Many schools are asked to develop new strategic plans every 3 to five years. While there’s some debate as to the length of a strategic plan, there is general agreement that a review of an organization’s guiding statements is a crucial part of the process.

Guiding statements most commonly include a school’s mission, vision and values, which act as compass for the school’s existence, where it wants to see itself over a period of time, and the attributes that it wants to foster with all community members, not just students.

Mission statements should be reviewed in light of changing circumstances in or surrounding the school such a demographic shifts in student population, number of students in the school community and surrounding societal and environmental changes.

Vision statements should be revised to ensure that vision statements are clear and precise. Too often schools will use lofty and aspirational vision statements that they do not have the resources to get anywhere near, which breeds a level of cynicism and discontent amongst teachers and staff. A vision statement must be backed by the necessary sincerity to make it happen.

I like how Patrick Lencioni defines different types of values in his book The Advantage. In particular, Lencioni presents values in terms of things that we already are and wish to maintain, or values that we are seeking to aspire to and are not presently there yet. Most importantly, values are the code of conduct for our school community, what we expect from students, faculty, staff and also parents.

Guiding statements are essential to a school’s raison d’etre and its beliefs in how it should operate in order to realize its’ vision. Without these things, schools are lost without a compass.