New Problems Require New Solutions

Abstract: Unprecedented financial and performance mandate challenges face today’s educators. We have ample proof that an outcome-based management approach hasn’t worked. NAEP scores have been flatlined for years. Dropout rates continue to hover at or above 30%+. Public support for continually increasing education funding has waned. Legislative funding is dwindling and unstable. But costs continue to rise. It is time we embraced a more effective management model, that of Process Improvement and Management. The only way our schools and districts are going to be able to preserve or attain Academic Excellence is by first focusing on becoming institutions of Operational Excellence.

Keywords: Continuous Improvement - Primary and Secondary Education Brief