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Aligned Management System: A Community & S.D. Partnership that Enhances Student Success

Purpose/Objective of Initiative
The Mesa County Board of Education’s mission is “To lead all students to meet their individual potential”. In 2000 they took an important step toward engaging the community and stimulating their district to fulfill its mission by hiring Bob Moore as the new superintendent. One of Mr. Moore’s first initiatives was to introduce the “Aligned Management System” for strategic planning. The process began with the formation of a leadership team comprised of school and community members. The team gathered input from district staff and the community to identify the district’s strategic Aims. Once the input was synthesized into six Aims, the board agreed to allocate human and financial resources to support the alignment of district policies, structures, and activities with these Aims. Currently, district personnel, community members and the school board continue to be engaged actively and serve on the leadership team and on the committees that help monitor the aims and measures. This initiative has resulted in a community-wide commitment to meet the needs of all students and provide the skills to become productive, socially responsible members of their communities.

Main Partners and Beneficiaries

MCVSD 51 students

Civic responsibility - District students actively address community needs through service-learning participation that is integrated in their school curriculum.
Student Achievement - Evidence is emerging suggesting that the process is affecting student success. This includes significant gains in third grade state reading test scores, closing the gap between minority and white student scores, and noticeable improvements in high school graduation rates over past years.
Employability – Students are developing the skills, qualities and attitudes necessary for the ever-changing workplace.

Citizens of Mesa Community
The AIMS reflect community values
Community needs are addressed through Service Learning initiatives, i.e. graduating seniors at Grand Junction High School contributed over 47,000 hours of service in the community.
Newly created partnerships focus specifically on the needs of minority and economically disadvantaged students and their families, i.e. creation of four school based family centers that provide needed services and outreach.
The Business community
Students, as future employees, are better prepared for the world of work.
Through partnerships businesses and students are participating in programs and projects that promote social responsibility and civic engagement.

Main Contributors
Mesa Valley School District 51
North Carolina Partnership for Excellence
Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce
Citizens of Mesa County – Grand Junction, Colorado

Essential elements
How and Why:
MCVSD 51's strategic plan uses an aligned management system approach for continuous improvement, with an emphasis on ensuring all efforts are aligned and focused on achieving the Goals of the district. Increased state accountability coupled with the school board’s sincere desire to improve prompted the design of a new strategic plan that reflected community values.

Steps for Development:
The process began in 2001 with training of a leadership team, consisting of parents, educators, school board members, students and community leaders. This dedicated team conducted a community-wide series of brainstorming sessions, listening to and gathering information from more than 3,500 different voices of customers, or stakeholders. From that, the district’s Aims, or strategic priorities, were formulated. Teams of school district and community members wrote Goals and Measures aligned with those Aims. The superintendent selected Aim Sponsors and charged them with developing and implementing the Priority Actions needed to turn the Goals into reality. Results will be reported over time.

In addition to developing school district Aims and Goals, individual schools and departments also wrote improvement goals, ensuring that their efforts were aligned with the district’s Aims and Goals. Measurement components were also attached to each of their goals, allowing them to monitor progress and verify that improvement efforts were, in fact, making a difference in achieving the desired result of improved student performance.

An important step in this whole process involved a concentrated training program to ensure that all employees were introduced to the language, expectations and philosophy of an aligned management system by participating in an initial six-hour awareness training. This was accomplished on in-service days and after-school, Saturday and summer sessions for which participants received a stipend. To date about 715 community members and district personnel have received training.

The next major thrust involves providing the support necessary to infuse the routine use of quality tools and practices in the classroom as well as building a district-wide measurement infrastructure. It is when the students themselves begin to use the improvement strategies that we expect achievement to soar.

Main Factors of Success

Commitment of School Board
- Financial
- Philosophical
Community and staff continued commitment and involvement
- Extensive awareness training, i.e. 715 participants
- State of Colorado Service-Learning Initiative
Financial
- Training and support
Business Community
- Financial
- Philosophical
- Chamber of Commerce participation and commitment

Assessment/Evaluation Process & Evidence of its Strength
Evidence of Success
Since the program is still being implemented, the evidence of success of the Aligned Management System initiative is limited primarily to process rather than outcome indicators. Currently these include:

School board’s commitment to a yearly funding of the process in spite of severe budget cuts throughout the district.
The Organizational Health Inventory (OHI) survey, that measures the overall internal organizational climate, clearly demonstrates that staff morale increased (approximately 12% overall) -- this is a remarkable improvement since major restructuring usually causes a temporary drop in morale.
Over 50% of district personnel have voluntarily participated in awareness training on the Aligned Management System.
Community members have continued their support of this process as evidenced by on-going participation in leadership meetings, district and building accountability teams, and strategic aim working groups.
Since January 2001 eight all-day work sessions involving district and community members have been held – evidence of strong commitment.
A preliminary body of evidence is already emerging suggesting that the process is affecting student success. This includes significant gains in third grade state reading test scores, closing the gap between minority and white student scores, and noticeable improvements in high school graduation rates over past years.

