Developing a Mission Statement for the Middle Level School

Download or read book Developing a Mission Statement for the Middle Level School written by and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mission statement, properly constructed, empowers everyone in a school to assume responsibility for the school's ultimate direction. This document is accordingly designed to help middle level schools begin to develop such a mission statement. Parts 1 and 2 define a mission statement and discuss the confusion that is likely to occur in its absence. Part 3 identifies common elements of a mission statement: a statement of purpose, an indication of uniqueness, an explicit statement of commitment, and a clear value position. Part 4 lists general principles to guide the development of a mission statement, followed by a 10-step process for developing it: (1) solicit commitment, (2) assemble a working group, (3) gather data, (4) analyze preliminary data, (5) create an instrument to seek consensus, (6) draft the mission statement, (7) solicit agreement, (8) prepare a final draft, (9) disseminate the final draft, and (10) assess its effects and review the statement. Parts 5, 6, and 7 discuss uses of a mission statement: to review programs, policies, and practices; to make daily decisions; to set goals and priorities; to reward and reinforce people in the school; and to provide a set of criteria by which to judge a school's effectiveness. A brief sample mission statement is included. (TE)