Examples of School Mission Statements

Here is an example mission statement from the Curtis Senior High School in University Place, Washington. This example shows a very broad school mission statement incorporating a wide variety of different themes:

Each person affiliated with our school is a valued, needed member of the Curtis Viking community. Every Viking is responsible for promoting positive learning opportunities in a caring, equitable manner. This environment will enable all to develop fully their academic¹,emotional², social³, and physical⁴ potential and, thus be empowered to assume responsible citizenship⁵ in our local⁶, national, and global⁷ communities. To this end, we value achievement, respect² and concern for others², affiliation and pride, diversity, equity and opportunity, communication, safety⁸ and order, collaboration, responsibility and accountability, and trust² as cornerstones of our learning community.

Using our coding rubric, eight different themes were observed for the Curtis High School mission statement:

¹cognitive development, ²emotional development, ³social development, ⁴physical development, ⁵civic development, ⁶local community, ⁷global community, ⁸safe environment

Here is a second example mission statement from the Pierson Vocational High School in Nogales, Arizona. Note how this mission statement has greater focus on cognitive/academic development as well as a citizenship component:

Pierson Vocational High School’s Philosophy is to inspire all students to develop marketable 21st century skills. These skills include reading, writing, mathematics, computer knowledge, collaboration and the integrity of being a responsible and productive citizen.

Published Research on School Mission Statements

Abelman, R. (2014). Reviewing and revising the institutional vision of U.S. higher education. Review of Communication Research 2(1), 30-67. do: 10.12840/issn.2255.4165.2014.02.01.002

Bebell, D., & Stemler, S.E. (April, 2004). Reassessing the objectives of educational accountability in Massachusetts: The mismatch between Massachusetts and the MCAS. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association: San Diego, CA.

Boerema, A.J. (2006). An analysis of private school mission statements. Peabody Journal of Education, 81, 180-202.

Chapple, J. (2015). Mission accomplished? School mission statements in NZ and Japan: What they reveal and conceal. Asian Pacific Educational Review, 16, 137-147. doi: 10.1007.s12564-015-9360-2

Davis, J., Ruhe, J., Lee, M., & Rajadhyaksha, U. (2007). Mission possible: Do school mission statements work? Journal of Business Ethics, 70, 99-110

Gioia, D.A., Nag, R., & Corley, K.G. (2012). Visionary ambiguity and strategic change: The virtue of vagueness in launching major organizational change. Journal of Management and Inquiry. doi: 10.1177/1056492612447229

Gurley, D.K., Peters, G.B, Collins, L., & Fifolt, M. (2015). Mission, vision, values, and goals: An exploration of key organizational statements and daily practice in schools. Journal of Educational Change, 16, 217-242. doi: 10.1007/s10833-014-9220-x

Jones, L., & Crochet, F. (2007). The importance of visions for schools and school improvement. Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 9, 463-496.

Kurland, H., Peretz, H., & Hertz-Lazarowitz, R. (2010). Leadership style and organizational learning: the mediate effect of school vision. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(1), pp.7 - 30

Morphew, C.C., & Hartley, M. (2006). Mission statements: A thematic analysis of rhetoric across institutional type. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(3), 456-471.

Rozycki, E.G. (2004). Mission and vision in education. Educational Horizons, 82(2), 94-98.

Stemler, S.E., & Bebell, D. (2012). The School Mission Statement: Values, Goals, and Identities in American Education. Routledge: New York.

Stemler, S.E. (2012). What should university admissions test measure? Educational Psychologist, 47(1), 5-17. webtable_1 webtable_2

Stemler, S.E., Bebell, D., & Sonnabend, L. (2011). Using school mission statements for reflection and research. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(2), 383-420.

Stemler, S.E., & Sonnabend, L. (April, 2007). A large-scale analysis of the purpose of schools in the era of NCLB. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the New England Educational Research Organization: Portsmouth, NH.

Stemler, S.E., & Bebell, D. (April, 1999). An empirical approach to understanding and analyzing the mission statements of selected educational institutions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the New England Educational Research Organization: Portsmouth, New Hampshire.