CFCE -- Quality Tips

Salute to Quality 2011: Celebrating Innovation & Success in Education

2011-05-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Salute to Quality, now in its third year, continues to bring big crowds and big ideas! The Carolina First Center for Excellence(CFCE) hosted the Salute to Quality event on April 28, showcasing CFCE Partner Schools and their successes in Continuous Quality Improvement.

The Greenville Chamber was the setting for over 200 educators, business, and community leaders to view displays and share best practices in Continuous Quality Improvement. CFCE sends a huge thanks to our 46 partner schools and the 1700 educators that we partner with to reach more than 18,000 students. Congratulations on your efforts and successes in Quality!

Educators took part in the great networking opportunities with other CFCE partner schools and the ability to engage with the business community. Teachers shared comments about the experience as a "wonderful opportunity to collaborate and share about continuous quality improvement and quality tools" and valued the "new thoughts and ideas" they learned. Students were also present to discuss their data notebooks and how they used the PDSA (Plan Do Study Act) problem-solving process in their classrooom.

The Carolina First Center for Excellence would like to thank Aerie Engineering, Greenville Federal Credit Union, Jason's Deli, TailLights Dogs, and Skylight Studios for their support of this year's event.

Marsha Bunnell, Brushy Creek Elementary: 2nd Grade Students Improve Cafeteria Behavior with PDSA!

2011-03-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

My second grade class has been having a few behavior issues at lunch. We initiated the PDSA cycle to improve cafeteria behavior. Recently, after an eventful lunch last week, I told my class we needed to have a class meeting to discuss our lunch issues.

We identified the opportunity for improvement using the Quality tools and class discussions to provide a great base of understanding where they were with the cafeteria issues (Plan). I decided to try a Plus/Delta chart with the students to see if we could discuss this issue and hopefully work on a possible solution together. The students were very familiar with our class Parking Lot so explaining how to use just the top portion was not difficult. The children shared some ideas of what was going well at lunch (Plus) such as we always use hand sanitizer, we are doing better remembering to pick up any condiments we need, etc. The Delta portion (needs improvement) was a long list.

The class generated what they thought needed to be improved. I added suggestions to our list such as we are too talkative, play with our food, do not use good manners, and are not quiet for the first 10 minutes (silent lunch time). I asked what did they think we could do help our situation. One student immediately said that if they made better choices deciding who to sit by it would help! I jumped at the chance and suggested a seating chart! They thought that was a great idea so I proceeded to create one with their input on who they should sit by at lunch.

The class then created a plan/action steps (the seating chart) to implement (Do) that would improve the situation. The next day, we tried our new seating arrangement out and our lunch was so much happier! We may need to tweak as the days go by but having the children take ownership in solving their problem has been so positive!

The class is now in the Study phase where they will be looking at the results of the seating chart and lunchroom behavior. The Act phase continues the process as the class standardizes these processes and/or adjusts the plan as needed.

This is the first time I have taken my class through the PDSA cycle. I see the benefit of allowing children to have input and ownership when working on different classroom situations. Before implementing this strategy, I would have solved the problem by telling my students what they were going to do! This surely would have resulted in negative attitudes and probably an unsolved issue. Instead, the class owned the problem and took positive steps to solve it themselves. They had a very good attitude about their plan because they understood the issue and worked together to create a positive solution.

For more information on how her class is progressing through the PDSA process, please contact Marsha Bunnell at Brushy Creek Elementary School.

Words of Wisdom from Down Under

2011-03-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence (CFCE) brings Michael King and Dr. Jane Kovacs of Quality Learning Australia who will present lessons learned in a decade of bringing Quality Improvement philosophy, strategies and tools to over 300 schools in Australia.

Dr. Kovacs and Mr. King will speak to school administrators, teachers, and leaders in the business community on March 17 at the Greenville Chamber. They will be presenting at the 17th Annual International Deming Research Seminar later in the month in New York. Greenville is on their four-city US tour so they can also learn about CFCE's model for implementation of Quality principles and practices in 46 partner schools in the Upstate.

In addition to this learning and sharing session, they will visit to two partner schools, attend a hockey game with the Chamber's manufacturing group, and experience TedXGreenville.

For more information, please contact Michele Brinn, Carolina First Center for Excellence director and VP of Workforce Education at the Greenville Chamber.

