According to Glickman (2002), “without the cultivation of dissatisfaction and critique, without being clear about the purpose, and without the need to use knowledge base in practice, we have no education and no profession.” For a school to be successful, the school must have a focused mission statement that includes “enabling all learners to achieve worthy intellectual accomplishment, as reflected in their ability to transfer their learning with understanding to worthy tasks and in their habits of mind” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007). The school must have a mission statement that pushes students to achieve academic excellence and encourages life-long learning. The mission statement sets the standard expectations for students and an exemplar for measuring student achievement. A strong mission statement is crucial to help educators set realistic goals for their students that correlate with the mission statement.
Once the mission statement is in place, the vision of the school comes next. The vision statement provides direction for where we are headed and where we would like to be. A vision statement is critical in providing ongoing assessments of where the school currently stands to determine school success. The culture of a school should ultimately be directly related to the vision and mission of the school. Educators need to be aware of the vision and the mission to effectively establish a positive school culture. The school culture should be one that not only supports the mission and vision but also supports students in making progression towards achieving school goals. The culture of a school can be changed quickly by administrators, educators, or students who do not fully understand or support the mission of the school.
Educators are the final element that is critical to the overall success of a school. For a school to work towards its mission statement, educators must not only be informed of the mission statement but also be given feedback as to how their teaching methods are contributing to or hindering the mission of the school. According to Wiggins & McTighe (2007), “educators have few mechanisms for obtaining needed feedback and for making systemic adjustments once schooling is under way.” Teachers are not being observed in a capacity that provides them immediate and frequent feedback. Without feedback on progression towards the mission of the school, teachers are focused on teaching content standards, focusing on assessments and state tests, or developing classroom management skills. Teachers are not given an opportunity to assess if their teaching methods and expectations are moving students towards the overall mission of the school. Teachers must be given that feedback through consistent observation and follow-up conferences. For a school to be successful, many pieces need to fall into place. Each piece must support the other equally or the success of the school will be in jeopardy.