• Writing a Mission Statement

·        A Mission Statement is an agreed upon set of declarations concerning the purpose of an organization.

·        Mission statements vary in length and format, and although your team is welcome to approach this task in any way they want, this primer will walk you through a process that should produce a mission statement that will both serve the school and simplify the accreditation process.

·        To create your Mission Statement, this primer will suggest a process that starts with 1) brainstorming components, followed by 2) prioritizing and finalizing these components, 3) choosing a format, 4) writing the mission statement, and ultimately gaining consensus from the school community.

I- Brainstorming Activity – The brainstorming activity is nothing more than the mission writers responding to the following four questions until they exhaust favorable ideas:

1. What outcomes are we trying to produce?

2. What is needed to accomplish our goals?

3. What do we value?

4. What do we believe?

II- Prioritize and Finalize Components –The goal of this step is to reduce the products of the brainstorming activity to components that will be included in the final Mission Statement. This will require three steps:

1. Reduce the list of answers from the brainstorming activity to 10 – 15 components

2. Evaluate each remaining component by writing a definition and identifying available data sources to summarize status or change

     3. Reduce the list to 6 – 8 components that will be included in the final Mission Statement

III- Choose a Format – There are many format styles that Mission Statements can take, but we suggest you draw from the ones listed below:

• Mission Statement - set of declarations concerning the purpose of an organization.

• Value Statements –single words (or constructs using more than one word) followed by supporting statements.

• Guiding Principles –state beliefs concerning how groups of people are, or become successful.

• Motto –desired attributes in a text that is intended to be memorized by all members of the school community.    

Mission Statements can address a variety of different constructs related to school processes, culture, and outcomes. For this primer, we will refer to these constructs as “components.” When considering components of a mission statement, we suggest that mission writers draw from the following domains:

• Outcomes – The desired products of both instruction and experiencing school activities and culture.

• Resources – The characteristics of school staff and facilities needed to produce the desired outcomes.

• Values – The most desirable positive attributes of all members of the school community.

• Beliefs – Principles that universally describe how schools or groups of people are, or become successful.

These domains provide a good starting place, and they cover almost every descriptor that could be included in a Mission Statement.

To make Life Easier:
Your Vision is :
to be a ...... what : (describe) ... to provide ..... what : (describe) for ... what ... in the field of .... what ...
Your Mission is ... what you do ... for whom ... and how

Activity: In groups of 3 identify you appropriate objective.

I- Brainstorming Activity

After this list was complete, voting took place and the components in green made it to the next step.

1. What outcomes are we trying to produce?

a. Academic Excellence    b. Cultural Tolerance   c. Quality Citizens   

d. Researchers Involvement e. Safe Environment f. Breadth of Experiences

       2. What is needed to accomplish our goals?

a. Highly Qualified Teachers   b. Unified Vision    c. Community Involvement

d. Happy Employees   e. Collaborative Spirit     f. Quality Facilities

3. What do we value?

a. Integrity    b. Hard Work    c. Excellence    d. Dedication    e. Accountability

f. Understanding

.

4. What do we believe?

a. All students can learn

b. Instruction is more effective if data are used to drive decisions

c. Students flourish in supportive environments

d. Students and their families are our customers

e. Teachers can make a difference in parent support and student commitment

f. Leadership is the foundation of school success

.

Component	Definition
	Test of Knowledge	Count of Behaviors	Gathering of Opinions
Academic Excellence	Academic excellence describes an education that provides students with the means to pursue any career path, and insures that every student reaches mastery over major enrolled.
	Criterion Referenced Tests	Students entering post-secondary options	University satisfaction surveys
Cultural Tolerance	Cultural tolerance is the capacity for, or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of other cultures, ethnicities, political views, religions, and lifestyles.
	NA	NA	NA
Safe Environment	A safe school environment is one where students do not fear for their physical and emotional safety and emergency plans are reviewed and practiced regularly.
	NA	Safe-school violations, attendance	University climate surveys
Highly Qualified Teachers	A highly qualified teacher is one who has (1) fulfilled the MoE certification and licensing requirements, (2) obtained at least a Master's degree, and (3) demonstrated subject matter expertise.
	NA	Teachers achieving  Professional Achievement or research	Teacher satisfaction surveys
Unified Vision	A unified vision implies that school staff members share explicit common goals for students, faculty, and the school community as a whole.
	Progress on explicit goals evident in every class		School climate surveys

Activity: Model

III- Choose a Format– Below are the remaining components. Following the component evaluation and final vote, the components in red were selected to be part of the Mission Statement. Given that this example identified components that were outcomes, resources, values, and beliefs, the team chose to write a single mission statement to incorporate them all.

1. What outcomes are we trying to produce?

a. Academic Excellence

b. Cultural Tolerance (eliminated during step II)

c. Safe Environment

2. What is needed to accomplish our goals?

a. Highly Qualified Teachers

b. Unified Vision

c. Collaborative Spirit

3. What do we value?

a. Integrity

b. Dedication

c. Accountability

d. Understanding

4. What do we believe?

a. All students can learn

b. Students flourish in supportive environments

c. Leadership is the foundation of school success

IV- Write the Mission Statement – For this example, the team followed the basic formula for the mission statement.

Mission

     LIU is dedicated to producing academic excellence in a safe environment by engaging highly qualified teachers with a unified vision. We value integrity and accountability and believe that all students can learn and flourish in a supportive environment.

Activity

V- Write a  mission statement.

Dr. Anwar Khawtharani