Jennifer Foster, Bethel Elementary School: First-graders Impacting Achievement Through Data

2011-02-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

Within the last two years, I have seen six year olds’ struggles with understanding the importance of their learning turn to successes as they have become accountable for their own learning. My students, being engaged in their own learning process, have become motivated and successful learners. They actively track their own data, both academically and behaviorally, on a daily and/or weekly basis. Tracking everything from spelling test scores to daily behavior, data becomes ingrained into my first graders’ “sponge-like” minds. Two types of data tracking that I have found to be most beneficial and impactful to my students are weekly Essential Facts quizzes and daily behavior using “Elmer’s Expectations.”

Essential Facts are vocabulary words and their definitions written as standards-based statements in developmentally appropriate terms. Through a random sampling process, Essential Facts are used to review and preview student knowledge and understanding of all or most content areas. I allow 30 minutes of our weekly schedule to complete devotion of assessing and tracking Essential Facts. Reading one at a time, I choose five Essential Fact definitions to read aloud. The students write the terms from the word bank in the corresponding blanks labeled 1-5. Having a color-coded word bank allows the children to ask, “What is the yellow word” from their seats instead of getting up to point to a word from the list on the promethean board. We do this process twice (language arts and math) weekly. After 10 answers (5 for math and 5 for LA) are written on each student’s paper, we review the Essential Facts that were quizzed on that day and check our answers. Each child writes his/her scores on his/her quiz. The students then record their data individually on two separate bar graphs in their data notebooks on the appropriate bar graph. The class as a whole then adds up the classes’ scores for both subjects and records the data on a line graph within our class data station. We celebrate our “all time bests,” and we challenge one another to “beat” even the highest scores. By seeing the “all time bests,” we know what number we have to exceed the following week.

The next and most beneficial data tracking system that I implement daily in my classroom is called “Elmer’s Expectations”. The name originates from Elmer the Elephant, a fictional character in children’s literature. In Elmer’s stories, he enjoys being very colorful like patchwork. Students have a behavior graph representing Elmer’s body which is divided into numbered squares corresponding to days in the month. At the end of each day, the students color the square from that day any color that they please if their behavior card is still on green. If their card is not on green, he/she receives a “dot” corresponding to the color card that he/she flipped to on that day. On that dot, I place an insect sticker symbolizing the reason for the flipped card. If a child was talking too much, I place a “bee” for buzzing on that dot. If a child was “fluttering” around the room instead of working, I place a “butterfly” on the dot for that day. (Thank you to Greenbrier Elementary for that idea). At the end of each month, after all of Elmer’s squares are colored, we add up how many days each student remained on “green,” representing “Elmer Earnings.” The students practice spending their earnings at our class store (AKA: Elmer’s Trunk).

Statements such as “Yes, I scored five for the first time ever!” or “I got a yellow card two times this month for buzzing” translate into my students are taking ownership in their learning as well as their behavior. I have seen the impact that these two data tracking systems have had helping six year olds understand the purposes, challenges and successes of learning and assessment, which sets the stage for future employment and adult life. Keeping track of their own data motivates students to challenge themselves to constantly be the best that they can be!

For more information on these ideas and other Quality tools and strategies in her first-grade classroom, please contact Jennifer Foster at Bethel Elementary School.

CFCE Shares Best Practices at National Quality in Education Conference

2010-11-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

Michele Brinn and Tami Miller, along with Greenville High's Chris Burras recently presented in Chicago at the 2011 National Quality in Education Conference (NQEC). This year's conference focused on Innovation in Education: Creating World-Class Student Learning.

NQEC is the nation’s leading conference for educators and the business community to learn about using quality tools and concepts to improve schools - both nationally and internationally. This conferences promotes awareness, communication, and networking with leading innovators in the areas of continuous improvement approaches and processes.

Salute to Quality 2010

2010-04-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence (CFCE)

hosted the second annual Salute to Quality event

showcasing CFCE Partner Schools and their successes in Continuous Quality Improvement. The Greenville Chamber was the setting for almost 300 educators, business, and community leaders to view displays and share best practices in Continuous Quality Improvement. We celebrated all-time bests as we exceeded last year's number of schools participating and increased attendance at the event! CFCE sends a huge thanks to our 40 partner schools and the 1500 educators that we partner with to reach more than 18,000 students. Congratulations on your efforts and successes in Quality!

