It takes a substantial investment of time, effort, and commitment. It has been suggested that today more change occurs within just two years in the way Americans live and do business than was brought about by the entire industrial revolution. While to a great extent this historic change is the direct result of modern education it has also become, paradoxically, more difficult for public education to meet the needs of students. All of this change has caused us to focus on the future because, all of a sudden, the future is now. The final test of long-term marketability of any good, product or service is its high quality.
School districts can be no different.
Quality, or excellence, in public education can't be normed, standardized or measured through state and federal mandates. It must be defined at the local level, factoring in state initiatives but not dictated by them. State and national norms become the reference points by which a local school can judge its performance. In short, striving for quality is causing us to think more strategically. We will need many community members to help define the vision and develop the plans.