Vision Statement: MOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE
“Empowering our learning community with deep knowledge, innovative library services, programs and resource collections that will inspire lifelong learning and promote community wellbeing.”
“The mission of the O’Brien Resource Centre (ORC) is to provide for the educational and pastoral needs of the Mount Carmel College learning community. Supporting the College in its mission to foster the development of the whole person; engender a knowledge and love of life, humanity and God’s creation; and to inspire our students to be advocates of peace and justice and of service to others.”
A strong vision statement should be inspiring and capture the essence of the organisation’s future ambitions and the above statement manages this effectively. Additionally, Olsen (2016) specifically highlights the need for vision statements to use future tense verbs. This is because a good vision statement should be focused on what the school wants to achieve in the future. The vision statement above from Mount Carmel College positions itself as looking toward the future, using future tense verbs such as inspire and innovative. Furthermore, the descriptive language in the statement addresses the importance of change and progression. This vision is inspiring, as it emphasises empowerment from the first sentence. All stakeholders are addressed through referring to “community wellbeing”. The future achievements of students is highlighted by stating that library services and programs are geared toward “lifelong learning.” I think it is quite clear and succinct yet manages to include enough future oriented goals.
The Mission Statement clearly defines how the resource centre exists to serve the community needs and it aligns directly with the College mission and values. It is very specific to the faith values of the school and directly links this to the expectations of the students. The statement is specific in its role, supporting the overall educational and pastoral mission of the college.
Overall, I feel can easily distinguish between the two statements as the mission outlines the specific purpose and role of the O’Brien Resource Centre within the context of Mount Carmel College’s educational mission whilst the vision uses descriptive language that is forward thinking. Perhaps the vision could have some specific examples of how innovation would be implemented within the resource centre.