Educators commented on the great networking opportunities with other CFCE partner schools and the ability to engage with the business community. Teachers shared comments about the experience as a "wonderful opportunity to collaborate and share about continuous quality improvement and quality tools" and enjoyed the "great representation from a variety of schools in Greenville County!" Students, Jacob House and Parker Sutton, from Ellen Woodside Elementary School, brought their data notebooks to share with participants.

The Carolina First Center for Excellence would like to thank Wyche Law Firm, Jason's Deli, and Greenville Federal Credit Union for their support of the event. CFCE also thanks the following investors for their Continued Support: The South Financial Group, Lockheed Martin, AFL Telecommunications, Fluor Foundation, Brooks and Joan Fortune Foundation, JCK Associates, Jolley Foundation, ScanSource, Community Foundation of Greenville and our many other corporate, education and individual supporters.

Please enjoy the Salute to Quality slide show to the left of the article and make plans to attend Salute to Quality 2011!

Taylors Elementary School Named SC School of Character

2010-02-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence congratulates Taylors Elementary School for being named a 2010 South Carolina School of Character by the South Carolina State Department of Education. State Schools of Character (SSOC) have been honored for their outstanding work in character education and invited to serve as models for other educators in that state.

As well as receiving the state recognition, Taylors Elementary School’s application has been forwarded to the Character Education Partnership (CEP) in Washington, DC for consideration for the National Schools of Character (NSOC) award.

Leadership Insights through ASQ Blog

2010-02-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

Terry Holliday, 2009 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year and Baldrige award winning superintendent (Iredell-Statesville NC Schools), is currently serving as the Education Commissioner of Kentucky. Mr. Holliday is a native of Belton, SC.

Check out his blog on the American Society for Quality (ASQ) website to read about his experiences and gain valuable information about leadership and continuous quality improvement. Blog topics include Budgeting in Difficult Times, Change Management, and Changing Teaching.

Hope Academy Launches Blog

2010-01-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

Hope Academy, a program of Project HOPE Foundation, has been successfully including children with autism in classrooms with typical peers since 1997.
Lisa Lane and Susan Sachs, Executive Directors of Hope Academy, have realized that in the process of educating children with autism, both through the inclusion-based school and the ABA therapeutic program, that the children are often the ones teaching us.

The newly launched Project Hope Blog captures some of those moments of enlightenment. Hope Academy has been a partner school with the Carolina First Center for Excellence since 2007.

Gateway Elementary . . . Career Education Week and Lotus Diagrams

2009-11-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

This year at Gateway Elementary, Guidance Counselor Cindy Howard decided to get the teachers involved in Career Education Week! Teachers participated in a variety of activities throughout the week as they shared personal information about becoming a teacher. For one activity, teachers were asked to think about what job/career they would like to have if they had chosen to become something other than a teacher. They were asked to create a poster to feature the "other" career.

Teachers used the poster to discuss career options they considered other than teaching. Third grade teacher Misty Sammons used a lotus diagram to illustrate and describe that she might have been a social worker if she had decided to do something other than teaching. Of course, Misty loves teaching, and she evidently loves using Quality Tools as well!

Click on the photo for larger view. . .

For more inore information about Career Education Week or how Gateway Elementary uses Quality Tools, please contact Sheila Moss, Instructional Coach.

Are you a Tardy Czar?

2009-11-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

In his November newsletter, David Langford shares a conversation with a high school assistant principal regarding his job as the "tardy czar." The feature, Getting Wrong Right, provides a brief PDSA action story with Quality tool illustrations to target your own tardy problem.

Do you have a tardy problem or another opportunity for improvement? Use the Quality tools and PDSA process to discover your plan of action!

Ellen Woodside Elementary captures hearts at SC Quality Conference

2009-11-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

The South Carolina Governor's Quality Award recognizes organizations achieving excellent performance in developing, implementing, and deploying a quality management system based on the Baldrige Criteria.

The 2009 Governor's Quality Award Conference, held in Columbia recently, featured CFCE Partner School, Ellen Woodside Elementary. Principal Stephanie Reece shared with the audience their focused efforts in Continuous Quality Improvement and the positive impact that this focus is having on student achievement and developing a culture where students show ownership and accountability for their learning.

Accompanying Principal Reese at the conference was Assistant Principal Delaney Sutton, Instructional Coach Margaret House and two students who stole the hearts of conference participants. Fourth grader, Jacob House, and fifth grader, Parker Sutton shared their personal journey of creating mission statements with their classes, goal setting, and tracking their individual data in their data notebooks.

Congratulations Ellen Woodside Elementary School for your many achievements!

