12/6/2019 Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements - Fall 2019 - Strategic Planning for Tech (ETEC-593-01W)

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Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements

Sherry Luna posted Nov 7, 2019 9:50 PM to Base Group 3

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(Neches ISD) District Motto: Our community of learners will produce tomorrow’s community
of leaders.

Mission Statement: The Neches Independent School District, established and supported by
the community, will provide an excellent, well-balanced education in a safe environment for all
students.

I will assume that the motto is our “acting vision” and then there’s the mission statement.

Looking back at what a vision statement is and what it does, I feel that it is on the right track
because it “defines the optimal desired future state” in that we will produce leaders. It is
short, to the point, and says that we are a community, and we are teaching these learners
(students), and what we are doing will turn these kids into leaders by the time they are
through their education in our district.

Part of me feels that it is good as it is, but part of me feels there should be more. What do you
mean leaders? Does everyone need to be a leader? If everyone is a leader, than nobody is,
right? I have always struggled with that word because it seems to be this decade’s buzzword
in education. If everyone is a chief, who is an indian? (Don’t mean to be non-pc there, just
trying to make a point.) Should there be more definition to the successful student we mean to
produce? Maybe it is just me, but I have mixed feelings about using the term leader and
making it the thing everyone should strive to be.

The mission statement is also pretty good, covering the WHAT it does and WHO it does it for,
but are not forthcoming in the HOW it does what it does. They could include the part of the

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12/6/2019 Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements - Fall 2019 - Strategic Planning for Tech (ETEC-593-01W)

vision as their WHAT and the HOW could be the WHAT from the original mission statement.
For example:

The Neches Independent School District, established and supported by the community, will
produce tomorrow’s community of leaders by providing an excellent, well-balanced education
in a safe environment for all students.

I don’t know if that would be what the district is going for, but it covers the who, what, and
how of a mission statement.

Technology Integration Vision and Mission statements.

I feel like the ISTE standards for students could help here. There are so many good standards,
it is difficult to narrow down what I want to express wrapped up in a short vision without
using too many of the recent buzzwords, but still getting the point across.

Vision: Our community of empowered learners will produce tomorrow’s 21st century
innovators.

I am not that keen on simply adding to the already existing vision, but I feel like it is a good
start, and by adding innovators, I feel I have taken away the ambiguity of the word leader to
provide a direction to what a Neches ISD graduate can achieve after leaving our halls. I feel
that it aligns with the district vision in that what we are doing now with these kids will
positively impact what they are able to do once they graduate from our district.

Mission: Neches ISD will produce empowered learners and 21st century innovators by
providing students with opportunities for creation, communication, and collaboration through
digital learning,

I’m not 100% satisfied about that one yet, but I’m feeling pretty good about it. I am looking
forward to your feedback! Since this mission statement is specifically geared toward
technology, it is a bit different than the original mission statement, but still includes the idea
that we will support our students and provide them with the well-balanced education. It also
aligns with Goal 6 of the District Improvement Plan (16-17) that says, “Technology will be
implemented and used to increase the effectiveness of student learning, instructional
management, staff development and administration.” This goal is very generic in its “used to
increase the effectiveness of student learning,” but I feel the mission statement defines the
evidence of that effectiveness.

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12/6/2019 Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements - Fall 2019 - Strategic Planning for Tech (ETEC-593-01W)

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Begli Sapayev
November 10 at 4:52 PM

Your new mission and vision statements align very well with the Neches ISD
mission and vision statements. Also, you have created a visible distinction between
what is considered a mission and what is considered a vision.

In the Neches ISD mission, there is a part speaking about a "well-balanced

education" in a "safe environment". Maybe to be more satisfied with your mission
statement, you could try to include those conditions as well.

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Sherry Luna
November 10 at 6:58 PM

Excellent suggestion, thank you!

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Jami Wilkinson
November 10 at 9:02 PM

I think you did a great job with your mission and vision statements. You not only
integrated the NISD mission and vision, you improved on them.

I agree with the work "leaders." Using the word, innovators, was much better.
Students need to be good citizens in their community and their world.

I also think the ISTE standards are a great guide for creating goals for technology
integration.

My only issue with writing mission and vision statements, is that I am trying to
follow the guidelines in the Erica Olsen videos and get everything in that I want to
include. It is really hard for me to be concise.

Great job!!

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12/6/2019 Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements - Fall 2019 - Strategic Planning for Tech (ETEC-593-01W)

Sherry Luna
November 10 at 11:54 PM

Thanks! I almost feel like I sound like a crazy person when I rant about that
buzzword. There's a backstory to my distaste for it, but I won't bore you
with it. However, I do think it is too ambiguous of a word to effectively
convey what I want to strive for in our students.

Thanks for your feedback!!

Reply

America Rainey
November 10 at 10:27 PM

Sherry great job dissecting your current vision and mission statements. I agree
with comments from Begli and Jami on your choice of words using the ISTE
standards. I guess the only issue I can see is the wording for both includes the
phrase " will produce". I would look for that phrase under Vision, but not exactly
under mission. Vision because it is talking about where you are headed and what
you see in the future. Perhaps, for Mission leave it out? Change the wording to talk
about the present. The NOW. Neches ISD produces empowered learners.... In fact
while I'm writing this to you, I realize I have to do the same thing to mine. In my
mission I state that JCB will leverage technology, I'm going to change it to JCB
leverages technology.

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Sherry Luna
November 10 at 11:53 PM

Excellent! Thank you for pointing that out, I believe you are absolutely right.

Reply

Luke Mornix
November 10 at 11:53 PM

I think your vision and mission lined up perfectly with those of your school. I like
how they are worded and I like that your didn't really deviate from the direction of
the schools mission and your were able to work a technology focus into it. The
statements did well stating the purpose of the school, explaining why it exist, the

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12/6/2019 Sluna: Mission & Vision Statements - Fall 2019 - Strategic Planning for Tech (ETEC-593-01W)

explained the ideal future of the students that attend the school, the vision was
also written in an inspirational matter. I thought the statements adhered to the
guidelines very well. Both statements were appropriate. I didn't think either
sounded like it should have been the other.

Reply

Sherry Luna
November 11 at 7:59 PM

UPDATED VISION & MISSION STATEMENTS

Vision:

Our community of empowered learners produces tomorrow’s 21st century

innovators.

Mission:

Neches ISD will produce empowered learners and 21st century innovators by
providing students a well-balanced education in a safe environment with
opportunities for creation, communication, and collaboration through digital
learning,

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