The Total Quality School Management Process

Many school boards and administrators desire to see their schools improve, but often do not know where to start. In order to better assist Christian educators, this author has created a helpful and effective framework called Total Quality School Management (TQSM) to properly evaluate and assist schools in this worthy endeavor. The TQSM framework provides a comprehensive and systematic process for strategic school development.

Total Quality School Management examines more than twenty significant areas of the Christian school in five major stages. School administrators along with all school stakeholders should be involved in this institution transforming process. While some schools may be able to complete this initial evaluation in two to three months, most schools will take up to six months to complete this process. Once a school has completed all five stages, they can prepare a highly-effective, updated, and comprehensive five year strategic plan for school improvement, advancement, and development. While many schools use an education specialist to guide them through this intense process, experienced school administrators can navigate through the process if they schedule adequate time for each stage. Let’s examine each stage:

The Foundational Stage

This stage is crucial for successful school development. The six major areas in this stage include a thorough evaluation of the school’s leadership, faculty, philosophy, curriculum, policies, and stakeholders. For example, let’s look at the first area listed above. Leaders are evaluated for their effectiveness in overseeing numerous key school areas such as student scholastic achievement levels, faculty performance and professional development, enrollment management, financial leadership, effective technology utilization, and overall institutional performance. For a basic overview of administrator responsibilities see the following comments and list from the classic text, Management Principles for Christian Schools by James Deuink below:

“The role of the administrator of a Christian school is multifaceted… the typical administrator will have responsibilities for the following activities in most Christian schools:

1. Development and implementation of educational philosophy
2. Development and implementation of educational policy
3. Development and implementation of the curriculum
4. Development of the budget
5. Supervision of the financial resources
6. Recruitment and selection of professional staff
7. Recruitment and selection of support staff
8. Orientation of staff
9. Recruitment and selection of pupils
10. Supervision of the instructional program
11. Supervision of pupil personnel services
12. Administration and supervision of discipline
13. Staff development
14. Supervision of the transportation program
15. Development and maintenance of the physical facilities
16. School/community relations ”

The Synergy Stage

In this stage, schools can build on a solid foundation and begin to create synergies in their learning institution. This level includes areas like school office efficiency, extra-curricular development, facilities enhancement, effective team building, and a strategic plan review. This stage can transform a good school into a great school over a period of time.

Let’s look at a couple of these areas briefly. Extra-curricular development include areas like computer and honors classes, but it also includes fine arts, athletics, clubs, educational trips, and school social events. This area becomes more crucial as students reach junior and senior high. In conjunction with extra-curricular development is facilities enhancement—the two are very much connected. For example, if you desire to expand your curriculum to include new advanced computer courses, you will need to expand your computer labs.

Moreover, if you desire to expand your reading programs, you will need to expand your school library. If you want to expand your athletic program, you will need to consider your field and gym needs, etc. That is why this stage includes a thorough review of the school’s current five year strategic plan. Unfortunately, I find that many schools do not keep this vital “road map” updated and some do not even have one. If you are aiming at nothing, you will hit it every time! After evaluating all stages, the administration should invest ample time in creating or updating this five year detailed plan for growth and improvement.

The Objectives Stage

In this level you will revisit and revamp your school’s mission and purpose statement, making it more precise, measurable, and effective. As a general rule of thumb, schools should have a solid paragraph outlining their purpose as a school followed by four to five specific bulleted learning goals or outcomes. These goals should be quantifiable and generally include areas such as character, scholastics, service, patriotism, and leadership objectives.

A clear, concise, and comprehensive mission statement provides the bull’s eye for excellence to school leadership, faculty/staff, students, parents, and other stakeholders. Thus, this stage brings clarity, precision, and focus to the school.

The Analysis Stage

This stage provides an in-depth analysis and measurement of all areas examined to date, rewarding accomplishments (students, staff, faculty, etc.), and steering the school to implement key educational innovations to advance student learning and achievement. Every one of the major areas is measured for its effectiveness over several periods of time. This would include student academic performance in items like Stanford Achievement Testing, PSATs, ACTs, GPAs, AP test scores, and other internal/external assessments. When comparing data, graphs, and charts, at least four to five years of information is needed to properly analyze trends.

The Higher-Education Stage

This level greatly prepares students for college by providing solid counseling services for students and parents, Advanced Placement (AP) courses for high school students, PSAT and other preparatory assessments, ACT/SAT test preparation strategies, and other helpful services which will insure a clear path or conduit from high school to college. This process begins in upper elementary school and sets crucial items in motion for students and parents through junior and senior high school. High-performing Christian schools fully prepare students to enter the next level of their education and excel in their studies.

Conclusion

As one works his way up through the TQSM process, the five key stages will have been thoroughly examined to identify school-wide strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This will form the basis to properly rewrite, update, or create a highly-effective five year strategic plan which will serve as the road map in achieving greater success for the students and school. Keep in mind, we know how to produce high performing schools today. In fact, the renowned scholar, Herbert J. Walberg in his newest book entitled Advancing Student Achievement, said it best when he stated, “It is no longer a mystery how to advance achievement… high, uniform standards; supportive school policies; clear, measureable goals; efficient means for achieving the goals; opportunities for sustained, engaged student effort; frequent, close monitoring of results; appropriate reinforcements and correctives; [and] periodic, informative reports for [stakeholders] about achievement progress (Walberg, 2010)”.

The issue is not how to achieve excellence, but are we willing to make a comprehensive and sincere analysis of our schools and then make the profound sacrifices and investment of capital (intellectual and financial) necessary to achieve excellence in every aspect of our Christian schools?

I believe we have too much at stake to retreat now or continue to dig in deeper in a mediocre defense mode. I believe it is time for us to regroup, transform, and press forward full speed ahead. Yes, I believe the time has come for Christian schools to become the highest performing learning institutions in America. We can no longer be satisfied with the status quo or just being average—after all, these are not our schools, they belong to our Saviour and Creator, Jesus Christ. His schools ought to be the finest in our land, period!

I trust this brief article about the Total Quality School Management process will not only encourage Christian educators to relentlessly pursue excellence in all aspects of their schools, but that it will inspire them to transform their students so they can impact this world for Christ!