At the June 1st Board meeting multiple District Educrats (Urban Dictionary defines Educrat – “It describes a special kind of person in the education: pinheads who are so process-oriented that they are more excited in the process of learning than the myriad wonders that can be learned.”) presented their efforts at ‘Continuous Improvement’ to the Board. They based their Continuous Improvement efforts on the ‘Methodology of Improvement Science’ and the ‘Six Core Principles of Improvement’:
- Make the work problem-specific and user-centered
- Variation in performance is the core problem to address.
- See the system that produces the current outcomes.
- We cannot improve at scale what we cannot measure.
- Anchor practice improvement in disciplined inquiry.
- Accelerate improvements through networked communities.
If you’re ready for a nap you can view this from 1:51 – 2:41 of the June 1st livestream https://livestream.com/accounts/10429076/events/3542310/videos/157394871
In my opinion, this 50 minute presentation and question session was the embodiment of Eduspeak. My eyes glazed over and I asked myself ‘Are these people more concerned about the process or education?’ I may be too simple of a person, but when people spend more time talking about the process than what they’ve accomplished it worries me. The first thought that came to my mind is that these people were merely attempting to justify their jobs.
On the other hand, I also recognize that the programs that were discussed could actually have real value to education in the district.
However, we’ll never know that real value as the presenters never addressed, nor did the Board ask the key questions which are necessary to assess that value. Those questions include:
- What were the total required resources for this program? What are the real and projected costs?
- Is this program repeatable at scale?
- Is this program sustainable as people move on and change positions?
Without knowing the answers to these questions the District and the Board can’t assess the real value. They cannot compare the cost and value of different programs and the District will just continue to spend valuable resources on programs that may or may not be worth those resources.
It’s time for the District Staff and Board to ask the right questions so that they can spend our valuable tax dollars in an efficient and effective manner that positively impacts education in the District.