Pub. 2 2012-2013 Issue 2

18 The Purpose and Power of Mission Statements By Mark Ursic, Executive Director-Renaissance Academy A s charter school leaders, it is our responsibility to cultivate an organi- zation of purpose that fosters inspiration in our staff. Since the founding of Renaissance Academy, our creative staff has com- bined “traditional, innovative and expe- riential learning methods” to provide students cross-curricular learning experi- ences as our mission dictates. Our Silk Road activity is a great example of this mission in action. “Silk Road” is a modern term referring to a 4,000-mile network of interlinking trade routes across Eurasia that started in the 1st Century BC. Once a year our hallways become Silk Road and, in a brilliant combination of history, social studies, math and world language content, our students negotiate, barter and trade their way through the halls in their target language: Arabic, Chinese or Spanish. If we saw our mission as a static point of reference, we would look at accomplishments like Silk Road, con- gratulate ourselves, and look forward Mission as Static Point of Reference Mission as Catalyst for Development Management and top-down execution Fixed - focused on current needs Limited feedback requests Anchors to past practices and accomplishments Leadership and shared vision at all levels Dynamic - changes to meet future needs Ongoing feedback and assessments Encourages flexibility and discovers opportunities to further mission to next year’s effort on the same project. However, this year, a shift in perspec- tive on the nature of our mission has inspired faculty and staff to fundamen- tally change our school for the better. Most significantly, this development has allowed us to seize opportunities that have given us greater insight into our mission and in turn has redefined our vision for the future.