School's Mission Statement

A school’s mission statement is “a public declaration” that describes both its educational objectives and the actions taken to achieve those objectives (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2014). It is the shared purpose that guides a school in educating all its students. Lambert (2003) states that the school’s mission is “the unifying force” that binds together the work teachers do within their classrooms (Shared Vision Resulting in Program Coherence section, para. 2)

Although it is written on the weekly bulletin and the school’s web page, teachers, para-eductors, parents and even the principal of Middleton Primary Center did not know the school’s mission statement. To understand why this is, it is important to know the history and culture of

Only teachers responded that they had any involvement in developing the mission statement. Three teachers remembered giving input during the revision of the mission statement. The fourth teacher stated that, during the past five years she has been with the school, the mission statement had not been discussed.

• Different answers were given regarding school leadership. Four of the ten respondents stated that the principal is considered the leader of the school. Three teachers felt the teachers themselves are the leaders: two teachers explicitly named several of their colleagues. Only parents included themselves as leaders within the school. One para-educator described a school leader as, “Any staff member trying to make a difference in a child’s life.”

• There was no agreement among the respondents as to who made academic decisions. Para-educators were unsure who made decisions. The parents stated that they were involved in making academic decisions during committee meetings, but that only those parents who are involved in committees made decisions. Although teachers said they gave input during staff meetings, it was their overall opinion that the principal made the ultimate decisions regarding academics and professional