Specific Assessment & Measures for the Community Partnership Program
The following are Community Partnership goals and the measures that will be used for assessment:

Increase partnerships to raise achievement for all students
Measures include:
Engage all community entities (e.g. Businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith groups, government, higher education and volunteers) to support achievement of all students and citizenship
Measures include:
Expand cooperation with community partners to maximize the use of local resources
Measures include:

Number of years the program has been in existence
Two years

Growth Since Inception
Since inception, the program has increased steadily in the
numbers of partners, partnerships, volunteers and beneficiaries.
This year a method is being developed to quantify this growth.
This method is based on counting the numbers within standardized
categories and controlling for the disparities in school.

Impact
The impact of the initiative is going to be continuous student
improvement and the development of leaders at all levels (student,
teachers, administrators, community members). In an aligned
management system everyone defines and measures success the same way. It
will enable the district to allocate resources more efficiently and effectively.
It will promote responsibility and enhance accountability. In short, our
students will become socially responsible skilled members of our
global society.

Potential replication and scale of initiative
The initiative is globally replicable when the educational system and
the community are committed and recognize that it is a on-going process, not a
“silver bullet.” Our endeavor is district and community wide. The cost of
replication would be in proportion to size of the district and community.
e.g. the district provided training for over half of the staff member @ $46
per person. The district cost in 2002 (above training expense) has been $59,000, while the anticipated cost for 2003 is $20,000.

Name & contact information for an underwriter
who validates your application

Sandie Cooper, Director of Kids Voting
Basil T. Knight Center
2523 Patterson Rd.
Grand Junction, CO 81505

Email: Sandieco@mesa.k12.co.us
Work Phone: 970.245.3414

Contact Information:
Judy Jepson
2912 B Road
Grand Junction, CO 81503
970- 254-5498 or 970-242-2365
Fax- 970 243-6716
Email – jjepson@mesa.k12.co.us

Authors
Dr. Bill Liggett – Research Analyst/Program Evaluator
Bob Moore - Superintendent of Schools
Cathie Zarlingo - School Board President
Judy Jepson – Community Partnership Coordinator

