Focusing on Alignment To Create Change
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?
