Continuous Improvement
How can a culture of reflection and learning be built into the very fiber of a school?
Clear goals and metrics don’t limit innovation; they foster it.
Multiple measures—including the perspectives of students, educators, and families—help build a well-rounded understanding of how a school is doing and enable a culture of continuous improvement.
A school that’s a true learning organization is a resilient school, better able to meet challenges when they come.
Why This Topic Matters
An effective school is a learning organization, engaged in constant inquiry involving educators, students, families, and community partners. Grounded in clear goals for students and aspirations for the school itself, a school team can reflect on evidence from many sources to help understand progress, spot problems, personalize opportunities for students, and improve continuously in ways large and small. A culture of continuous improvement helps a school stay innovative, open to new ideas, and always learning and growing.
Questions to Explore and Discuss:
- How will you know if your new or redesigned school is successful in implementing its plan, applying its design principles in reality, and realizing its mission? What systems or dashboards might help?
- What academic competencies, social-emotional development, and real-world interests will be evident in your graduates? How will you ensure that those goals are realized equitably for every student?
- How will you supplement conventional data—graduation rates, test results, course grades, and the like—with other forms of data and information? What can you learn from students, families, and educators?
- How can measurement help you identify challenges, opportunities, and gaps? How can you have courageous conversations about what’s working, what’s not, and why?
- How can you engage in cycles of continuous improvement to try out new ideas and innovations? How can you involve a wide circle of stakeholders, especially students, in this important work?
