Sunrise Elementary School

 

Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement
Deer Valley is the first school district in Arizona to embed quality tools and measurement from the classroom to the district to the board room. The stystems approach to continuous improvement teaches students goal setting, putting them in charge of the results of their learning and ongoing measurement of progress towards academic goals and objectives. In order for a systems approach to be effective, it must be implemented from the superintendent level to the student level and every level in between.

 

Malcolm Baldrige Criteria
Using the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, Deer Valley embarked on a journey of continuous improvement. In order to produce outstanding academic and operational results, Deer Valley has formalized key processes designed to produce high levels of performance from students and employees.

 

Part of the systems approach to continuous improvement includes collecting, tracking and analyzing data to monitor progress in order to achieve specific goals, in and out of the classroom with desired outcomes. Delivery and results are monitored for effectiveness and require both reflection and data analysis.

 

Baldrige in the Classroom
The Deer Valley Unified School District is creating an organizational setting at the school level that honors all individuals (children and adults) in a caring, productive environment that invites and sustains a quest for improvement. Each school completes a Campus Improvement Plan which allows for a deep exploration of the possibilities for improvement including a data dive, gap analysis, identification and implementation of research-based instructional strategies coupled with focused measurable professional development and short cycle benchmarks (PDSAs). This approach requires the staff's engagement in intentional learning and effective use of strategies which are monitored by, looking at quality, fideltiy, intensity, and consistency (QFIC).

 

As a result of these learning conversations and interactions, decisions are made collectively and effective instructional strategies are consistently used in classroom practice. Schools where the staff is actively involved in the implementation of the improvement plan produce increased learning as they realize the importance of placing individual student data into the hands of the students. When all stakeholders are involved in student achievement, the likelihood of success is inevitable.