Journey of Continuous Improvement
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Journey of Continuous Improvement
The Journey for Continuous Improvement: A Guide Developed to Engage Stakeholders around a Vision for the future of our Brush School District. This document has a dual purpose. First it is designed to share a vision for the future of the Brush School District created by the Board of Education and Administration through a series of retreats dating back to January 2007. Second, the document creates a context from which teachers, staff, parents, students, and the community can come together for conversations about developing a school that meets the needs of all students.
Journey of Continuous Improvement
JCI Engagement Plan - Updated February 11, 2008
Puzzle - Conceptual Framework of Progress Made in the District
Engagement Plan - The engagement process has been temporarily paused based on stakeholder feedback
The Brush Public Schools Leadership Team recognizes that in order to fulfill the vision contained in The Journey of Continuous Improvement, stakeholders must be involved. Each opportunity to engage the public will have a set purpose, declared outcome, and defined protocol to ensure stakeholders can provide input. In addition, each engagement activity builds upon the other to ensure that final decisions, left to the sole discretion of the Board of Education, are made intelligently and after due consideration of the various stakeholders affected by the policies. The three sections below will contain links to resources and research used in discussions.
Moodle
An online course has been setup at Journey of Continuous Improvement Moodle for stakeholders who are not able to participate in face to face opportunities but would still like to have a voice. Individuals interested in participating in this online format will need to set up an account by clicking the Create new account button on the Colorado Plains Moodle. After creating an account an email will be sent to you with a link back to the Moodle. The link will take you to the Colorado Plains Moodle home page. To enroll in the course stakeholders will click Journey of Continuous Improvement under the Course categories heading. The next page will have a second link to the actual Journey of Continuous Improvement course. After clicking on that link the following message will appear, "You are about to enroll yourself as a member of this course. Are you sure you wish to do this?" The final step is clicking the Yes button.
When engaging in dialogue via the Moodle, it is important for participants to select the appropriate stakeholder group - student, teacher, parent, or business/community - to engage with over the spring semester. Participants will have the option to review comments from other groups but keeping the discussions separate in the early stages will ensure the views, perceptions, and desires of all groups are heard.
World Cafe
The World Cafe conversations will be held both in online and face to face formats. Dates, times, and locations of the face to face conversations are available in the JCI Engagement Plan above. These forums are designed to create a common purpose, share knowledge, and make visible the collective intelligence of Brush Public School's stakeholders. Participants interested in participating must first read the Journey of Continuous Improvement. The following four questions will frame the discussions.
- Question 1 - What pieces of the vision most appeal to you?
- Question 2 - What do students, parents, and teachers need out of a grading system?
- Question 3 - Why shift from a time based system to a performance based system?
- Question 4 - What does accountability truly mean? For students, teachers, administrators, school boards, and school systems?
Focus Groups
The first round of Focus Group sessions are intended to gather data about the perceptions and desires of each group on the topics of Personal/Social Skills and Grading and Reporting.
The Personal/Social Skills forum focuses on the process for developing a new standard called “Personal/Social Skills” which measures the non-academic skills we expect every graduate of our system to have mastered. The data gathered in these sessions will provide Study Circles with concrete data regarding perceptions on this topic.
In shifting from a system that advances students to various levels according to time into a system which records exactly when the specific skill was demonstrated requires a new way of grading and a new way of tracking that data. This Focus Group will be separating the learning and the behavior to be sure that the grading reports accurately reflect what is happening in the classroom. No other aspect of the time line has a greater influence on the others than grading and reporting. It is here where we will have the greatest shift in thinking which will allow students to move through the curriculum, will require more teacher training, and will need to be communicated clearly throughout the community. The data gathered in these sessions will provide Study Circles with concrete data regarding perceptions on this topic.
Study Circles
Participants in the Study Circles will synthesize current research and literature with data on stakeholders’ perceptions uncovered in the focus groups. The study circle will learn together and develop criteria to be used by committees that develop policy, curriculum and structures for implementation. The end goal of the Study Circle is to create a list of criteria for a committee to use to draft policy that addresses best practices and aligns with the values of the many stakeholder groups.
