A school board member’s proposal to add the word “educate” to the Denali Borough School District’s mission statement was voted down 6-1 at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
The district’s mission statement reads “Denali Borough School District: Working together to nurture, empower and inspire today’s students to positively shape tomorrow’s world.”
Member Forest Shreeve wants to add the word “educate” to the statement.
Mission statements are generally crafted during strategic planning and this particular statement came to be during a strategic planning session four years ago. It was agreed to, by general consensus of stakeholders, including teachers, students, administrators, parents and community members after three days of intense discussion.
A strategic plan articulates a school’s core values and beliefs, along with a vision for the future. It guides a district’s longterm direction and goals.
The district’s next strategic planning session is in fall 2026. Dawn Adams, president of the school board, suggested that would be the next best time to look at the mission statement.
Meanwhile, the planning group from four years ago will meet in early May for an update on how the current strategic plan has been implemented.
“I believe ‘educate’ is a part of our mission,” said school board member Katie Griebe. “I just don’t think this was the right forum.”
“I’m disappointed the board of education voted down 6-1 adding the word ‘educate’ to our mission statement,” Shreeve said at the meeting. “I’m disappointed as a parent. It’s not something I will be able to understand — sending kids to school without kids knowing their mission is education.”
He then shared his disappointment in a Facebook post.
“Educating is apparently implied,” he said. “If our mission is to educate, and it should be, then we need to state that clearly.
“Community members have told me that our mission statement sounds like a 5- to 18-year-old daycare,” he added.
Shreeve did not participate in the strategic plan four years ago and was not on the school board at that time.
“I believe that most involved in our schools are there to educate and are doing it,” he posted. “But would we focus more on that if it was our mission? Would parents and other community members have better confidence in our education system?”
Reach columnist/community editor Kris Capps at kcapps@newsminer.com.
In the interest of disclosure, readers should know that Kris Capps was on that Denali School District strategic planning team four years ago.
