As I posted last week, we’ve entered into our 17th year of leading Solution Tree (formerly National Educational Service, founded in 1987), and it is once again important to understand who we are, what we do, how we do it, why we do it and where we are heading.  Last week I wrote about our Mission.  This blog is about our Vision.

1. Mission
2. Vision
3. Values
4. Goals
5. Guiding Principals
6. Strategies

These blogs are primarily written for the Solution Tree Staff, Authors and Associates.  We have a growing company with many new Authors, and like any company that hires a lot of young people, we have a good amount of turnover. So the intent here is to help keep us all on track.

Vision: The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.  A vivid mental image of what the future could be.

Transform education worldwide to endure learning for all.

Now that’s ambitious, and yes it is possible.  I believe, we believe, in our heart of hearts that Solution Tree is as capable as anyone organization in the world to transform education. For a couple of basic reasons:

1. Our Mission Statement make us unique.  We are author-centric.  We publish the best and the brightest.  Their strategies, applications and innovations work!
2. All of our authors’ work can be bridged together to build a unique school improvement plan for a variety of unique school scenarios.
3. Our Authors and Associates customize plans for schools.  We don’t own a cookie cutter!
4. The Solution Tree staff is THE BEST STAFF IN THE WORLD at helping Authors and Educators.
5. The US is looked at as the foundational education country for K-12 innovation.  Other countries may have higher scores in some areas, and different graduation statistics, but we are all fighting the exact same fight, so why not collaborate and figure out what works. That is why we are now co-publishing in five other countries and distributing in another 14.  And we’re just warming up.
6. “If not us, who? If not now, when?” A regular quote from Becky DuFour when I am luck enough to be her doubles tennis partner, and we are starting another comeback.  Her quote certainly applies here!

This is why we do what we do.  I can get all soft, mushy and passionate here when I think about my own kids, but there is no greater asset than our students.  There is nothing more important for us to do collectively, and world wide, than to give our children the best education possible.  It truly is life or death.