Applying quality principles in public education

The Coalition of Altoona Professionals (CAP) has demonstrated that an organization-wide commitment to improvement based on quality principles can influence the school environment, student behavior, community involvement, and the educational process itself. Teacher involvement is essential for addressing educational improvement in school districts. The administration of the Altoona, Pennsylvania Area School District and the teacher's union, the Altoona Area Education Association (AAEA), developed a process of teacher involvement in problem solving and decision making. This process focuses on joint planning and problem solving activities conducted by committees and teams in a systematic approach to continuous improvement at all levels, throughout the whole district. The Coalition has created a system in accordance with a number of quality principles, including the development of a strategy for improvement, an organization designed to support the strategy, training in quality improvement skills, and leadership for improvement throughout the organization. This quality deployment strategy involves assessment of current priorities for improvement and evaluation of resource utilization. The supporting organization provides for teamwork and empowerment. The organization also fosters coordination and adjustment of activities between internal customers and suppliers (schools, grade levels, and academic disciplines). Continual training in quality principles and tools, problem solving, and teamwork is critical to the quality improvement effort.