Taylor Connard

Education 650

Standard Activity 1.1

For this assignment, I will be comparing Clay County Schools mission and vision

statements to that of Kanawha County Schools. These two county school systems join together at

their county lines, but are vastly different. Kanawha County Schools is a massive school district

and has nine high schools. Clay County Schools is a significantly smaller district and only has

one. The following are the mission and vision statements for both counties.

Kanawha County Schools Mission Statement

To afford students the opportunity to earn an individually designed, quality education in an

equitable alternative setting, delivered by appropriate professional and support personnel in an

environment that is safe and encouraging.

Kanawha County Schools Vision Statement

The Kanawha County Board of Education has as its vision for the school district to become a

community of caring, in partnership with the community at large, to empower all students to

become productive, ethical citizens and lifelong learners responsive to an ever change world

through individualization, rigorous, and personally challenging education. It is our hope that we

will establish opportunities for students who have not had success in a traditional setting which

will enable them to develop the necessary skills for self-sufficiency, interpersonal responsibility,

and community contribution.

Clay County Schools Mission Statement

The mission of Clay County Schools is Caring, Commitment and Success.

Clay County Schools Vision Statement

Clay County Schools does not have a vision statement listed. I contacted the Assistant

Superintendent several times, but did not get a reply.

Kanawha County’s vision and mission statements are appropriate for the size of their

district. Their mission statement details their goal of providing an education for all students that

is appropriate for their grade level and ability. They also commit to providing a safe learning

environment for their students. Their vision statement is even longer. What I like most about the

vision statement is the commitment to involve the community and treat them as a key

stakeholder. They also describe providing children with opportunities that go beyond traditional

school. Knowing what I know about Kanawha County Schools, I think they do an excellent job

at going beyond books and paper. I also appreciate that in their vision statement they create goals

for students to reach. If someone wanted to, they could analyze data and compare it to those

goals.

Clay County Schools compared to Kanawha is a stark difference. The mission of Clay

County Schools is one sentence. The words caring, commitment, and success spell out CCS

(Clay County Schools). I do like that the mission is directly related to the school system, but I do

think a more detailed mission statement would be better. There is a lot that goes into caring,

commitment, and success. Are we caring about students or staff? Are we committing to athletics

or academics? Who do we want to be successful? I think there is a lot of grey area in this

statement. The school system does not have a vision statement. I tried contacting the assistant

superintendent to ask why, but received nothing back. I asked a retired teacher of 33 years if she

ever had the vision statement provided to her and she said no. That is a huge issue with this

county. We lack things that other counties have taken time to create and then wonder why we are

regarded the way we are. It is also impossible to find information unless you go to the board
office and harass someone to give it to you. I think that our county needs to be more detailed like

Kanawha and make it easier for stakeholders to see the information.