to catch the vision and fulfill the mission. Approach conflict
with the vision and mission as your roadmap to resolution.
4. Assess and create or recreate your school’s essential
values and beliefs. Vision and mission statements should be
based on your school’s core values and beliefs. Without these
foundational pieces, your vision and mission statements
may not resonate with stakeholders. Families are looking for
educators to partner with them in not only the academic
career of their child but also in their child’s spiritual growth
and development.
Conclusion
While there are many other dynamics that can affect
successful vision and mission fulfillment, I firmly believe
that most leaders need to begin with the assessment of the
culture that resides within their building. When there is
a climate that fosters the pursuit of vision and mission
fulfillment, the culture becomes one of motivated and
satisfied employees, institutional practices that positively
affect student achievement, a haven for spiritual growth,
gratified and involved families, and an opportunity to
navigate conflict when the ending destination has already
been identified. But regardless of the way vision and
mission are unique to each Christian school, there is no
doubt that the one commonality that exists between them
all is more crucial than any other: furthering the advance-
ment of the Kingdom. And in the end, what better final
destination is there?
Dr. Allison Bearden is an assistant principal at Living Word
Christian School in St. Peters, Missouri, and a product of K-12
Christian education. She has an EdD in Instructional Leadership
with an emphasis in Andragogy, an MA in School Administra-
tion, and a BA in Elementary Education. Allison is also currently
the district curriculum coordinator and previously taught in both
elementary and middle school classrooms. She enjoys writing,
reading, and trips to the beach to visit her family. She has a passion for fostering
and adoption and is looking forward to seeing how God will use her as a newly
licensed foster parent.
FOOTNOTES
1. Covey, S. R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Char-
acter Ethic (New York: Free Press, 2004).
2. Shockley-Zalabak, Morreale, & Hackman, Building the High-trust Organiza-
tion: Strategies for Supporting Five Key Dimensions of Trust (San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass, 2010).
3. Gruenert & Whitakerm, School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and
Transform It (Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2015), 30, 31.
4. Gruenert, “School Culture, They Are Not the Same Thing,” Principal, March/
April 2008, naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2008/M-Ap56.pdf, 58.
5. Vision and Mission, (n.d.), Center for School Change, centerforschoolchange.
org/publications/minnesota-charter-school-handbook/vision-and-mission.
6. Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, “Leadership that Sparks Learning,” Educational
Leadership, April 2004, 61 (7), 48-51.
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