tough questions: What is our business? Why do we exist? What are we trying to accomplish?" (Bart, 1998) Do your homework. Learn about the art of taking a vision to a mission. Invest the time and energy in this task so that your school team will be able to rely on their understanding of the school's mission when times get tough and competing demands threaten to fragment or even misdirect your efforts. References: Abrahams, Jeffrey. (1995). The Mission Statement Book. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. Bart, Christopher. (August 1998). "Mission Matters." The CPA Journal. v68 n8 p56-57. Drohan, William. (Jan 1999). "Writing a Mission Statement." Association Management. v51 p117. (Available online at Infotrac - username and password required.) Our Mission Statement:
Students will graduate equipped with:
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The mission of the Antelope View Charter School is to provide students, who are committed to active participation in the educational process, a personalized learning experience that will prepare them for meaningful participation in a global community, using innovative, data-driven instruction to develop citizenship & mastery of the California Standards.