K-12 Quality Improvement
-
Upload
kevin-martin -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of K-12 Quality Improvement
-
8/16/2019 K-12 Quality Improvement
1/5
Thoughts and experiences of educators related to quality and change
Key Factors for Successfully Implementing and Sustaining
Quality Improvement In K 12 Education
ary Schumacher
To know th e road ahead, ask those coming
back. This Ghinese proverb aptly sum marize s the
approach of
research study conducted to provide
guidance to school districts that are considering
the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program to
guide quality improvement efforts. The research
also sought to provide guidance for school districts
that have implemented this framework but are
concerned with sustaining these efforts.
The research findings were acquired from school
districts that had implemented the Baldrige frame-
work and had shown significant organizational
gains, such as improved student performance. All
were recognized at either the state level or received
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The
basic research question was: What can be learned
from successful school districts about implemen-
tation and sustainability of quality improvement
efforts when using the Baldrige mo del? No ting
the identified school districts' successes using this
model, it was reasoned that information obtained
from them would provide guidance for those just
beginning to travel the road ahead in their quality
improvement efforts.
Background
The first question that any school district must
ask before considering a rigorous quality improve-
me nt framework is: Why is this necessary for
our organization ? The era of accountability in
public education has gained mo men tum since the
approval of the No Ghild Left Behind Act of
2001 .
Many school districts began looking for school
reform models that would address the account-
ability mandates of the Act. Baldrige had its roots
long before the Act; the program was initiated
in 1987 and education criteria were adopted in
1998. The continuous improvement focus of
this model seemed to provide one method to
address accountability requirements effectively.
As a result, school districts throughout the nation
adopted the Baldrige model to guide continuous
improv emen t efforts. Ruben G eden o' suggests that
true education reform only occurs when there is a
systematic approach, and Baldrige provides such
a framework.
Systemic change in public education often is
met with resistance. Public education has a long
history of failed reform efforts. These efforts often
have failed due to ineffective leadership and/or
an inability to change the culture of schools.^
Organizational change theory has been available
to school leaders for decades, yet it is not often
used to guide school reform efforts from theory
to practice.'
School districts that have implemented the
Baldrige framework report that successful sys-
temic change only occurs if there is a process in
place to ensure continuous improvement based
on accountability to its stakeholders. Peggy Siegel
suggests, A Baldrige-based accoun tability mo del
can help school districts to reach consensus on
education priorities, reinforce fact-based deci-
sion making, and identify ongoing opportunities
to im plem ent improvem ents. ' ' School districts
achieving success in quality improvement efforts
utilizing Baldrige, such as those studied in this
research, have successfully implemented systemic
school reform by applying change efforts from
theory to practice.
Five school districts have earned the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award, while hun-
dreds have received recogn ition from state quality
improvement organizations for their efforts
and resulting successes after implementing the
Baldrige framework. What can we learn from their
past experiences?
Research
The research methodology for this study was
both quantitative and qualitative. An online sur-
vey was sent to senior leaders in school districts
that earned either state or national recognition
for quality improvement efforts using the Baldrige
-
8/16/2019 K-12 Quality Improvement
2/5
model. Sixty-five school districts in 21 states
responded. The survey results were used to form
conclusions and provided guidance in developing
questions for subsequent interviews. Leaders from
all five school districts that received the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award: Chugach, AK;
Pearl River, NY; Palatine,
IL;
Jenks, OK; and Iredell-
Statesville, NC, were interviewed. Site visits with
personal interviews were condu cted in all of these
school districts with the exception of Chugach,
where phone interviews were substituted.
Findings
We can separate key findings from this research
into two categories: implementation issues and
sustainability issues. The findings discussed below
are based on the survey results and subsequent
interviews.
Implementation ssues
• The impetus behind implementing the Baldrige
framework was school improvement. Key senior
leaders (e.g., superintendents) were not satisfied
with their district's performance and recognized
a need for a more formal process.
• There was a need to look introspectively at
organizational performance as well as to receive
objective feedback on organizational processes
and systems.
• Key senior leaders recognized a need for a
culture change—in philosophy (continuous
improvement is not an event but a way of
doing business) and in employee ownership
(capacity building and commitment). Systemic
change on ly occurs if everyone in th e organiza-
tion recognizes his/h er responsibilities. A chief
quality officer com me nted, It's abou t chang-
ing behavior. One super intende nt noted,
Baldrige is only a model. The concept of con-
tinuous improvement needs to be embraced. It
is a belief system.
