Lesson 06: Frameworks for Planned Change for School Improvement

Lesson Overview

Textbook 1 for the course was developed by NEA to provide a researched based model for school improvement. You are invited to investigate this model in greater detail. However, for our purposes please pay very close attention to the essential findings on page xii of the Preface. The assignment corresponding to this reading/investigation asks you to respond to some of these outcomes using your own setting or experience(s).

In this lesson, we move on to examine specific models that incorporate the general features and assumptions undergirding continuous models of improvement from a new perspective. There are many such models available, but we will focus on two that have been found to be generally representative of the concepts we have been discussing and both have specific applications to improving schools. The two models on which we will focus will be the KEYS model and the Baldrige model.

The Keys to Excellence in Your School (KEYS) model for school (and district) improvement was developed and refined by the National Education Association (NEA). In its most recent incarnation, KEYS 2.0 (trendy name!) is now being widely touted and pushed by the NEA. KEYS 2.0 uses a systems model that incorporates a continuous learning approach. You will no doubt notice this as we explore this model more closely in this lesson.

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is another model for continuous improvement. We will examine how the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) took the Baldrige model, modified it, and used it, as a continuous improvement model, in action in a real school/district. The assignment that is attached to this reading/investigation focuses on MCPS's work with the Baldrige Criteria.

Finally, focusing more specifically on the PDSA process, the heart of the Baldridge Criteria model, we consider its use in MCPS as well as other continuous school improvement models.

While all of the continuous improvement models discussed in the Textbook 2 chapter advocate or employ some form of an inquiry process, this lesson spotlights the PDSA process since either its direct use or at least its design influence is ubiquitous across continuous improvement models. As far as I can see, all the continuous improvement models that the author discusses in his chapter use the basic Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) process with some additional modifications or flourishes. Thus, this lesson picks up and builds on the previous lesson by examining the template for all inquiry process approaches—the PDSA.

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to

• identify and discuss:
  • the indicators of school quality as researched by NEA via the KEYS initiative, and
  • the elements of continuous improvement you see expressed in the MCPS adaptation of the Baldrige Criteria;
• argue the pros (strengths) and cons (weaknesses) of each mode/process as a systems model for continuous improvement and the context of a specific school or district; and
• assess and evaluate the viability of models/process for your particular school and/or district context.

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 6 Course Schedule.