Quality in Education

Preparing for a New School Year - Why Quality & Continuous Improvement?

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:45:51 GMT

The hallways are busy - bulletin boards and data centers are being put up, an equal amount of excitement and groans can be heard from classrooms. Teachers are back busy preparing for the new group of students and making plans for the school year!

It is also time to remind ourselves....."Why Quality and Continuous Improvement?" What would you include? ...a changing world, today's students need a different set of skills for the 21st century work place, to implement a systematic approach to closing the achievement gap, to measure student achievement and effectiveness of teaching, to determine equity and to uncover what and how students are learning or failing... the list could go on.

The key words in answering the question "Why Quality and Continuous Improvement are systematic and systemic. Systematic defined as a methodical, planned, ordered, step-by-step procedure that can be repeated. Systemic means that the process is embedded, aligned and impact the entire organization. I often use this Margaret Byrnes quote from the book The Principal's Leadership Counts! Launch a Baldrige-Based Quality School.

Deciding to enter into a quality process in education is not because good things are not happening but because of a desire to have good things happen regularly, consistently, and predictable at every level of the school system. Random acts of excellence have little effect on the desired strategic results.

If we truly want success for every student - "Excellence for All" we must thoughtfully and thoroughly dig deep into our current philosophy, instructional practices and methods. We must use systems thinking to determine the current state for all students: those who struggle, those who are progressing as expected and those students who have advanced skills. Many of you practicing quality in your school have probably made the connection to the plan-do-study-act cycle. Join us in future blog entries as we explore the how-to of implementing a systematic and systemic process for moving your school and your classroom to one of excellence for all.

Thanks- Becky

Happy Trails To You

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:26:14 GMT

The LSS 2009 conference has concluded and I hope everyone had as much fun and found the conference as useful as I did. I always leave these conferences with my brains overflowing with new ideas and perspectives that I hopefully can use back home in my daily work. Sometimes a good idea will take some time to settle in and a couple of months down the road I will have an A Ha moment about something that I heard at the conference.

For sure the weather was wonderful and many of us who escaped freezing temps and snow were delighted to be in Phoenix.

I want to thank everyone for their contributions to this blog this year and please know that the blog does remain open if you care to post a question or comment in the future.

Travel safely and kind regards,

Russ

Lean verses Six Sigma

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:21:48 GMT

I have over the last couple of years been asking people: What is the difference, or what is similar between Lean and Six Sigma, and what the heck is LSS???

The best answer so far that I have heard is Lean is a flow perspective and Six Sigma is a variation perspective. The tools in Lean can be used in Six Sigma, but it seems that Six Sigma is more useful for larger, more complicated projects whereas the tools for Lean are a bit more basic.

Not sure if that definition or distinction is correct, but seems reasonable.

Russ

LSS 09 Conference Opens

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:08:22 GMT

The 2009 Lean Six Sigma Conference is now open here in sunny Phoenix. The opening key note address by Brett C Browchuk, Senior Vice President of Service Operations, at CIGNA Health Care was excellent. He really energized the audience, and as a fairly recent newcomer to the world of Six Sigma proved to be an enthusiastic proponent of Six Sigma. He talked about his own learning journey and the questions he asked himself that would be usefull to his organization. And the prime answer: Customer Service.

I wonder if each of us were to ask ourselves the same question about the environment we work in, what would the focus be. When I asked mself this question, my attention is drawn to maximising productivity within matrixed teams. And I invite you to contribute your idea of a prime outcome for your organization's Six Sigma initiative.

More later

Russ

A good Place to eat

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:04:31 GMT

Arrived Phoenix this afternoon...and as always wondering where are good places to go to eat. Let us all know if you have a favorite.

See you soon

Russ

Reflecting on 08 Preparing for 09

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:17:00 GMT

Well the LSS 09 conference is next week...and as I am packing my bags and getting ready to go I have been reflecting back thinking about what really worked well for me last year and what I might do differently this year to make the conference productive and useful as well as enjoyable.

OK, so I admit I am a 6-sigma kind of guy and am always looking for ways to make things better...and of course, I always look at process as a key to improvement. So in addition to making sure I have packed enough clean pairs of sox to last through the conference, I am reflecting on ways to improve the overall experience.

One thing I did well was think about the conference as an entire experience first, and then looked at the tracks within the conference that would be interesting. I settled on two of the tracks rather than trying to cherry pick accross all the various sessions so that I could get in great depth for a particular focus. I am not suggesting this is a good strategy, but it is a strategy that I found useful.

The other thing that I found very useful was to introduce myself and engage with as many of my fellow participants as possible. I had prepared a series of two or three questions to ask and got some terrific ideas and tips from people that I spoke with. It is clear that attenders are smart, experience and knowledgeable and very willing to share their thoughts.

So, those are two ideas that helped make my experience productive. I invite readers to share their ideas, also.

See you in Phoenix

Russ, 2009 BlogMeister

Use of Social Media

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:14:45 GMT

Over the last couple of years more and more professionals and businesses are using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter... and of course a blog like this one … to be in contact with colleagues, customers, suppliers as well as professional contacts. These web-based social media aren't just for your teens any more. They are powerful ways to be immediately connected to other business professionals.

I wonder what experiences our Lean Six Sigma community has had using social media and if you would care to share experiences and stories.

Hope you have a great conference.

Russ

The 2009 Lean Six Sigma Blog is Now Open!!

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:07:53 GMT

Hello, Everyone.

And welcome to the 2009 Lean Six Sigma Conference Blog...I am delighted to have been asked back for a second year to serve as Blogmeister.

This year's conference is 2/3 March in Phoenix and we hope this blog will add to your enjoyment and learning at the conference.

If you are a presenter this year, please post a comment and tell us what one thing you hope attendees at your session will be able to take back and use immediately.

If you are an attendee, please set your email preferences to receive notices of new posts and check back frequently from now through the conference. This is your forum to comments, share ideas, ask questions, record impressions and get the information you need to have a worthwhile and productive conference.

See you in Phoenix.

Russ