• The Baldrige criteria cannot be applied in iso-
lation or it will be viewed negatively—as an
add on to existing systems. Con nectivity is
needed. What is the purpose for implementing
the criteria? It should focus on process (how the
organization operates). A superin tenden t com-
men ted, This is just how we do business here.
• The Baldrige model provides a well-defined,
disciplined methodology that can be embedded
into all aspects of school operations; however,
in hindsight, some respondents reported
second-guessing in the early stages of imple-
menting the Baldrige model. A continuous
improv emen t coord inator stated, If I had to do
it all over again, I would not use the 'B' word.
Furthermore, some stakeholders may view this
as just the latest fad that will pass when there is
a change in leadership. These types of resisters
to change often are referred t o as the let me be
the last résister. 5 These individuals hope that
the change will wane when the key individual
driving the change, such as the superintendent,
leaves the system. central office administrator,
whose district has been challenged to sustain
its efforts after winning the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award, confirmed this by her
comment related to the superintendent from
her district who resigned shortly after receiving
the award, The vision left with hi m .
• Supp ort by senior leaders is critical and it is also
important to train principals as they provide
the synergy for successful implementation.
• School board suppo rt was not a driving factor
in the implementation, but its support of the
framework was considered critical for successful
implementation.
• strategy to pilot the m odel in a school or several
schools can be advantageous. Implementation
issues can be worked out before mandating
district-wide implementation. For example, the
Iredell-Statesville School District began with
training and implem enting the model at its Title
I schools. Administrators felt that this served as
a good pilot before full-district implementation
was required.
• Co slowly. It takes several years to imp lem ent
culture change successfully. One superinten-
den t was self-reflective, We got too greedy with
quick imp lementation, and it created some push
back. The lenks School District, for exam ple,
began implementing continuous improvement
concepts seven years before applying for the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Sustainability ssues
Sustainability issues centered on the need for
the following actions:
• Develop a culture of continuous improvement
that is prevalent throughout the district. All
employees understand and accept needed change
that results from data analysis.
-
8/16/2019 K-12 Quality Improvement
3/5
• Build capacity; it's critical for sustainability
over time. Principals and classroom teachers
need training. Teachers need to view the model
as practical in their classrooms and experi-
ence
the
true value (e.g., student performance
improvement)
of
their efforts utilizing this
model. They also need
to
have
a
voice
in
the continuous improvement process utilized
in the district. As one superintendent put it,
Buy-in isn't good enough. You need to shoot
for ownership, shared leadership.
• Institutionalize systems, empower staff, and
establish accountability for expectations.
• Develop consistent
and
transparent goals
to
keep all stakeholders informed about continu-
ous improvement efforts. For example, the Pearl
River School District,
the
first
K-12
recipient
of
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
for education in 2001, has focused on the same
three district goals since the 1993-94 school
year. However, targeted, academically-based
goals are developed annually, and these specific
goals are monitored and evaluated for progress.
• Establish stable lea dersh ip. Sustaina bility
can be difficult if there is turnover in senior
leadership; however, developing leadership
throughout the system can be just as important.
Superintendents come and go. Principals and
teachers are more likely to have longer tenures.
Developing leadership from these individu-
als can assist greatly in sustaining continuous
improvement efforts. Former Ghugach,
AK,
superintendent Richard DeLorenzo stated that
a leadership category strength identified by
Baldrige examiners during their site visit was
that they ...could not find a leader... as there
was shared ownership from all staff.**
• Expect significant challenges along
the way.
You need to be w illing to be hum bled, stated
one administrator, commenting on feedback
received from the Baldrige review process.
• Learn from past issues to enhance the abil-
ity for continuous improvement. There was
clearly a sense that the responding districts
made tactical omissions in the implementa-
tion process, such as involving teachers too
late in the process. A key to sustainability is
recognizing these oversights
so
they
are not
repeated.
Keller ISD— Baldrige
Implementation 2010 11
The Keller Independent School District
(KISD) in Texas has adopted the Baldrige frame-
work
to
guide
its
systems
and
improvement
efforts. KISD provides progress updates in each
issue of JQP heck the October 2009 issue for
the infomiation that launched this multi-part
series, and go to http://www.asq.org/pub/jqp
to see this issue's update, which talks about
th e key focus areas identified from their orga-
nizational profile as well as the professional
development syllabus that was created.
ecommend tions
Based on the findings from this research, the
following recommendations are presented:
• Develop and cultivate a culture of continu-
ous improvement before even considering
the Baldrige criteria. Adopting a district-wide
philosop hy that good is the enemy of great '
may be a good place to start. School systems
that are driven from good to great are never
satisfied with
the
status qu o, regardless of what
their data suggests.
