Centrality of Mission (Message from the Principal)

Being on the campus of four very different schools over the past six weeks has been amazing. These experiences have reminded me of the essential and central role that a school’s mission has in all facets of its governance, management, and operations.

International Christian School of Budapest (Hungary): This Foundation-owned and Governance Board-governed, vibrant International Christian school is taking steps aligned with its strategic plan to adjust its board membership profile and selection process to ensure that the governance structure will be sustainable and effective in pursuit of its recently recalibrated mission and commitment statements.

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The Dewey Schools (Vietnam): This Investor-owned and Board-governed, rapidly maturing and growing school system is collaboratively developing a systemwide five-year strategic plan, anchored in its mission and other foundational statements, identifying and operationalizing five primary long-term goals and creating both developmental goals which identify new initiatives and projects as well as improvement goals, which will propel and guide the school in its trajectory toward growth and excellence.

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Kodaikanal International School (India): This Association-owned and Governance Council-governed, historically effective, and highly respected boarding school is engaged in a review and recalibration of its governance framework to align structures and policies with best practices to ensure governance sustainability and organizational effectiveness in mission attainment.

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Royal Family Academy (Nigeria): This Christian Ministry-owned and Board-governed, rapidly expanding school is in the final stages of its initial accreditation process, demonstrating to the accreditation visiting team operational alignment with its mission and purpose, faithfulness to its values and vision, and compliance with external quality standards.

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The mission is the central element informing and driving the improvement initiatives in these four fundamentally disparate schools on four continents, with four distinct ownership types, four dissimilar governance structures, and four policy frameworks.

by Dr. David Wells