2009-09-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

Jason Schmidt, science teacher at Greenville Tech Charter High School, shares his experiences using Consensograms.

I used a pre-unit Consensogram using thumb tacks. The nice thing about this is that I could tell that my students feel confident about the content. It has given me confidence about challenging them with higher level thinking sooner in my curriculum. Also, lots of times, I've noticed that when students simply acknowledge their confidence, they are more likely to persist through challenging content and less likely to "give up and shut down".

I used the Consensogram at the end of the unit to assess student learning. Because I had a few students still in the IDK (I Don't Know) range and some on the edge of the "decent" range, I decided to delay my test by a day to provide some concentrated study and review strategies for the test. We'll use the review time to get closure on our unit project, visit the projects from other groups, and highlight our science notebooks for important information. Because nearly all of the "sort of" students moved up to at least the edge of "decent" I feel the need to move on to the test especially since I have some more enthusiastic "TEACH" students way at the top! I am also aware that some students in the IDK may be surprised to find themselves more competent than they feel. I'm going to try this again in the next unit, too: Classification and Properties of Matter.

For more information about

how Jason implements

Quality in his classroom,

contact Jason Schmidt at

Greenville Tech Charter High School.

Announcing the 2009-2010 CFCE Quality Connect Meetings

2009-08-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Formerly known as User's Group Meetings, the Carolina First Center for Excellence announces a name change to CFCE Quality Connect for its monthly networking meetings to more accurate reflect the nature and purpose of the monthly sessions.

Please mark the CFCE Quality Connect dates on your calendars. These sessions will soon be entered on the Greenville County Schools Portal to receive professional development credit. All CFCE Quality Connect meetings will be held from 4:00 - 5:00*.

Join your friends and colleagues each month to share best practices at the classroom and school levels related to continuous quality improvement practices. Experience innovative uses of Quality Tools and network with others to promote student achievement!

Sept. 10 - Quality Across the Curriculum (Greenville Chamber)
Participants will take part in networking and best practice sharing through table group discussions. Teachers and Instructional Coaches will facilitate grade and subject level discussions to best meet your needs.

October 20, 2009 - Quality in the Inclusion Classroom (Hope Academy)
Participants will learn from the staff of Hope Academy about their use of Quality in their inclusion-based classrooms.

November 12, 2009 - Problem Solving with Quality Tools (Lake Forest Elementary)
Participants will learn the use of various Quality Tools for problem solving as related to behavior management and curriculum.

January 26, 2010 - Achieving Writing Excellence through Quality Tools (Summit Drive Elementary)
Participants will learn how Summit Drive Elementary teachers and administration are using Quality in their quest for writing excellence.

February 18, 2010 - Making the Case for Data through Continuous Quality Improvement (Greenville High)
Participants will learn how Greenville High Freshman Academy teachers began a focused effort on data tracking and analysis resulting in positive gains in student achievement.

March 23, 2010 - Using the Essential Facts Systemä - Innovative Ideas and Techniques (Buena Vista Elementary)
Participants will learn new and innovative ideas on how to use the Essential Facts Systemä in the classroom.

April 20, 2010 - Salute to Quality (Greenville Chamber) * 4:00 – 5:30
CFCE Partner Schools will be celebrating their all-time bests as they showcase Continuous Quality Improvement in their schools – the largest networking event of the year!

The Carolina First Center for Excellence (CFCE) is located at the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, 24 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC 29601, (864) 242-1050. Hope Academy is located at 2258 Woodruff Rd, Simpsonville, SC 29681-5438, (864) 676-0028. Driving directions to Greenville County Schools can be found on the school district website.

For more information, please contact Tami Miller by email or phone at 864-239-3743.

A Quality Thanks to all host schools for their participation in the CFCE Quality Connect meetings for the 2009 - 2010 school year!

The Greenville Chamber Drives Education

2009-08-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Suggs, Greenville Chamber Foundation's manager of development, discusses the Foundations focus on educationfeatured in the current Outlook, a publication of the Greenville Chamber.

CFCE Welcomes New Partners

2009-08-19T11:23:00.001-07:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence welcomes the following partners for 2009-2010:

A. R. Lewis Elementary (Pickens)
Communities in Schools - Afterschool Programs
Greenbrier Elementary
Greenville Tech Charter High
Monaview Elementary Leadership Team
Welcome Elementary

Best wishes for a successful 2009 - 2010 school year as you continue your journey in Continuous Quality Improvement!

