Quality in Education

The goal of the continuous improvement classroom is to empower students to take responsibility, accountability and ownership for their own learning.  One way to do that is to facilitate the process of students creating ground rules for the classroom in which they learn.

Establishing Ground Rules is one of the first activities the teacher can involve students in at the beginning of the school year. Ground rules are created by students (while facilitated by the teacher) in an atmosphere of open communication.  These ground rules become the standard for expected behavior by which all agree to operate while in the classroom. 

This process emphasizes the importance of listening to each other in an environment of respect and acceptance.  Students can use several quality tools such as brainstorming, affinity diagram and nominal group technique to determine what expectations are necessary to accomplish classroom mission and goals.

When students actively participate in establishing ground rules and agree to them by signing their name, they are more likely to follow the rules they created. Students who have greater ownership for the rules they created are also more likely to enforce them among their peers saying "didn't we agree to this rule together?"  In turn, this leads to a more conducive learning environment with fewer classroom disruptions.

Are you involving your students in creating classroom ground rules?  What process have you used?  What results did you see because of it? 

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the educational setting, effective teachers can have the greatest impact on student achievement.  Even greater achievement can be realized when teachers facilitate students taking responsibility for their own learning.  Over the next several entries, I will journal about what I believe to be essential components of the continuous improvement classroom:

• Ground rules created by students
• Mission statements (Classroom and individual student)
• Measurable goals (Classroom and individual student)
• Classroom Data Center 
• Student data folders
• Student-led conferences
• Classroom meetings facilitated by students
• Quality tools and PDSA (Used by the teacher and students)

In order to accomplish and deploy the components of the continuous improvement classroom, a clear vision must be communicated.  It is up to educational leaders to set and communicate direction or in other words... paint a vivid picture of what it looks like.  As stakeholders better understand the vision, they are more likely to embrace it and make it theirs.  Once the vision is communicated, there must be a way to measure deployment because... what gets measured, gets done.

Below are a few resources that we use in the Cedar Rapids Schools:

• 3 Year Continuous Improvement Outcomes (Our attempt to clearly communicate the vision and expectations)
• Classroom Deployment Instrument (Our attempt to measure deployment of the elements of the continuous improvement classroom)
• What Does Quality in the Classroom Look Like?  (Our attempt to define elements of the continuous improvement classroom)

Over the next several entries, I'll share my thoughts on each of the components listed above.  What do you believe are the components to the continuous improvement classroom?  What have been your experiences?  How do you measure deployment of quality in the classroom?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

How does an organization measure success?  Like many Baldrige-based organizations, the Cedar Rapids Community School District has drafted a balanced scorecard to monitor and track progress and performance.  As the saying goes "what gets measured gets done."  it is our hope that by aligning measures to our District strategic plan, progess will be made toward strategic goals.

What exactly is a balanced scorecard?  The balanced scorecard is a management system (not only a measurement system) that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. When fully deployed, the balanced scorecard transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an organization.

Ideally, educational organizations could align measurement efforts.  For example:

• School Improvement Plan (SIP) measures align to the District balanced score card
• Classroom measures align to the the school School Improvement plan

• Student data measures align to the classroom measures

If school sytems align measures from the classroom to the board room, there is a greater opportunity for aligned acts of improvement.  The balanced score card can be a powerful tool to do just that.

What have been your experiences with this tool?  Does your organization have a balanced score card?  What are other ways to measure continuous improvement?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

In many schools and districts, it seems that a common probletunity is the "too much on my plate" syndrome.  I believe this is a result of the organization not prioritizing nor identifying what is really important.  Common symptoms include: conflicting initiatives, miscommunicated goals and misalignment of systems. 

To determine what is important in a classroom, school or District- one can look to what gets measured.  As the saying goes... "what gets measured, gets done OR "what you expect, you inspect."  It is imperative that educators align measures to goals in order to focus unified efforts on the critical few initiatives that will really make a difference.  Many organizations are using the SMART goal format to accomplish this (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound)

As we move forward with continuous improvement in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, we are trying to focus on the critical few as opposed to the trivial many. Teachers and administrators are thirsty for direction.  They want clear communication about what really is important.  It is the responsibility of senior leaders to set and clearly communicate direction.  It is also the responsibility of leaders to determine what is adding value and contributing to the vision, mission and goals of the organization and what is not.

Some concepts that can help get to the critical few:

• Weed the Garden- Are there activities that are going on that could be discontinued?
• A "Stop Doing" List- What are those things that we are doing, that are not value added?
• Program/Initiative Evaluation- Are we evaluating the current programs to determine their effectiveness on student achievement?

In summary, schools need to identify the critical few initiatives and goals that will focus resources on the bottom line- student achievement.  Without a clear focus, schools can wander aimlessly looking for the oasis.   Has your school or district identified the critical few?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Serving in my first year as the Associate Superintendent for Organizational Effectiveness and Accountability in the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD), I find myself asking a couple of critical questions-  How will I impact change in this huge organization? and Can I really make a difference in the lives of 18,000 students and 2500 staff members?

For those who find themselves in administrative positions in education it seems these question don't go away.  In my current and previous position, I've been forturnate to work for school districts that have embraced the Baldrige approach to continuous improvment.  In my estimation, these 7 criteria provide a structural framework for improvement.  (An excellent web site to learn about Baldrige in Education is http://www.baldrigeineducation.org/)

I've come to realize that a powerful way to impact change in a school system is to focus on ALIGNMENT.  Alignment starts with shared vision, mission, core values/beliefs, goals and a guiding philosophy.  In Cedar Rapids, we call this our District Strategic Plan on a Page.  It's not enough to simply "have" core beliefs.  Effective organizations must deploy, communicate and help connect everyone personally to the agreed-upon direction.

To accomplish systematic alignment in our District, the District Strategic Plan should trickle down throughout all aspects of the system.  For example:

-School Improvement Plan (SIP) goals aligned to the District Strategic Plan
-Classroom goals aligned to School Improvement goals
-Individual student goals aligned to classroom goals

This has become our primary focus for change- getting everyone on the same page, speaking the same language, focussing on the same goals, praciticing the same core beliefs and everyone pulling on the same rope.  I believe the first step in organizational change is impacting the culture of the organization through alignment.  Only then do stakeholders see that "this stuff isn't going away" and it becomes part of the culture of a school district.

What say you?

Jay Marino

Posted by Jay Marino at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the onset of the No Child Left Behind, schools have been particularly interested in the concept of quality in education.  Districts around the world have embraced the quality movement in efforts to increase academic achievement for all students. 

Critics of the quality movement in education wonder how a "business concept" that focuses on customers and data can impact the educational system. Can a focus on quality really help the bottom line in education?  Educators now more than ever are taking a closer look at quality initiatives such as:

-Koalaty Kid
-The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence
-Six Sigma

This blog will encourage discussion around the topic of quality in education.  It is hoped that educational professionals will interact with this blog to share resources, discussions and insights that will help educators along the road to continuous improvement.

Updates to this blog will be made at least 3 times a week.  A few questions I offer to begin the dialogue...

-What are your experiences with quality in education?
-What resources have you come across to assist you in your quality journey?
-How can educators utilize quality processes and tools to meet the demands of No Child Left Behind?
-What are the driving and restraining forces of implementing quality in education?

I encourage and look forward to your insight. 

Jay Marino

Posted by Jay Marino at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)