Vision for the 21st Century

I recently read a blog posting from LeaderTalk, which highlighted a quote from Peter Senge's, "The Fifth Discipline".

"The gap between vision and current reality is also a source of energy. If there were no gap, there would be no need for any action to move towards the vision. We call this gap creative tension."

During my graduate work, I remember reading this text and spending a class period discussing this quote. We talked about our vision for public schools, and the challenges we would face as leaders in trying to make that vision a reality.

Bringing a vision to reality is the never-ending challenge of school administration, but it is what has always kept me motivated and energized. When I took over as superintendent five years ago, I had a definite vision of excellence and continuous improvement that I wanted to instill in our organization. Over the past five years, thanks to a very dedicated faculty and staff, we have made amazing strides towards the achievement of this vision. However, that was five years ago, and now that we are further into the 21st century and competing in a global economy, I wonder if the means to achieve that vision need to change?

I would be anxious to hear what you believe the vision for District #1, or public education in general, should be and some ideas on how you think we can get there?