After discussion the groups came back together, and six of the items were on every small group's selection list. These six beliefs were discussed by the whole committee and selected as core beliefs.
The committee then began the process of writing a mission statement by studying mission statements from past SACS evaluations. The committee again broke into smaller groups and discussed what IA's mission statement were taken from the NSSE's School Improvement: Focusing on Student Performance. After discussion the committee met as a whole and created a draft of the mission statement.
The beliefs and the mission statement were published to students, teachers, and parents. They were also placed o the IA Internet site for all to see. The feedback, sought from all groups, showed all groups in agreement. On April 18th, the final drafts of the beliefs and mission statement were presented to the Board of Directors. The Board compared the final drafts to the stated policies and rules and decided that the drafts were in agreement with IA's stated policies and rules. The final drafts were approved and adopted by the IA Board of Directors at the April 18, 2000, meeting.