Increasing Parent Involvement through Student Led Conferences

2009-06-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

Julia Schemm, 2nd grade teacher at Lake Forest Elementary School, shares her experiences using Student Led Conferences.

My fall attempt at student led conferences had little success. Most parents attended the conference without their child (for various reasons), so, I began thinking of how I could raise the participation level successfully. Two ideas sprung into my mind: good food and a performance!

I began coaching my students early in the year about our end of the year “Celebration of Learning.” At various times we would get out our data notebooks and writing portfolios to celebrate our success as well as recognize areas of weakness. My students became motivated and driven, almost to the point of obsession about charting their accomplishments. Excitement built as we approached our “Celebration of Learning.”
The day finally came. We began our program with our own version of the story, When It’s the Last Day of School, by Maribeth Boelts. We then shared a beautiful slideshow of photographs from the year that recognized field trips, friendships made, and academic themes studied. Next, students joined their families to begin the long awaited student led conferences.

As I circulated through the classroom, I was so proud of my students and how they were able to share their second grade accomplishments with their families! I watched in amazement as they guided their parents through their data notebooks and writing portfolios. The discussions I overheard made me realize how aware they were of their progress.

Student comments:

“Mom, you can see I was on green everyday this nine weeks. That means you did a good job of making sure I got to school on time.”

“Dad, I didn’t do great on my math test on money. That’s something I need to work on this summer so I can be ready for third grade.”

“Look at how hard I worked on my AR goal each nine weeks!”

"Do you see how I met each of my MAP goals?”

“I like student led conferences because I got to spend time with my family and show my parents that I worked hard everyday. I’m sure my parents were proud how I improved on my multiplication and how I got to school on time.”

Parent Comments:

"At times like that I am so proud of my child and all that she has accomplished. It is so exciting to see all that they have done.”

“I think the student led conference is great. My child was so enthusiastic while showing us his data notebook. It was nice to see all that he has accomplished since the beginning of the school year and to see the pride he has in his work!"

The end of the year student led conferences were a powerful way to celebrate our accomplishments. Parents were made aware of the areas in which their child has worked and shown gains this year. It also gave parents ideas of their child’s weak areas that they may need to work on over the summer. My parent response was extremely positive. Each family recognized that by having their child keep track of his/her success and accomplishments gave him/her a sense of pride and made students feel accountable for their work.

For more information about about her Student Led Conferences, you may contact Julia at jschemm@greenville.k12.sc.us or 355-4021.

CFCE Seminars for June 2009 - Register Now!

2009-06-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Essential Facts Seminar - Thursday, June 25, 2009 (9:00am - 4:00pm)

This seminar is designed to give teachers the information needed to create a culture of all-time bests through review/preview using the Essential Facts System.

During this seminar, teachers will learn . . .

causes of Educational Frustration so defined by Lee Jenkins & W. Edwards Deming.
Quality strategies used to overcome these frustrations.
the use of the Essential Facts System to increase student achievement, including how to graph student.
classroom results, and how to create a culture of all-time bests.

The cost for the Essential Facts Seminar is $75 per person.
Cost includes training materials, lunch, snacks, and certificate of attendance.

________________________________________________

Quality 101 Seminar - Friday, June 26, 2009 (9:00am - 4:00pm)

This seminar is designed for any teachers, staff, or administrators who are new to Quality or interested in an overview of Continuous Quality Improvement.

During this seminar, teachers will learn . . .

how to implement quality tools and strategies in their classrooms
strategies and tools to manage and motivate students
innovative ideas to create student ownership and responsibility
how Continuous Quality Improvement increases student achievement

The cost for the Quality 101 Seminar is $75 per person.
Cost includes training materials, lunch, snacks, and certificate of attendance.

______________________________________________________

For additional information or to register for one or both seminars, please contact:

Tami Miller, Manager, Carolina First Center for Excellence

864-239-3743 or tmiller@greenvillechamber.org

Consider the Alliance for Quality Education for Grants to Support Your Quality Journey . . .

2009-05-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Alliance for Quality Education offers grants for Professional Learning Communities. One of the CFCE Partner Schools received this grant last year targeting a focus on Quality which paid for their participation in the Langford and Jenkins seminars, as well as CFCE One-Day Trainings throughout the school year. The Alliance for Quality Education (AFQE) has designated up to $50,000 to fund the continuation and development of Professional Learning Communities. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2009.

