---

The purpose of this study was to look at mission driven school district leadership in Massachusetts public schools and attempt to identify any relationship, or lack thereof, between district mission statements and student achievement. In this study, 288 Massachusetts public school districts are ranked according to their 2011 high school graduation rate and their 2011 tenth grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results. From the 288 districts, a sample of the top thirty and the bottom thirty were selected. All district wide mission statements were obtained from the websites of the top 30 and bottom 30 school districts with a 100% return rate. The mission statements were then coded using Bebell and Stemler s 2011 coding rubric. Bebell and Stemler s coding rubric contains 11 themes with 42 subcategories. This study is unique because it is the first time that mission driven leadership in Massachusetts school districts is being analyzed to see if there is a connection with student achievement. The present study would be of interest to policy makers and practitioners who are interested in mission driven leadership and student achievement.

---

Dr. Brett M. Kustigian is the current Superintendent of Schools for the Quaboag Regional School District in Massachusetts. He has held the positions of Principal, Assistant Principal, Athletic Director, Teacher and Coach. He resides in Charlton, Massachusetts with his wife Kristin and three boys: Christopher (10), Matthew (9), and Joseph (5).

---