As you have learned in this course journey, creating a vision is of importance f

As you have learned in this course journey, creating a vision is of importance for principals when leading successful schools. The visioning process focuses the resources and energy of all educational stakeholders on a common vision, mission, and values. The vision serves as a guiding light, strategically and purposefully leading and empowering stakeholders to achieve school goals and ensure student success. The mission statement, in contrast, provides a concise statement of what the school does now.
This process starts with knowing what you want your school to become and your plan for how you will get there. In this assignment, you will reflect on what you have learned about what effective principals do to create highly effective schools. Then, you will articulate your mission and vision for your school.
The first step in creating a vision and mission for a school is knowing the “why” and “what” of your core values and hoe they are foundational to your plan, so you can effectively communicate with stakeholders.
Step 1. Reflect
Consider yourself the leader of a new school. You have a blank slate to begin work. Think about and publish answers to the following questions.
What is it you truly want from your students and school?
What kind of school do you hope the school will be?
What should be reflected in the school’s vision and mission statements?
What do the school and its stakeholders need to do differently to achieve this vision?
How is your school different from other schools? What unique opportunities or pathways does the school offer?
Step 2. Review and Compare
Locate and review your school’s existing vision and mission statements and other documents that describe the school’s vision and mission, existing instructional vision and mission statements, and the district’s strategic plan.
Additionally, locate the vision/mission statements for at least two other schools. These may be schools with which you are familiar, schools similar to yours, or schools in which you are interested.
Compare and critique the vision statements of the three schools. Complete the Vision/Mission Evaluation Rubric—available on the Learning Objects page—for each of the three sets of statements.
A few questions to guide your critique are:
What patterns do you see in the existing vision and mission statements?
Based on your learning experiences from this course, what are beliefs or values about teaching and learning reflected in these statements?
Based on your learning experiences from this course, what beliefs or values about teaching and learning should be added that are not currently reflected in these statements?
Step 3. Create
In this final step, you will publish new vision and mission statements for your school.
A vision is your school\’s goal—where you hope to see it in the future. The mission provides an overview of the steps planned to achieve that future. A vision is concise and easy to recall, whereas a mission is lengthier and more explanatory. Your school may also want to establish targets along the way to measure progress toward its vision. Start with your school\’s vision because you need to know where you want to be before you can determine how you plan to get there.
According to the Task Force on Developing Research in Educational Leadership (2003), \”Effective educational leaders help their schools to develop or endorse visions that embody the best thinking about teaching and learning. School leaders inspire others to reach for ambitious goals\” (p. 3). Your school must have a vision that all staff members recognize as a common direction of growth, a statement that inspires them to be better. An effective vision also announces to parents/legal guardians, the community, school staff, and students where you are heading and why they should take the trip with you.
Create your vision statement (the “what”) and in a follow-up paragraph, share your thoughts that explain “why” you articulated it as written.
Mission statements \”give educators stronger motivation and provide parents with a clearer picture of what the school values. … A clear vision and a common mission that identifies the kind of learning to be achieved can help keep the school and the efforts of its staff and students on target\” (Peterson, 1995). Mission statements are the \”how-to\” statements or action plans that help schools achieve their vision. They prompt change and growth. The mission is the touchpoint that can help you determine whether what should be happening is happening.
Create your mission statement (the “what”) and in a follow-up paragraph, share your thoughts that explain “why” you articulated it as written.
Make sure your vision and mission statements meet all these criteria. Be bold. Be ambitious.
Step 4. Compose
Compose a 4- to 5-page paper that includes the following:
An introduction
Answers to the reflection questions from Step 1
Presentation of the 3 mission and vision statements and a discussion of their rubric scores
Answers to the reflection questions in Step 2
The vision and mission statements you published
A conclusion that explains how the vision and mission statements you published tie all the components together
Include connections with the readings in this module and any additional sources you identified
Include APA-formatted in-text citations and reference page. Use subheadings to provide organization and structure.