For more information, please check out the following link: http://www.afqe.org/grants

Carolina First Center for Excellence Survey

2009-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, the Carolina First Center for Excellence emailed links to the 2009 survey to all CFCE Partner Schools. If you did not receive the link, please contact your School Administrator, Instructional Coach, or Tami Miller at 239-3743 or tmiller@greenvillechamber.org. Your participation has already been overwhelming and we appreciate your responses.

We want to thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful answers. The information from this survey enables us to continually improve the training sessions, presentaions, and plan for upcoming User's Groups monthly meetings.

Salute to Quality 2009

2009-04-23T08:41:00.001-07:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence (CFCE) hosted the first annual Salute to Quality event showcasing CFCE Partner Schools and their successes in Continuous Quality Improvement. The Greenville Chamber Boardroom was transformed into a gallery of Quality in Education. Over 200 educators, business, and community leaders viewed displays and shared best practices in Continous Quality Improvement.

Educators noted the great networking opportunities with other CFCE partner schools and the ability to see the community interested in what their schools were doing. Teachers referred to the Salute to Quality as a "great and meaningful event" and were "excited about what they learned!"

Dean Davidson, President of The Adopt Lean Group and CFCE Advisory Board member stated, "As a quality professional and continuous improvement coach, I was really impressed with the creative use of the quality tools in the classroom. As a business owner, I am very impressed with the skills that our students are developing at such an early age that will allow them to become productive members of our future workforce."

The Carolina First Center for Excellence would like to thank our table sponsors, Carolina First, Greenville Federal Credit Union, Jason's Deli, Liquid Highway, and Pinnacle Marketing for their support to the Salute to Quality event.

CFCE also thanks the following major investors for their continue support of the Carolina First Center for Excellence: The South Financial Group, Hollingsworthe Foundation, GE Power, Greenville County Schools, Fluor Foundation, Fujikura Foundation, Lockheed, and Sealed Air Corporation.

A special thanks to the faculty and staff of CFCE Partner Schools for creating displays to showcase their accomplishments in Continuous Quality Improvement. Congratulations on your efforts and successes in Quality.

Please enjoy the Salute to Quality slideshow to the left of the article and make plans to attend Salute to Quality 2010!

Making a Case for Digital Data Notebooks

2009-04-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

In a technology article written about digital portfolios, Mary Daniels Brown addressed the importance of technology. She quoted Helen Barrett, assistant professor and educational technology coordinator for the School of Education at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, who stated, "the power of a digital portfolio is that it allows different access to different artifacts. The user can modify the contents of the digital portfolio to meet specific goals. As a student progresses from a working portfolio to a display or assessment portfolio, he or she can emphasize different portions of the content by creating pertinent hyperlinks.”

Barrett goes on to say that "a student can link a piece of work to a statement describing a particular curriculum standard and to an explanation of why the piece of work meets that standard. That reflection on the work turns the item into evidence that the standard has been met. In addition, a paper portfolio usually represents the only copy of portfolio content. When the portfolio is in digital format, students can easily duplicate and transport it." (Article by Mary Daniels Brown, Education World® Copyright © 2002 Education World.)

While this format is not appropriate for every situation, could the same insights prove meaningful for data notebooks? Our students must be prepared for the demands of the 21st Century and a world filled with advanced media and technology. Due to shrinking budget dollars, the implementation of data notebooks can be affected by limited paper supplies and copies.

Please use the Comment feature to let us know how your school is tackling the issues of paper and copies regarding data notebooks. We also invite you to share your ideas for creating and maintaining effective data notebooks using technology.

PDSA: From Problem to Opportunity

2009-03-25T06:19:00.000-07:00
Susan Skelton, Assistant Principal at Bethel Elementary School, shares their journey toward Continuous Quality Improvement using a school-wide PDSA process.

PDSA: From Problem to Opportunity

Each year Bethel’s administrative team, in collaboration with our Faculty Council, discusses an area that could benefit from the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach towards Continuous Quality Improvement.

The first step in a PDSA is to Plan. During the planning stage, we defined a possible problem or opportunity. Last year, school tardies were identified as an area in need of improvement. Not only was there a loss of instructional time for the students who were arriving late to school, but there was also a loss of instructional time when students were disrupting the class by arriving late. Next, we began to gather data weekly by grade level indicating how many students were arriving tardy to school each day. After gathering the initial data, we identified a group of students from kindergarten through 5th grade with the most tardies.

