When a Mission becomes an Anachronism

Kuala Lumpur--The view outside my hotel window is the view from almost anyplace in K-L these days: construction cranes everywhere. It is not clear whether, or indeed if, all of this space will be occupied, but growth here is strong by Western standards, and there is a dynamic energy and optimism about the future that seems in short supply elsewhere.

This and other recent forays into the international school world has me thinking about school missions and they way they have been changing of late.

• Pedagogy--the school's mission is to teach using a particular method of instruction (Montessori, Steiner, multiple intelligences, etc.);
• Population--the school's mission is to serve a definable group of students (e.g., everyone living in a particular neighborhood, Anglophone expats, employees of certain companies, embassy families, students with learning issues, etc.);
• Program/Outcomes--the school's mission is to deliver a specific type of academic, artistic or athletic program geared toward certain outcomes (e.g., college/university preparatory, equestrian, competitive sports, social justice, etc.);
• Values/Protection--the school's mission is to impart a specific set of cultural or religious values, and to protect students from corruption by those who hold different values (e.g., Jewish day schools, Christian schools, certain Catholic schools, etc.).

There may be a fifth category, but readers will get the point that missions tend to cluster into like-minded groupings. Many international schools (and, I suspect, some domestic independent schools) have shifted in the past two decades from population missions to something else. For example, a school originally set up to serve embassy families from three countries may today host 62 nationalities and only a handful of embassy kids. Usually I find that the foundational documents (corporate constitution, articles of incorporation, bylaws, etc.) do not reflect this shift in mission; that is, the documents contain antiquated and now-passe statements of school purpose).

Many, perhaps most, independent and international schools struggle with defining which one or two mission elements take center stage. Even a large school will struggle to deliver equally well on a four or five-element mission. Genereticity actually makes marketing harder--something that department stores in the United States are experiencing as smaller boutiques eat their lunch.

The goal is alignment between a one or two element mission and strategy, and operations, and market reputation. How are you doing?