Members of leadership are likely responsible for the development of the program vision.  It is a simple process for one person to write a vision statement, but if that statement does not represent the vision of all team members, it won’t be a very valuable tool. 

To create buy-in and a sense of ownership, work with staff members to create a vision statement that incorporates the ideas from the employees.  Work with teaching teams or other small groups to identify the elements that are important to each small group.  For example, infant/toddler teachers may have a different vision than preschool teachers.  The program vision should incorporate the ideas from both groups.

Once your teaching teams/small groups have worked together to identify elements of their vision for the program, shuffle the deck.  Ask teachers who work with different age groups to come together, share their vision statements, recognize similarities and differences, and synthesize their ideas into new statements.

Bring the small groups together and share all of the ideas they have generated.  Work as a group to identify the most important and common elements of the vision statements and use this information to create a broad vision statement that is reflective of all employees.  This process may take a few weeks to complete.  Use time during staff meetings to have these important team-building conversations.

To add an element of family involvement, invite families and children to sit in on this process.  This will ensure that their input is reflected in your statement as well!

Here is a list of resources you may find helpful as you work to create a shared vision with your team. 

For the main article Creating a Vision Statement, CLICK HERE

For the article Setting a Vision for Your Classroom, CLICK HERE

For the article Vision Setting with Children, CLICK HERE

For the article Vision Setting with Families, CLICK HERE