Julie H. Rucker
English Department, Tift County High School

TQM Implementation Plan for Covey School District

The superintendent of Covey School District is concerned that two of the three schools in the small, rural county have not made Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for two or more years. She has decided to implement Total Quality Management (TQM) as the method to use to get the system back on track and exceeding state and federal expectations.

One of the first steps in the planning process is to look at schools which are successful and compare their practices with those of the Covey School District . Schools that she will choose to look at are schools which have similar demographics to the Covey Schools, but she will also pull some schools larger in size that are exceeding expectations as well as schools that are different demographically in order to look at their “best practices.”

Data will have to be collected from those schools in the forms of test scores, case studies, interviews, etc. Through the investigation into the other schools, the superintendent wants to find out what is working for them, what they are doing right, to produce students who meet and exceed AYP expectations. Data she would want to look at from a successful high school would include graduation rates over a period of several years, test scores in core subject areas determining AYP, what percentage within subgroups met or exceeded expectations in core subject areas. One problem in the district is the small percentage within the black male subgroup who meet or exceed expectations because this is where the schools (both middle and high) are failing to make AYP. So she will be especially interested in the data from other schools in that subgroup.

She would also like to do a self-assessment of the Covey School District to get feedback from administrators, teachers, staff members, parents, students, and community members on their perception of the education received by students at district schools. That data collection could include questions related to communication between schools and the community/parents, questions related to the amount and types of school intervention opportunities offered for students either during the school day or after school, and it could also ask questions whose answers may indicate why there is such a large drop out rate in the county. The questions on the surveys would vary depending on the respondents—if the respondents are students or parents, their surveys would not ask questions requiring an extensive knowledge educational terminology. The ultimate goal of the surveys would be to determine how to best help students learn by asking those connected with the schools their opinions on the schools' strengths and weaknesses.

Next, the superintendent will form an Executive Steering Committee (ESC) who will consist of the superintendent, key central office staff, principals of schools, board members, and community members. This committee will help to create the environment for change in the school district. They will work to empower teachers and other staff members, evaluate the districts processes and products, track progress and improvement, gather data, establish its own TQM definition and philosophy, and choose a TQM model appropriate for the schools' needs. This committee would also hire an outside consultant experienced with TQM to come into their district to help the schools implement this process.

Another committee layer, the Local Steering Committee (LSC) will then form at each school. This committee will be made up of the Principal and teachers, and possibly parents or other community members. These committee members will be leaders for the rest of the school, and would benefit for leadership training. They will establish goals for the school and set priorities. They will see that an appropriate staff development program is implemented to further the TQM process within the school.

Members of the LSC will also chair committees (Local Quality Teams-LQTs) within their departments or grade levels, depending on the school. These committees are made of teachers and staff who normally work together, such as a social studies department in high school or a grade six team in middle school. These committees oversee the implementation of TQM on a daily basis. They also identify and solve problems within their areas of influence as well as continue working toward improvement in their area. They are the ones who know their students the best and know what needs to be improved “where the rubber meets the road,” so to speak.

Finally, the TQM consultant would continue to consult with the schools district, even after implementation was completed, on an as-needed basis or at the end of the year when annual assessments are done. The consultant will evaluate the progress made on the beginning improvement projects and then make recommendations based on their analysis. They will continue to provide training in areas needing improvement based on either the improvement plan or annual analysis. The consultant could also meet with focus groups, made up of members of the LQTs, that formed to evaluate progress after a year of implementation. These groups would discuss difficulties with implementing improvements, identify areas still in need of improvement, voice concerns about possible lack of improvement, identify areas where training is needed, and also tell what progress has been made.