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Districts and schools often have
multiple improvement initiatives. In order to assist its member districts and/or
schools in development of a coordinated continuous improvement plan, NCA CASI
personalizes its improvement services to encompass district systemic reform
processes and school initiatives. NCA CASI uses District Accreditation
and the exemplary improvement model, Transitions, to demonstrate that
a district's and/or school's initiatives can be addressed in one school improvement
plan.
NCA-CASI is a research-based, results-oriented regional accrediting and
school improvement association which promotes a continuous school improvement
plan at the exemplary level. Transitions, a home-to-school-to-career model, stresses
the development of capacity to support improvement through the credentialing
of individual students, the creation of articulation teams, and a focus on career
advising/counseling. In addition, NCA CASI:
- Provides a framework for district
and/or school improvement, tools, and human resources to be used at the district,
school, and classroom level
- Facilitates schools as they implement
Transitions, the exemplary level of school improvement
- Supports and assists districts
with system alignment, integration, and coordination
- Works directly with 9800+ schools
and in collaboration with 32,000 public and private schools world-wide
- Causes schools to meet worldclass
standards for accreditation
Baldrige is a strategy for continual
improvement with companion processes in 44 states and 22 countries. Baldrige:
- Aligns organizational processes
based on a learning cycle of self-study, feedback, and improvement
- Provides a framework for district,
school, and classroom improvement
- Supports a systems perspective
for maintaining district, school, and classroom goal alignment
- Focuses on teaching and learning
This document provides merge points
between NCA CASI and Baldrige as a personalized system of improvement and evaluation
meeting unique needs of individual districts and schools.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Why merge NCA CASI and Baldrige?
- Most learning systems are engaged
in systemic reform. Baldrige is one of the systemic reform models being
used at the district, school, and classroom level. Schools seeking an alliance
between organizational processes and accreditation find NCA CASI meets
their needs.
- NCA CASI is recognized
as a leader in personalized school improvement and seeks to meet the needs
of individual learning systems as they develop one integrated improvement
plan. Baldrige provides a blueprint for systems alignment and NCA
CASI provides the personalized approach to improvement.
How does the
merger work?
NCA CASI provides the district, school, and classroom with products, services,
technical support, and human resources that can be used to translate the Baldrige
criteria into action. NCA CASI serves as a regional, national, and international
source of recognition through accreditation and school improvement planning while
Baldrige serves as a state, national, and international source of recognition
through organizational benchmarking. NCA CASI personalizes its work with schools
so that one school improvement plan is developed containing Baldrige elements
and NCA CASI standards. NCA CASI's District Accreditation process
assists districts in evaluating the implementation of Baldrige-based strategies
and suggests next steps for moving forward. What if we
want to be NCA CASI accredited and develop the Baldrige Criteria in our system?
You must meet the NCA CASI standards and develop a continuous improvement
plan focused on improving student performance. Baldrige fosters an alignment
between district, school, classroom, and learner that is supported by NCA CASI's
standards and leads to the implementation of Transitions, NCA CASI's exemplary
school improvement model. In addition, the district's and/or school's implementation
of the Baldrige organizational framework may be evaluated through NCA
CASI's peer review process and lead to District Accreditation.
How are NCA CASI and Baldrige alike?
- Both are data-driven and results-oriented.
- Both focus on improving organizational
practices. Both promote alignment of the components of the system, knowing
that alignment must occur in order for student performance to improve.
- NCA CASI provides two on-site
peer reviews, a validation visit and a documentation visit. The peer review
is conducted by an experienced team of individuals who have been trained to
conduct interviews, assess the school improvement plan, and provide recommendations
and assistance to the school. Technical assistance is provided during the
school improvement cycle. The peer review can be customized to meet requirements
of an improvement approach such as Baldrige. Baldrige provides detailed
feedback with a report of strengths and opportunities for improvement. The
feedback is provided by a panel of trained and recognized Baldrige
experts.
- Both NCA CASI and Baldrige
emphasize systems alignment to achieve higher performance for students. NCA
CASI accredits district systems who strive to align their work. Baldrige provides
the framework for alignment from the statehouse to the school house.
