SLE's New Mission

A Work In Progress

(Visit South Leake Elementary's Missission Blog to further the conversation.)

It has been several years since SLE developed its current mission statement. In brief, it states,

"...to provide meaningful learning experiences in a safe and orderly
environment...."

Well, I believe we've accomplished this, and we continue to do so daily. Now we are turning our attention to uncharted territory in many, many areas of our lives, and it is time to review our mission at SLE. So far, Mrs. Todd, Mrs. Burkes, and I have been working on updating our school's mission. Along with comments from the staff via feedback through our email, we are working on "S", "L", and "E" as an acronym for our new mission. We are considering

"Super Learning for Everyone"

as our new mission/slogan. It's short, catchy, and it conveys what I hope we do everyday.


What Is Our Mission?

Stephen R. Covey has a new book out that I think is really good. "The Leader in Me" talks about applying the 7 Habits to schools, and it offers a great way of looking at school improvement. "...try imagining fifty teachers and administrators attempting the same trapeze stunt as a team. Envision them all gathered on the lower platform preparing to launch. Some are excited, some are nervous, and some are outright resistant. Just the act of getting everyone to launch at the same time will be a major undertaking."

Sometimes I think this is why we seem to never get great projects off the ground. We can't launch correctly. The bigger the project, the greater the hesitation for the group to take the first step. It takes practice just to get started! Covey writes about the idea that the group must trust the leader before they make their launch. Or, it will be more likely to succeed, if there is great trust in the leader. A leader inspires this trust through modeling the behavior desired in others, relating to the needs of the people he or she works with, and teaches them new skills needed to make things happen. How are you doing in this area? What have you found that works in making your group bring about positive change as you work towards your goals? Are you personally modeling the behavior you want in your team members?v

Covey writes that the mission answers the why of what we do.
Why would we want to do this at our school?
Why would we want to come to our school?
Why would this be worth it to me as a teacher, student, custodian, cafeteria worker, principal, etc.?

What is our Vision?

Covey states that vision is the destination, the "end in mind" of our school. "Results" is another way of considering determining when our vision becomes a reality.

What is our Strategy?

Strategy is the path or the way to our destination. You can consider this as the "how" to realize our vision.

What are your comments?