• Build consistency of purpose throughout the
school system for why the Baldrige criteria can
enhance continuous improvement efforts that
will, in turn, lead to improved performance.
• Examine your school district's readiness to
change, including its capacity for change, before
implementing the Baldrige framework.
• Secure support from senior leaders, including
school p rincipals. Simply put, leadership is the
most important factor
in
system performance.
• Go slowly. Proceed with cau tion . Pilot before full
implementation and choose your pilot school(s)
carefully.
• Listen to your stakeholders. They'll tell you if
the process is moving at a desirable pace.
• Don't use the B word until continuous
improvement systems are operationalized
throughout
the
school district. However, don't
mislead stakeholders.
-
8/16/2019 K-12 Quality Improvement
4/5
• Focus on making connections between con-
tinuous improvement expectations and wby they
are important for organizational improvement
(e.g., student learning). All stakebolders need to
view continuous improvement systems as value-
added processes.
• Build capacity. Capacity building involves
moving individuals from tbeir current mindset
to wbere they need to be to achieve systemic
cbange.' Capacity building should include suc-
cession (leadersbip) planning.
• Learn from tbe past and don't let criticism
derail your efforts. Systemic cbange is difficult.
W oodrow Wilson remarked, If you want to
make enemies, try to cbange sometbing.
View initial implementation and sustainabil-
ity efforts based on tbe basic question: Wby is
tbe district using tbe Baldrige framework? If it
is merely to position itself to win tbe Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award, tbe perception
likely will be tbat tbe process is driven (forced)
from the top down. On tbe other band, if tbe true
reason is to improve th e system's performance and
tbe culture reflects this, tbe Baldrige criteria can be
very useful in looking introspectively at continu-
ous improvement processes tbat can be valuable
in acbieving tbe desired outcomes of the system's
efforts. One senior leader from an award-winning
district stated, Tbe award actually shou ld be for
tbe culture tbat had been developed.
Denis Waitley may bave summarized tbe key
learnings best from this research: Expect the best,
plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.
Scbool districts that are considering implem enting
tbe Baldrige framework or those having difficulty
sustaining tbeir efforts can benefit from examining
the past experiences of colleagues who bave been
down tbe road before tbem.
eferen es
1.
Ruben Ced eno, NEA's New Unionism in Pursui t of
Quality, Training and Development February 2000, p . 64.
2. Seymour B. Sarason, Th e Predictable Failure of Educationa
Reform:
Can We Change
Course Before
I t s
Too Late lossey-
Bass,
1990, pp. 99-116.
3 . E. Joyner, Large-Scale Cha nge: The Com er P erspertive,
International Handbook of Educational Change, Kluwer
Academic Pub l i shers , 1998 .
4.
Peggy Siegel, Using Baldrige to Impro ve E duca tion:
A Rationale Based on Results, Training and Development,
February 2000, p. 4.
5.
lack E. Bowsher, Educating America: Lessons Learned in
the Nation s Corpora tions,
lohn Wiley, 1989.
6. Richard DeLore nzo, Delivering on the Prom ise: Bringing
Hope to Al l of Our Chi ldren, ASQ National Quality
Education Conference,
lacksonvi lle , FL, October 2009 .
7. lim Collins,
Good to Great,
Harper Col l ins Publ ishers ,
2001,
p. 1.
8. Darryl D.Wilson and David A. Collier, An Empirical
Invest igat ion of the Malcolm Baldrige Nat ional Qual i ty
Award Causal Model, Decision Sciences, lune 2007,
p p . 3 6 1 - 3 8 3 .
9. ludith A. Zim me rm an, Working the System: Building
Capaci ty for School Change, journal of Scholarship and
Practice,
Spring 2008, pp . 9-12.
bary bcnumacher
ary Schumacher is an assistant professor at the University
of Houston-Clear Lake where one of his teaching
assignments is strategic planning and systems alignment
for doctoral students in the educational administration
program. His research interests include the study of
quality improvement efforts in K-12 public edu cation and
school district strategic planning efforts using continuous
improvement
frameworks
Schumacher previously served as
the superintendent for the Monona rove School District
in Madison WI where his interest in quality im provement
processes for schoo l districts took roots. Send your
comments or questions to schutnacher 3uhcl.edu.
-
8/16/2019 K-12 Quality Improvement
5/5
Copyright of Journal for Quality & Participation is the property of Association for Quality & Participation and
its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.