After a review from the Independent Schools Association of the Central States review, St. Paul Academy and Summit School decided it was time to revamp the mission statement. Director of Communications Ami Berger agreed with the ISACS criticism: “We need a statement that reflects the exceptional experience that is SPA,” Berger said.
The ISACS review stated “Judging from the aspiration reach of the school’s strategic plan…there is a gap in rhetoric and ambition between the existing mission and the version that will be needed to properly reflect and drive SPA’s trajectory into the future.”
According to Berger, the SPA administration is currently “compiling information, from a wide range of constituencies within in the school, together into a concise statement that reflects the SPA mission and experience.” The next step for the administration will be to release the mission statement, which is expected in spring 2013.
Throughout the the process of compiling feedback from faculty, staff, students and the Board of Trustees, it is indeed true that a new mission statement is needed. Dean of Students Judy Cummins believes the mission statement needs to be changed. “Right now, it’s too long and generic,” Cummins said. “It needs to be more focused and more specific to the school.”
Faculty, students, and members from the board of trustees have all come together to work on it. After multiple meetings, ideas have popped up but no final decision has been made yet.
The current mission statement, created in the mid-1990s, reads “In pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning, St. Paul Academy and Summit School educates a diverse and motivated group of young people for leadership and service, inspires in them an enduring love of learning, and helps them lead productive, ethical and joyful lives.”
But many things have changed in terms of the SPA experience, and it may take a while to compile a mission statement that incompases the 21st century SPA experience. Between the release of the mission, the administration has begun to incorporate the phrase “make it amazing,” within open house seminars and throughout the website. However, a new statement is still needed to permeate the SPA direction and experience.