Vision for Learning

Effective schools have a clear direction that informs the work of all staff. Establishing an agreed-upon vision for the school is the first step in plan development.

The vision should embody the school community’s best thinking about teaching and learning. A school needs to know where it wants to be in order to improve. The vision provides all stakeholders with a common direction for growth, something that inspires them to continuously strive to better meet students’ needs. An important reminder is that a vision should be measurable and linked to data.

The guiding questions and resources below can help with establishing a clear direction that will inform the work of all stakeholders.

• Does the school have established vision and mission statements?

  This toolkit provides resources to develop vision and mission statements, as well as to review and refine current statements.

• What will students know and be able to demonstrate upon graduation from your school?

  If the school has not developed a graduate profile, this would be a great time to work through that.

• What values and beliefs are reflected in the vision statement?

  Working through an Even-Over Protocol can be an effective way to determine this.

• Does the vision statement align with the needs of the community we serve?

  This video from McREL International’s ASCD’s 2020 Virtual Conference highlights the ways in which schools might ensure alignment of mission, vision, and values.

• How will we know if we achieved our vision?

  The IRIS Center provides a module and resources to help school leaders monitor and measure progress towards achieving a school’s vision.

Developing a school’s vision and mission statements are two critical steps toward creating a culture of continuous improvement. When they are done well, the vision and mission statements provide clarity and direction for the work ahead and can serve as guideposts for making decisions throughout the school improvement process.

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