Initiating Organizational Change

Challenge

In raising student achievement, a public school district wanted to build a firmer foundation on which to grow and improve. The school district recognized the need to develop relationships within the school district and within the community and more effectively involve and engage stakeholders, including community members, parents, school children and school staff. The goal was to foster a shared commitment to make changes that would support the improvements.

Solution

O.E. Strategies was hired to conduct the SchoolPrism™ survey, a quality based survey for students, staff, community members and parents throughout the school district. The SchoolPrism™ survey was designed to focus different stakeholders on school quality by providing feedback from various viewpoints. O.E. Strategies’ consultants worked with each of the schools on a monthly basis to train and facilitate improvement groups in data driven decision-making. In addition, focus was placed on team building, managing change, and identifying action plans to measure change throughout the school year. The results of the SchoolPrism™ survey were presented to improvement teams both at the district level and individual school level.

Outcomes

Action plans were implemented by improvement teams at the district level and individual school level. By providing a clear path to incorporate stakeholder feedback during the action planning process, the improvement teams developed the ability to drive real change and improvement in the school district. In 2004-2005, the school district made the largest gain in report card rankings across the state. Building levels test scores improved by as much as 42% from the previous year. In addition, the school district has seen an increase in the levels of trust, cooperation, and collaboration from administration, staff, parents, students, and community members; all of which provide the foundation for continued student achievement.