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NCA Commission
on Accreditation and School Improvement
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Baldrige
Education Criteria
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Leadership and Commitment
Establishes a system for committee structure; offers Transitions, the
exemplary stage of school improvement sets membership standards for
leadership; requires peer review; uses Team Chair and School Leader
software; and serves through professional development.
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Leadership
Requires a system for leading the organization that includes systematic
methods for setting direction, monitoring, and communicating progress
toward organization priorities.
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School Improvement Planning
Establishes a system for District Accreditation, school improvement planning,
intervention planning and provides hard copy materials, software, and
technical assistance through Ambassadors and web site.
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Strategic Planning
Requires a system for developing a strategic plan that translates stakeholder
requirements into goals and measures as well as a plan for implementation.
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Collecting the Data
Establishes a system for environmental scan and profiling, provides Profile
and Data Analysis software, and emphasizes community, student, and instructional
data.
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Student & Stakeholder
Focus
Requires a system for focusing on stakeholders and understanding their
needs, expectations, and requirements as well as their level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction
with the organization’s approach to meeting and/or exceeding stakeholder
requirements.
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Analyzing the Data
Establishes a system for triangulation of data, disaggregation of data,
setting benchmarks for student performance, data analysis, and student
credentialing.
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Information & Analysis
Requires a system for collecting, managing, and analyzing organizational
performance data that includes the capacity for documentation of trend,
comparison, and benchmark data.
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Process of Schooling: Teaching
and Learning
Establishes a system for stakeholder-developed school improvement planning
focusing on teaching and learning, a professional development plan centering
on goals and results, a system for individual student accreditation through
credentialing, and development of articulation teams.
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Faculty & Staff Focus
Requires a system for focusing on the work system as well as training
and education needs of faculty and staff that includes a process for systematically
determining employee satisfaction and/ or dissatisfaction.
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Implementing and Monitoring
the School Improvement Plan
Establishes a system for monitoring teaching and learning with evaluative
rubrics for goals, assessments, interventions, and professional development.
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Process Management
Requires a system for designing, implementing, and improving both instructional
and support processes aligned to goals.
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Results
Establishes a system that supports and documents demonstrated growth in
student learning through Performance Accreditation.
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Organizational Performance
Results
Demonstrates growth in student learning, stakeholder satisfaction, employee
satisfaction, budgetary performance, and organizational effectiveness.
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How
do NCA CASI and Baldrige differ from each other?
NCA CASI promotes Transitions, a model that credentials individual students
in four academic areas, employability skills, and career awareness/exploration.
Baldrige addresses and recognizes systems improvement at the organizational
level.
If you’ve
identified yourself as a NCA CASI/Baldrige school or system, what can NCA CASI
do to help you in continuous improvement?
You will need tools and services
in order to operationalize Baldrige. NCA CASI provides the tools, products,
services, and technical assistance. You may earn regional, national, and international
accreditation for your school through NCA CASI. In addition, exemplary recognition
through Transitions may be gained through NCA CASI. For those systems of schools
engaged in systemic reform, District Accreditation may be earned through NCA
CASI.
In addition to improvement services,
software, and hard copy materials, NCA CASI accredits schools through membership
and improvement criteria, causing schools to stretch for the NCA CASI Standard.
Each
member school shall maximize the proportion of its promoted or graduated students
who are self-directed learners and are prepared to make successful transitions
from school-to-school or school-to-career.
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Where
can I get more information?
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NCA
CASI
NCA Commission on
Accreditation and School
Improvement
Arizona State University
PO Box 874705
Tempe, AZ 85287-4705
http://www.ncacasi.org
Your state NCA CASI office may
be reached through 1 800 525-9517,
Ext. 2, and enter the first
three letters of your state’s name.
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BALDRIGE
IN EDUCATION
National Institute of Standards
& Technology; US Department
of Commerce
http://www.quality.nist.gov
American Society for Quality
http://www.asq.org
Baldrige in Education
http://baldrigeineducation.org
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