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		Aligned Management System: A Community & S.D. Partnership that Enhances Student Success Purpose/Objective of Initiative The Mesa County Board of Education’s mission is “To lead all students to meet their individual potential”. In 2000 they took an important step toward engaging the community and stimulating their district to fulfill its mission by hiring Bob Moore as the new superintendent. One of Mr. Moore’s first initiatives was to introduce the “Aligned Management System” for strategic planning. The process began with the formation of a leadership team comprised of school and community members. The team gathered input from district staff and the community to identify the district’s strategic Aims. Once the input was synthesized into six Aims, the board agreed to allocate human and financial resources to support the alignment of district policies, structures, and activities with these Aims. Currently, district personnel, community members and the school board continue to be engaged actively and serve on the leadership team and on the committees that help monitor the aims and measures. This initiative has resulted in a community-wide commitment to meet the needs of all students and provide the skills to become productive, socially responsible members of their communities. Main Partners and Beneficiaries MCVSD 51 students Civic responsibility - District students actively address community needs through service-learning participation that is integrated in their school curriculum. Student Achievement - Evidence is emerging suggesting that the process is affecting student success. This includes significant gains in third grade state reading test scores, closing the gap between minority and white student scores, and noticeable improvements in high school graduation rates over past years. Employability – Students are developing the skills, qualities and attitudes necessary for the ever-changing workplace. Citizens of Mesa Community The AIMS reflect community values Community needs are addressed through Service Learning initiatives, i.e. graduating seniors at Grand Junction High School contributed over 47,000 hours of service in the community. Newly created partnerships focus specifically on the needs of minority and economically disadvantaged students and their families, i.e. creation of four school based family centers that provide needed services and outreach. The Business community Students, as future employees, are better prepared for the world of work. Through partnerships businesses and students are participating in programs and projects that promote social responsibility and civic engagement. Main Contributors Mesa Valley School District 51 North Carolina Partnership for Excellence Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce Citizens of Mesa County – Grand Junction, Colorado Essential elements How and Why: MCVSD 51's strategic plan uses an aligned management system approach for continuous improvement, with an emphasis on ensuring all efforts are aligned and focused on achieving the Goals of the district. Increased state accountability coupled with the school board’s sincere desire to improve prompted the design of a new strategic plan that reflected community values. Steps for Development: The process began in 2001 with training of a leadership team, consisting of parents, educators, school board members, students and community leaders. This dedicated team conducted a community-wide series of brainstorming sessions, listening to and gathering information from more than 3,500 different voices of customers, or stakeholders. From that, the district’s Aims, or strategic priorities, were formulated. Teams of school district and community members wrote Goals and Measures aligned with those Aims. The superintendent selected Aim Sponsors and charged them with developing and implementing the Priority Actions needed to turn the Goals into reality. Results will be reported over time. In addition to developing school district Aims and Goals, individual schools and departments also wrote improvement goals, ensuring that their efforts were aligned with the district’s Aims and Goals. Measurement components were also attached to each of their goals, allowing them to monitor progress and verify that improvement efforts were, in fact, making a difference in achieving the desired result of improved student performance. An important step in this whole process involved a concentrated training program to ensure that all employees were introduced to the language, expectations and philosophy of an aligned management system by participating in an initial six-hour awareness training. This was accomplished on in-service days and after-school, Saturday and summer sessions for which participants received a stipend. To date about 715 community members and district personnel have received training. The next major thrust involves providing the support necessary to infuse the routine use of quality tools and practices in the classroom as well as building a district-wide measurement infrastructure. It is when the students themselves begin to use the improvement strategies that we expect achievement to soar. Main Factors of Success Commitment of School Board Financial Philosophical Community and staff continued commitment and involvement Extensive awareness training, i.e. 715 participants State of Colorado Service-Learning Initiative Financial Training and support Business Community Financial Philosophical Chamber of Commerce participation and commitment Assessment/Evaluation Process & Evidence of its Strength Evidence of Success Since the program is still being implemented, the evidence of success of the Aligned Management System initiative is limited primarily to process rather than outcome indicators. Currently these include: School board’s commitment to a yearly funding of the process in spite of severe budget cuts throughout the district. The Organizational Health Inventory (OHI) survey, that measures the overall internal organizational climate, clearly demonstrates that staff morale increased (approximately 12% overall) -- this is a remarkable improvement since major restructuring usually causes a temporary drop in morale. Over 50% of district personnel have voluntarily participated in awareness training on the Aligned Management System. Community members have continued their support of this process as evidenced by on-going participation in leadership meetings, district and building accountability teams, and strategic aim working groups. Since January 2001 eight all-day work sessions involving district and community members have been held – evidence of strong commitment. A preliminary body of evidence is already emerging suggesting that the process is affecting student success. This includes significant gains in third grade state reading test scores, closing the gap between minority and white student scores, and noticeable improvements in high school graduation rates over past years. Specific Assessment & Measures for the Community Partnership Program The following are Community Partnership goals and the measures that will be used for assessment: Increase partnerships to raise achievement for all students Measures include: Number of partnerships, Positive volunteer perception rating tool, Positive student perception rating tool Student Achievement Profiles Engage all community entities (e.g. Businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith groups, government, higher education and volunteers) to support achievement of all students and citizenship Measures include: Number of students involved in service-learning participation Number by type of community resources Expand cooperation with community partners to maximize the use of local resources Measures include: The amount of community resources contributed to support District AIMS Evidence of a trend between aligned partnerships and student Achievement Profiles Number of years the program has been in existence Two years Growth Since Inception Since inception, the program has increased steadily in the numbers of partners, partnerships, volunteers and beneficiaries. This year a method is being developed to quantify this growth. This method is based on counting the numbers within standardized categories and controlling for the disparities in school. Impact The impact of the initiative is going to be continuous student improvement and the development of leaders at all levels (student, teachers, administrators, community members). In an aligned management system everyone defines and measures success the same way. It will enable the district to allocate resources more efficiently and effectively. It will promote responsibility and enhance accountability. In short, our students will become socially responsible skilled members of our global society. Potential replication and scale of initiative The initiative is globally replicable when the educational system and the community are committed and recognize that it is a on-going process, not a “silver bullet.” Our endeavor is district and community wide. The cost of replication would be in proportion to size of the district and community. e.g. the district provided training for over half of the staff member @ $46 per person. The district cost in 2002 (above training expense) has been $59,000, while the anticipated cost for 2003 is $20,000. Name & contact information for an underwriter who validates your application Sandie Cooper, Director of Kids Voting Basil T. Knight Center 2523 Patterson Rd. Grand Junction, CO 81505 Email: Sandieco@mesa.k12.co.us Work Phone: 970.245.3414 Contact Information: Judy Jepson 2912 B Road Grand Junction, CO 81503 970- 254-5498 or 970-242-2365 Fax- 970 243-6716 Email – jjepson@mesa.k12.co.us Authors Dr. Bill Liggett – Research Analyst/Program Evaluator Bob Moore - Superintendent of Schools Cathie Zarlingo - School Board President Judy Jepson – Community Partnership Coordinator Return to Index