As part of the second step, Do, we arranged a meeting with small groups of these students and asked for their help in reducing the number of tardies. In order to summarize all of the ideas and strategies the students suggested, we completed an affinity diagram with each group.

After nine weeks, we Studied the results as a school and concluded that tardies dramatically decreased, and we celebrated! Students were so excited to see the success that they had made! Our Act-ion had made a difference.

This year, we reflected on our success with tardies and knew that it was time to plan for another school-wide opportunity for improvement. As a faculty we decided to focus on student proficiency of math facts at each grade level.

Again, we went through each step of the Plan-Do-Study-Act improvement process to address this school-wide issue. For eight weeks, teachers gave a timed math check to monitor students’ progress. The information was compiled and then graphed on the bulletin board in the front entrance of the school. Grade levels were not compared to each other. Rather, they were encouraged to strive for their “All Time Best” as a class each week. The final results indicated improvements based on growth over time on every grade level.

At the completion of the eight week period, as part of the Study process, the staff completed a Plus/Delta Quality Tool in order to express their perceived strengths and weaknesses of this initiative. Based on the results of the Plus/Delta Quality Tool, teachers noted that the math checks, “motivated students, kept students competitive, were a good team-building exercise.” On the other hand, teachers also suggested “to start earlier in the year, to provide more motivation for those not studying at home, present as a line graph rather than a bar graph, and to increase the difficulty of the facts every quarter.” Based on these suggestions, many teachers are continuing to Act on this for the remainder of the school year, as we maintain our commitment towards Continuous Quality Improvement.

Pictured at right:

Bethel Elementary tracked school-wide math facts results in the main hallway of the school.

For more information, contact Susan Skelton at Bethel Elementary School, 355-4100 or sskelton@greenville.k12.sc.us.

Welcome to the CFCE Quality Tips Blog

2009-03-19T06:36:00.000-07:00
The Carolina First Center for Excellence proudly launches the Quality Tips newsletter in blog form! This format will replace the monthly newsletter and will allow for more interaction, professional resources, and features as we celebrate continuous Quality Improvement in our schools and classrooms.

Please take a moment to get familiar with the new features and Save or Bookmark the CFCE Quality Tips link to your Favorites so that you will always have access to the latest Quality news and best practice sharing from the Quality experts in CFCE Partner Schools!

Let's take a tour! On the left, you will see Posts which feature best practices shared by CFCE partner schools and teachers, as well as Quality updates. On the right, all partner schools are included in the CFCE Partner Schools listing with links to each of the school websites. There are also Slideshows featuring CFCE partner schools and teacher ideas. Be sure to share your best practices and photos via email to be featured. An on-going Calendar of Events features training and seminar opportunities. The Continuous Quality Improvement Resources section contains links to websites with information, innovative ideas, and templates. Fun and informative surveys are included for your feedback, such as What Is Your Favorite Quality Tool?

We hope you enjoy the new features and be sure to check in regularly to stay informed!

Bell's Crossing Elementary Receives 2009 Palmetto's Finest Award

2009-03-16T08:04:00.000-07:00
Bell's Crossing Elementary School, one of the original Carolina First Center for Excellence schools, recently received the 2009 Palmetto's Finest award. Bell's Crossing Elementary School is an avid user of Continous Quality Improvement in the classroom and school organization.

Palmetto's Finest is a statewide award that was begun in 1978. Every spring, the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) recognizes a few outstanding schools that offer excellent instruction and outstanding leaders, augmented by strong family and community involvement and a supportive business community. Winning this award involves a rigorous selection process, including a comprehensive review of a school's program, focusing on the impact is the school makes on the lives of students and the community. This year there were 16 finalists and only five schools to receive this high recognition, announced last week in Columbia.

Click here to read an article published on the front page of The Greenville News on March 15, 2009, about Bell's Crossing and its recent recognition.

Photos and Examples of CQI at Bell's Crossing:

Pictured to the LEFT:
An example of a 2nd gradeclassroom's mission & vision. Each class' mission and vision is created by the students, along with the guidance
of their teacher. The mission and vision statements
will guide the participation in learning throughout
the school year.

Pictured to the RIGHT:
A "Top Quality Student,"as defined by the students in the classroom. This "tool" shows how the students define a "Quality Student," using their own words and voice, not their teacher's.

Congratulations to Barbara Barlow and the Bell's Crossing Elementary School faculty, staff, students, and parents!

