By Dr. Terry Macaluso, Head of School Emerita

My aim in this piece is to connect the themes from this issue of Inspire to the Eastside Prep Mission statement. Since the Mission statement is a living concept, I have analyzed its origin and its impact on the community alongside the ideas of clarity and intentionality. (This paragraph is included to give readers a heads-up; this discussion may not be your idea of a good time!)

When the EPS Board of Trustees set out to create a mission statement for the school, they, like most other nonprofit boards, got caught up in the chaos of “strategic planning fever.” Entire consulting practices emerged in the mid-1990s because everyone believed they needed a strategic plan—yet no one understood what a strategic plan or a mission statement for a nonprofit actually entailed.

A corporate mission statement is straightforward: satisfy shareholders, make a profit, and increase market share. Nonprofit organizations don’t have shareholders in the traditional sense. By definition, a nonprofit is just that—NOT driven by profit. Increasing market share is something nonprofits do every day. A for-profit company grows its market share by selling more of its current products or by creating new ones. In a school, gaining market share happens through the admissions process. The quality of the students’ experience at EPS is all the marketing the school needs. That is very different from corporate culture. In the private sector, marketing is an industry. Its goal is to craft a story that persuades potential customers to value a product. One challenge some independent schools face is that many trustees are experienced in the corporate world. That’s positive in many ways, but not all. The private sector invests a significant portion of its revenue into marketing. Nonprofit organizations often cannot (and they should not) allocate revenue to marketing. It’s the experience of the culture that independent schools are “marketing.”

WORD OF MOUTH IS THE ONLY ADVERTISING THAT MATTERS

In establishing the EPS culture, the first Board of Trustees aimed to introduce a different kind of leadership to its emerging startup. After some discussions, it was noted that if we don’t want to resemble every other independent school, we should probably avoid doing exactly what they do and how they do it.

Intentionality and clarity guided the Board’s thinking. As their thinking evolved, they discovered that thinking differently meant, at the very least, moving away from the typical independent school mission statement language. When EPS was starting out, most mission statements were simply descriptive. They outlined the school’s characteristics, such as co-ed or single sex, day or boarding, grade levels served, some mention of excellence, a bit about diversity, and a touch of culture. This descriptive approach didn’t provide a clear direction or specific goal. A descriptive mission statement is basically just an overview of the website’s content.

For a mission statement to be useful, it needs to be aspirational. This awareness gave birth to Eastside Prep’s eightword mission statement. Think critically, Act responsibly, Lead compassionately, Innovate wisely.

Most strategic planning consultants believed that for a mission statement to be truly alive, it should be known by everyone in the community; nobody ever memorized the twoor three-paragraph mission statements that organizations were creating. Aiming for language that was clear and intentional was a natural outgrowth of the philosophy the school was beginning to develop in all domains, e.g., curriculum design, faculty hiring and development, admissions, finance, campus maintenance, and the establishment of community social norms.

Eight little words. Easy to remember; very difficult to implement.

Many schools talk about excellence in some form. Critical thinking is the form of excellence EPS adopted. This entails a very specific focus on each individual learner. “Achieving excellence” and “thinking critically” differ in that the EPS mission language sets a measurable objective. What does “excellence” mean? Critical thought shows in how students communicate their ideas and in the skills they bring to intellectual debate.

Similarly, responsible behavior is evident in everyday life. Every time a student interacts with a peer or a teacher, they demonstrate the value of mutual respect. One of the key aspects of an EPS education is that it encourages students to take responsibility for their actions. This is often visible in the difficult conversations that are sometimes needed to correct behavior and emphasize the importance of mutual respect. Now, more than ever, as we are all surrounded by a notable lack of mutual respect in American society, civil discourse will again become the norm when enough people have experience in communities where consideration for others is both expected and shown. This may be the most important work schools do in the second quarter of the 21st century. Again—clarity and purpose. Clarify what is expected, guide students to meet those expectations, and highlight the small successes that happen every day. The more students experience the positive energy that comes from accepting responsibility, the more they will understand the community importance of this social value.

Compassionate leadership guides the creation of social norms. EPS doesn’t publish a list of rules, i.e., “Do this and X happens,” or “Do this and Y happens.” This transactional approach, which lists actions that should not be done, offers no insight into the kind of culture a school aims to foster.

Throughout Eastside Prep’s history, some parents and students have been confused by the absence of explicitly stated rules. They want to know the consequences for every possible infraction. However, this doesn’t help develop ethical and socially engaged citizens; it only shows students how much they can get away with and still remain in good standing within the community.

The EPS approach focuses on understanding why something might have been inappropriate; it’s not realistic to predict every improper action. (Trust me on this.) Over time, the fabric of the community becomes stronger as humane, rational expectations of behavior become embedded in its culture. Students carry this culture forward as they mature, and the age range of our student body allows younger students to benefit from observing the behavior of most of their older peers.

This might be the most difficult part of school life to define. The idea that not all unacceptable behaviors are handled the same way is accurate; nor should they be. Every action is unique and performed by a specific individual at a particular stage in their development. Setting expectations for individual behavior within the EPS community might slightly reduce clarity to focus on intentionality. It could also be the most important aspect of an EPS education.

Wise innovation means connecting ethics with the energy of curious exploration. We want students to take risks; we want them to challenge themselves beyond their comfort zones. We also want them to understand how crucial intentionality is when discovering and creating what has not yet been found or made. Think critically. Act responsibly. Lead compassionately. Innovate wisely.

It’s all right here… …Clarity. …Intentionality.