Governor’s Quality Award “Benchmarking for Economic Survival” Columbia, SC October 21, 2009

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

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

5 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

6 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

7 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

8 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

9 The In-coming Superintendent needed: –Framework –Blueprint –Measure He Decided To Use – Baldrige National Quality Program Criteria – Why?

10 Systemic – Seven Components –Leadership –Strategic Planning –Student, Stakeholder, and Market Focus –Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management –Workforce Focus –Process Management –Results

11 Systematic – Two Components Processes –A approach – clearly defined steps –D deployment – to all levels –L learning – cycles of improvement –I integration – organizational knowledge Results –Lelevels of performance –C comparisons –T trends –I integration

12 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 me as superintendent?

13 What We Learned External Blame Complacency No Sense of Urgency

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15 Key ISS Processes –Strategic Plan –Governance –Leadership –School and Department Plans –Data Driven Decision Making –Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps –Aligned and Effective Support Processes –Principal and Teacher Coaching and Evaluation –Classroom Walkthroughs

16 Governance –Board of Education as System –Board of Education System Check –Board of Education Survey –Board of Education Improvement Plan

17 Handout

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19 Results from 2002 to 2008 Academic Composite 55 th to 9 th Graduation 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

20 Results from 2002 to 2008 Reading Gap AA reduced by 48% Reading Gap EC reduced by 53% Computer Skills 68% to 96% (2009) Dropout Rate 106 th to 10 th Attendance Rate 55 th to 3 rd

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% reduction to date with savings of $50,000 Bus Driver Overtime

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24 I-SS Worker's Comp Loss Ratio Indicates Improvement 2010 Long-term Projection < 3.0

25 Other areas of improvement – bus discipline, energy savings, faith based partners, highly qualified teachers,, child nutrition costs, maintenance, custodial, credit recovery, textbooks Expenditures per Pupil – remain in bottom 10 in NC - $700 below state average

26 Just DO IT

27 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

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

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

30 Michael Fullan, Turnaround Leadership, 2007 Change Processes to Require Behavior Change 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

31 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

32 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

33 My Challenge to You Believe in the children Believe in yourself Believe in your leaders Don’t give up on the children Don’t give up on yourself Don’t give up on your leaders Don’t give up on education Model the change that you want to see and by working together – the messengers we send forward to that time we will not see will thrive and carry forward a message of hope and belief.

34 “You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time if you are sitting on your butt and who wants to leave butt prints in the sands of time?” Bob Moawad Go leave some footprints!!!!