January User's Group: Bethel Elementary

2009-03-11T06:46:00.000-07:00
If you were unable to join us at the January User's Group, you can still see the great things happening at Bethel Elementary. The teachers and administrative team have soared to new heights in their journey in Continuous Quality Improvement this year.

Our hopes are that you will be inspired to explore new Quality tools to motivate your students, increase student accountability and responsibility, and create a culture of Quality in your classrooms and school-wide.

A special thanks to Bethel Elementary for sharing their best practices. Click here to view the Bethel Elementary User's Group powerpoint presentation. If you have questions or would like additional information on the strategies in this presentation, please contact Cindy Stier, Bethel Elementary Instructional Coach.

Spotlight on Quality: Sue Cleveland Elementary

2009-03-11T06:28:00.000-07:00
At Sue Cleveland Elementary, teachers are dedicated to ensuring that all students progress toward their individual best each year. Principal Karen Chambers and Instructional Coach, Tammy Boggs, assist teachers as they work through the process of identifying students, who based on PACT data and end of the year testing, require intensive intervention. Last year, for example, students were grouped by RIT range and rotated between reading and math on a fifteen-day cycle for thirty minutes each day. School staff used a variety of Quality Tools during these intensive sessions to provide students with an effective avenue to communicate learning comprehension to teachers. Using Plus/Delta, Bone Diagrams, and Force Field Analysis, students could report what concepts they understood and what concepts they didn’t, providing teachers with valuable feedback on their effectiveness. Additionally, these tools allowed students to visualize their goal; daily, they could see how close they were to advancing into the next RIT range. It was the visual that kept both students and teachers motivated throughout the most challenging moments of the year.

This year, each grade level has a specific focus content area and intervention strategy. Teachers monitor and track progress in the content area, and at mid-year mark, results indicated that 90% of all third grade students were making progress in their learning, a significant accomplishment!

However, results indicated that 50 of the 105 second-graders were not at the mid-winter median range in math or reading. In addition to extra reading time, the use of a PDSA has been used to improve student’s ability to comprehend reading information.

Principal Chambers stresses the importance of consistency with implementation of CFCE strategies. To that end, Sue Cleveland Elementary teachers regularly use Quality Tools in their lessons, including Lotus and Affinity Diagrams. A third grade team is using the PDSA to study and improve students’ skills in writing conventions. Another class is utilizing Plus/Delta, PDSA, and Lotus to improve self-control and listening skills. Principal Chambers stated, “the “Whatever it Takes” motto is our mission at Sue Cleveland Elementary, assuring success for all students.

For more information about how Sue Cleveland Elementary uses quality and intervention strategies at specific grade levels, please contact Karen Chambers or Tammy Boggs at Sue Cleveland Elementary.

About Carolina First Center for Excellence

2009-02-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

The Carolina First Center for Excellence (CFCE), one of the Greenville Chamber Foundation's premier programs, was formed in 2001 with the vision of providing every K-12 student in the Upstate with a Quality education. In 2002, CFCE introduced our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) strategies into four Greenville County schools. Today, we are in nearly 40 schools throughout the state. CFCE changes the way teachers teach and students learn using Continuous Quality Improvement strategies.

As a result of the CQI strategies implemented by the CFCE, students have become more responsible for their learning, better critical thinkers and improved problem solvers. Our students are equipped with skills that prepare them for the next quiz, test, grade and on beyond school into life and the working world. As the workforce begins to shift its emphasis from labor to knowledge, it is vital to the success of our students that our education adapts accordingly.

Fortune 500 companies such as Lockheed, Fluor, GE, and Caterpillar, among many others, train their employees and manage their organizations using the same principles as CFCE teachers use in their classrooms. CFCE students learn about the importance of integrity, high performance and strong ethical behavior all Quality traits necessary in the 21st Century workplace.

CQI strategies apply to the school principal on down to the youngest kindergarten student. Everyone in a Quality school is held to the same standard of personal responsibility, which has led to better student performance, academic achievement and classroom behavior in Carolina First Center for Excellence schools.

We are guided by the belief that people can always improve when they understand the measures by which they are being judged.

Want to learn more? Click here to listen to Michele Brinn, VP of Workforce Development and Education, talk to Mike Switzer about the Chamber Foundation's education programs. Please note, you must have compatible software for the audio to play. For additional information, click on one of the links to the left or call Michele Brinn at 864-239-3727 or Tami Miller at 864-239-3743.