$25,000 Baldrige Grant Awarded
In January 2006, Alexander Local Schools was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Education to support our Baldrige Initiative. The main purpose of the grant is to continue to provide all staff with the the training and coaching needs necessary to continue on our journey towards excellence.
In February 2006, Mr. Bray, Fred Davis, Dan Phillips, Rosemary Hayes and I went to Tecumseh Local Schools located near Springfield to talk about the grant and to hear how they have implemented the Strengthening Ohio Schools process. Part of the grant will involve the development of a DVD that highlights strengths of Alexander Local Schools.
Deployment Update
In the summer 2006, the District and Building Leadership Teams met with Rick Sulewski (Jim Shipley & Associates) to review our data and discuss next steps. It was decided that we needed to implement a Goal Team structure at each building to be the "keeper" of each building goal. The bullets below explain the purpose of each goal team:
- Set pace for school improvement in specific areas
- Developing strategies that directly impact SI plan
- Analyze data & make a plan based on the data & then monitor progress (PDSA)
- Alignment of classroom, grade level, building to SI Plan
- Developing, implementing, & monitoring key strategies at the classroom level to drive increased learning
- All grade levels have representation & input
At Alexander Elementary and Alexander Middle School there are three goal teams: Reading, Writing and Math. Alexander High School has five goal teams: Reading, Writing, Math, Science & Social Studies.
A second part of our deployment is a Quality in the Classroom Study Team. The purpose is to explore and implement a Continuous Improvement Model centering around Baldrige principles in the classroom especially the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. Additionally, the 11 members of the study team will be participating in three trainings with Tecumseh Local Schools: Continuous Classroom Improvement, Teacher/Student Partnerships and Using Data for Classroom Improvement.
During the 2006-2007 school year, we were able to provide teachers with the opportunity to participate in a Quality In The Classroom Study Team. Eleven teachers met afterschool to learn about quality processes and to share ideas. During two of the sessions, the teachers participated in a "Gallery Walk". During this time, the group visited each other's classrooms and the teacher explained processes already in place or newly tried processes. Additionally, we participated in several trainings at Tecumseh Local Schools.
In May 2007, World Stage Media spent a day at Alexander Local Schools interviewing various stakeholders including support staff supervisors, teachers, students and administrators with the intent of hearing Alexander's story. These interviews will be part of the DVD being developed to represent the five districts across Ohio participating in the Baldrige Grant. The final product should be completed during the Fall 2007.
Stay tuned!
What is PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act)?
PDSA or Plan-Do-Study-Act is a researched based continuous improvement process. It is a 4-step process that starts with a look at our current situation whether it is in the classroom, building, or district. It can even be taken to the student level. The cycle keeps repeating itself.
Step 1: Plan – What are the key strategies we are going to anchor and develop based on our current data?
Step 2: Do – Key action steps –scope & sequence
Step 3: Study – Review and analyze the data; what did we find out?
Step 4: Adjust - Use information from the data analysis to decide what improvements or changes need to be made
What is a Plus/Delta/Rx?
The Plus/Delta/Rx is a tool that we use in the classroom, after meetings, on surveys and at other times to examine our processes for strenghts (+) and opportunities for improvement (Δ). We then ask for a solution (Rx) or actions that can be taken to improve the deltas (Δ). This helps us to work on continually improving our processes whether in the classroom, building, or district. The chart below is a sample of what you might see in a classroom.
|
+
What helped our learning today? |
Δ
What do we need to do differently next time to help our learning? |
Rx
What are some possible solutions to address our deltas? |
|
We asked good questions.
We worked in partners to learn about habitats |
We needed more information on habitats.
We kept working instead of listening to the teacher when directions were being given. |
We can search the Internet for more resources.
We can ask the librarian if she has any resources.
Our teacher will give us a signal and we will finish our last thought and listen when we see/hear the signal. |
