The Baldrige programs mission is to improve the competitiveness and performance of US organizations. It is part of the The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. I've used some of this in my past career as an engineer. I think some of the criteria can be useful in education also.
Baldrige Critera
Customer Driven - in education, our "customers" are the students. We need to make sure that everything we do, and every decision we make is for the benefit of our students.
Visionary Leadership - we need educational leaders with values who can come up with new and innovative ways to address issues in education.
Organization and Personal Learning - Continuous improvement and education - everyone in education needs to be lifelong learners and continue to learn and improve themselves.
Valuing Employees and Partners - educational leaders need make sure that their staff are valued and supported. We also need to make sure we include our community partners.
Agility - rapid change and flexibility - education, like most government, is slow to change. We need to change when needed to better address the needs of our students.
Focus on Future - long term goals, focus, commitments - what is the long term goal of education? Think beyond the next test or next marking period. Start planning long term.
Managing for Innovation - educational leaders need to embrace change, and encourage faculty, students, and community partners to come up with innovative ideas to solve problems and issues.
Managment by Fact - measure, analyze, data - data driven decision making. Decisions have to be made based on research, data, best practices, and what will benefit our students.
Public Responsibility and Citizenship - civic duties - our duty is to our students, their families and the community.
Focus on Results and Creating Value - in education, this is not test scores. It is providing students with the skills and resources they need to be successful in life.
Systems Perspective - look at the big picture.
What do you think?
