Thoughts and experiences of educators related to quality and change

Key Factors for Successfully Implementing and Sustaining

Quality Improvement In K-12 Education
Gary Schumacher
"To know the road ahead, ask those coming
back." This Ghinese proverb aptly summarizes the
approach of a 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 framework 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 implementation and sustainability of quality improvement
efforts when using the Baldrige model?" Noting
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 improvement framework is: "Why is this necessary for
our organization?" The era of accountability in
public education has gained momentum 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 accountability 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

improvement efforts. Ruben Gedeno' 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 systemic 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 accountability model
can help school districts to reach consensus on
education priorities, reinforce fact-based decision making, and identify ongoing opportunities
to implement improvements."'' 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 hundreds have received recognition 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 survey was sent to senior leaders in school districts
that earned either state or national recognition
for quality improvement efforts using the Baldrige

www. asq. org/pub/jqp

17

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 IredellStatesville, NC, were interviewed. Site visits with
personal interviews were conducted 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 Issues
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 changein philosophy (continuous
improvement is not an event but a way of
doing business) and in employee ownership
(capacity building and commitment). Systemic
change only occurs if everyone in the organization recognizes his/her responsibilities. A chief
quality officer commented, "It's about changing behavior." One superintendent noted,
"Baldrige is only a model. The concept of continuous improvement needs to be embraced. It
is a belief system."
The Baldrige criteria cannot be applied in isolation or it will be viewed negativelyas an
"add on" to existing systems. Connectivity is
needed. What is the purpose for implementing
the criteria? It should focus on process (how the
organization operates). A superintendent commented, "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,
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THE JOURNAL FOR QUALITY & PARTICIPATION

January

2011

in hindsight, some respondents reported

second-guessing in the early stages of implementing the Baldrige model. A continuous
improvement coordinator 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 to as the "let me be
the last rsister."5 These individuals hope that
the change will wane when the key individual
driving the change, such as the superintendent,
leaves the system. A 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 him."
Support by senior leaders is critical and it is also
important to train principals as they provide
the synergy for successful implementation.
School board support was not a driving factor
in the implementation, but its support of the
framework was considered critical for successful
implementation.
A strategy to pilot the model 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 implementing 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 implement
culture change successfully. One superintendent was self-reflective, "We got too greedy with
quick implementation, and it created some push
back." The lenks School District, for example,
began implementing continuous improvement
concepts seven years before applying for the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Sustainability Issues
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.

 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 experience 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 continuous 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 leadership. Sustainability
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 individuals 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 willing to be humbled," stated
one administrator, commenting on feedback
received from the Baldrige review process.
Learn from past issues to enhance the ability for continuous improvement. There was
clearly a sense that the responding districts
made tactical omissions in the implementation process, such as involving teachers too
late in the process. A key to sustainability is
recognizing these oversights so they are not
repeated.

Keller ISDBaldrige
Implementation 2010-11
The Keller Independent School District
(KISD) in Texas has adopted the Baldrige framework to guide its systems and improvement
efforts. KISD provides progress updates in each
issue of JQP. Check 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
the key focus areas identified from their organizational profile as well as the professional
development syllabus that was created.

Recommendations

Based on the findings from this research, the

following recommendations are presented:
Develop and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement before even considering
the Baldrige criteria. Adopting a district-wide
philosophy 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 quo, 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 principals. Simply put, leadership is the
most important factor in system performance."
Go slowly. Proceed with caution. 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.

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19

 Focus on making connections between continuous improvement expectations and wby they
are important for organizational improvement
(e.g., student learning). All stakebolders need to
view continuous improvement systems as valueadded 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 succession (leadersbip) planning.
Learn from tbe past and don't let criticism
derail your efforts. Systemic cbange is difficult.
Woodrow Wilson remarked, "If you want to
make enemies, try to cbange sometbing."
View initial implementation and sustainability 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 the system's performance and
tbe culture reflects this, tbe Baldrige criteria can be
very useful in looking introspectively at continuous 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 should 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 implementing
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.

2. Seymour B. Sarason, The Predictable Failure of Educational

Reform: Can We Change Course Before It's Too Late? losseyBass, 1990, pp. 99-116.
3. E. Joyner, "Large-Scale Change: The Comer Perspertive,"
International Handbook of Educational Change, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 1998.
4. Peggy Siegel, "Using Baldrige to Improve Education:
A Rationale Based on Results," Training and Development,
February 2000, p. 4.
5. lack E. Bowsher, Educating America: Lessons Learned in
the Nation's Corporations, lohn Wiley, 1989.
6. Richard DeLorenzo, "Delivering on the Promise: Bringing
Hope to All of Our Children," ASQ National Quality
Education Conference, lacksonville, FL, October 2009.
7. lim Collins, Good to Great, Harper Collins Publishers,
2001, p. 1.
8. Darryl D.Wilson and David A. Collier, "An Empirical
Investigation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award Causal Model, " Decision Sciences, lune 2007,
pp.361-383.
9. ludith A. Zimmerman, "Working the System: Building
Capacity for School Change," journal of Scholarship and
Practice, Spring 2008, pp. 9-12.

bary bcnumacher
Gary 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 education and
school district strategic planning efforts using continuous
improvement frameworks. Schumacher previously served as
the superintendent for the Monona Grove School District

20

References

in Madison, WI, where his interest in quality improvement

1. Ruben Cedeno, "NEA's New Unionism in Pursuit of

Quality," Training and Development, February 2000, p. 64.

processes for school districts took roots. Send your

THE JOURNAL FOR QUALITY & PARTICIPATION

January 2011

comments or questions to schutnacher(3uhcl.edu.

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