Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 29

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 27 also score high on intentionality. The results of each of the 85 charter schools and their potential for mission drift are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Scatterplot of mission clarity and mission intentionality scores. The closer to the top right-hand corner, the less potential for drift to occur. Research Question 2 (RQ2) What are the perceptions of charter school superintendents regarding their stated mission? The researcher used four open-ended questions to gain an understanding of how charter school superintendents perceived their stated mission. When asked, superintendents identified three themes that were related to how they used their schools’ missions when making strategic decisions. The three themes were: • guiding decisions, • ensuring alignment with the mission, and • using the mission as an evaluation tool or metric. Superintendents identified five themes when asked how they used their mission statements in daily operations. The themes were: • using the mission to hire the right individual, • ensuring students were learning the mission, • making the mission a part of the school culture, and • using the mission in meetings and professional development. Superintendents identified four themes when asked what their biggest challenge was related to the mission. The themes were: • ensuring staff not only understood, but lived out the mission, • staying true to the mission, • regulators, and • not having enough resources. Superintendents identified two themes when asked how they evaluated their mission. The themes were: • stakeholders’ perspectives related to the school’s mission, and • the mission was unchanged. Implications Mission clarity looks at how well the mission is being articulated and how clearly the leaders and employees understand the mission’s purpose. Mission intentionality looks at what the organizations’ leaders are doing in terms of routines, guidelines, or policies that are in place to make sure they do not drift from their mission. The organization’s leaders must be clear about the message before they can put processes in place. So in most cases, clarity comes before intentionality, since it would be hard Figure 1. Scatterplot of mission clarity and mission intentionality scores. The closer to the top right-hand corner, the less potential f r drift to occur.