Driving Excellence, Sustaining the Journey 19 th Annual Minnesota Quality Awards May 18, 2010

ISS Background Fired superintendent Budget problems Low student achievement Low community expectations Low trust – community and staff Low morale Excellent staff

Board Expectations System Leadership –Systems approach –Continuous improvement focus –Learning centered focus –Innovation focus –Process management focus –Top Ten vision

The Clash Leadership Beliefs vs. Existing Culture –Problems are system based vs. people based –Teaching system vs. learning system –Decisions made with regard to tradition vs. data driven –Innovation vs. status quo

ISS Baldrige Journey Foundation for Leadership –Leadership passion and commitment for learning –Leadership basic beliefs –Change management process –Baldrige Criteria as blueprint, framework and measure

Passion for Learning All children come to school with a yearning for learning. Our aim should be to increase the positives and decrease the negatives so all children keep their yearning for learning. Edward Deming

Leadership Beliefs – System vs. People If children are not learning at high levels, the adults have not done their part –Parents have not created a system of encouragement and support for learning –Teachers have teaching centered classrooms rather than learning centered classrooms –Principals have created adult centered schools rather than learning centered schools –Superintendents and school boards have created adult centered school systems rather than learning centered systems

Leadership Beliefs The vast majority of adults want the best for children and want children to be successful No one comes to work everyday and wants to fail A passion for learning exists in all of us The level above must enable the level below

Michael Fullan, Turnaround Leadership, 2007 Repeating Behavior Changes You are more likely to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting Start with small behavior changes tied to systemic and systematic processes Early successes

Modeling Expectations: Listening Process Three Questions –What is getting in the way of student learning? –What do you need to help all children learn to high levels? –What do you expect from the superintendent?

Modeling by Leadership Use of Quality Tools –Issue Bin –Affinity Chart –Light Voting –Budget Alignment Plan Do Study Act Cycle –Attendance Early Success

What We Learned External Blame Complacency No Sense of Urgency

What We Learned At every crossway on the road that leads to the future each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past. Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian Nobel Laureate

Creating Conditions for Change That Will Last What DOES NOT Work –Facts alone –Fear –Force Sense of Urgency, John Kotter

Change or Die, Alan Deutschman Creating Conditions for Change That Will Last What DOES Work –Relationships –Repeating small behavior changes –Reframing beliefs

Belief and Expectations are Fundamental Pygmalion Effect –If we expect our actions to have an impact on student learning then we will impact student learning –If we do not think our actions can overcome impact of student demographics on learning then we will not impact student learning

Sense of Urgency, John Kotter Creating a Sense of Urgency Bring outside in – Baldrige Feedback Listen to employees who interact directly with customers (students) – Workforce Focus Publish results of listening – Knowledge Management Public display of results - Results

Results from 2002 to 2008 Academic Composite 55 th to 9 th Graduate Rate 53 rd to 11 th (61% to 81%) SAT 57 th to 7 th (991 to 1056) 3-8 Reading 75 th to 20 th 3-8 Math 68 th to 12 th

Results from 2002 to 2008 Reading Gap AA reduced by 48% Reading Gap EC reduced by 53% Computer Skills 68% to 90% Dropout Rate 106 th to 10 th Attendance Rate 55 th to 3 rd

Results from 2002 to 2008 Other areas of improvement – bus discipline, energy savings, faith based partners, highly qualified teachers, overtime costs, child nutrition costs, maintenance, custodial, workmen’s compensation ratio, fund balance, credit recovery Expenditures per Pupil – remain in bottom 10 - $700 below state average

Lessons Learned: It is about leadership at ALL levels. Professional development is important but follow up and accountability are crucial. Succession planning is a BIG deal. Getting the right people on the bus IN the right seats is critical. Belief that it is the system and not the people…work on improving the system! Relationships matter!

Brenda Clark