A School Board’s Commitment to Improvement

Bonding with the school board is a top priority for ensuring student achievement.

In the School District of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the board and district leadership team have partnered in a formal way to collect, present, and analyze data for action planning. Under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Pat Greco and the school board, the district has established a culture and expectation of continuous improvement.

A POLICY OF SUPPORT:

The school board embraced the district’s commitment to success and approved a policy that requires a continuous improvement approach to teaching, learning, and leading. The Continuous Quality Improvement policy has served to create a bond between members of the school board and all district staff. The leadership team maintains a posture of gratitude for this formal support and are dedicated to submitting data every 45 days and providing regular progress updates during school board meetings.

The district collects all types of data from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to student test scores. Data, such as the distribution of student test results, are converted into anonymous chart or graph forms and hung in the classroom for all to see. Displaying this data motivates students and allows them to see where they fall, to make changes and set goals for improvement.

The district pays this support forward by hosting a Symposium on Continuous Improvement for leadership teams around the country multiple times a year. As continued evidence of the bond these efforts have created, school board members attend the events and share their perspective on the district’s success with attendees.

RESULTS: 

This mutual dedication to processes and resources for continuous improvement have resulted in substantial gains for the district. This year, the School District of Menomonee Falls had a 100% graduation rate for black and hispanic students and placed 3rd in overall graduation rate in the Milwaukee area. It is evident that when both the school district and board work together, with the success of students as the main focus, differences are made in the lives of students, parents, and the entire community.