From Systems Thinking to Systemic Action: 48 Key Questions to Guide the Journey

215 Pages·2008·1.78 MB·English

by  Lee Jenkins

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Education/Decision Making • Problem Solving i From Systems
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School system leaders want their schools and systems to be productive,engaging,
and thoughtfully-run organizations.During the course of school improvement and
school system change,questions arise as to how to develop a system action plan. F
This book offers the reader ways to fundamentally transform public schools to r Thinking to
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ensure universal success for all children.
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The first section of the book is a concise description of systems thinking; the second
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section contains 48 key questions,divided into 12 chapters.The questions are written 4 y Systemic Action
to guide leaders as they transform their systems,and leaders are encouraged to 8 s

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build quality into their systems.
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Lee Jenkinsis a full-time author,consultant,and speaker with his corporation,From Q
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About AASA i
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The American Association of School Administrators (AASA),founded in 1865,is the n
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professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders across the s k 48 Key Questions to Guide the Journey
United States.AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system t i
leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. o n
AASA’s major focus is standing up for public education. G g
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About the AASA Center for System Leadership™ d o
The AASA Center for System Leadership, the professional development arm of e
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AASA,is a learning organization that fosters,develops,and supports superintendents
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of schools and other school system leaders who are leading the transformation of e s
public education.For more information,visit www.aasa.org/AASACenter. J t
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FRoorw omrdaenr s& a Lnitdtl einfifeolrdm Eadtiuocna ptiloena se contact the publisher ey A
A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,Inc. c
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The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group,Inc. io
Published in Partnership with the
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American Association of School Administrators
ISBN-13: 978-1-57886-820-9
ISBN-10: 1-57886-820-3
4501 Forbes Boulevard,Suite 200
Lanham,Maryland 20706 L J
EE ENKINS
1-800-462-6420 • fax [phone]
www.rowmaneducation.com
Other Books by Lee Jenkins
Permission to Forget: And Nine Other Root Causes of America’s
Frustration with Education
Improving Student Learning: Applying Deming’s Quality Principles in
Classrooms
Boot Camp for Leaders in K–12 Education: Continuous Improvement
(with Lloyd Roettger and Caroline Roettger)

From Systems
Thinking
to Systemic
Action
48 K Q
EY UESTIONS TO
G J
UIDE THE OURNEY
Lee Jenkins
Published in partnership with the
American Association of School Administrators
Rowman & Littlefield Education
Lanham • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published in partnership with
the American Association of School Administrators
Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Education
A Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing
Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmaneducation.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2008 by Lee Jenkins
All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jenkins, Lee, 1942–
From systems thinking to systemic action: 48 key questions to guide the
journey / Lee Jenkins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57886-819-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57886-819-X (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57886-820-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57886-820-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
eISBN-10: 1-57886-900-5
eISBN-13: 978-1-57886-900-8
1. School management and organization—United States. 2. School
improvement programs—United States. 3. Educational leadership—United
States. I. Title.
LB2805.J42 2008
371.2'07—dc22
2008007141
(cid:2)™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES vii
PREFACE ix
INTRODUCTION xiii
PART I: THE OVERALL SYSTEM
1 VALUES 3
2 CONSTANCY OF PURPOSE 19
PART II: THE PEOPLE
3 DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE 37
4 COMMUNICATION 55
5 SAFETY 71
6 PERSONNEL OFFICE 77
v
CONTENTS
PART III: THE PHYSICAL ASSETS
7 FINANCE 89
8 OPERATIONS AND BUILDINGS 97
PART IV: THE STUDENT LEARNING
9 PROCESS (FORMATIVE) DATA 107
10 RESULTS (SUMMATIVE) DATA 121
11 CURRICULUM 137
12 INSTRUCTION 145
CHARTING YOUR PROGRESS 161
AFTERWORD 163
THE 48-ITEM FINAL 167
THE 48 QUESTIONS 171
APPENDIX A: PERMISSION FOR
INTERDISCIPLINARY ASSIGNMENT 177
APPENDIX B: THE KEY PROBLEMS 179
BIBLIOGRAPHY 181
INDEX 185
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 189
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1. Fishbone 15
Figure 5.1. Pareto Chart for Middle School
Discipline Issues 74
Figure 9.1. Student Run Chart 111
Figure 9.2. Class Run Chart 111
Figure 9.3. Scatter Diagram 114
Figure 9.4. L to J Histogram 115
Figure 10.1. Chamber of Commerce Chart 125
Figure 10.2. Cecil County Radar Chart Figure 126
Figure 10.3. Correlation Chart 129
Figure 10.4. Pareto Chart from Cottonwood,
Arizona, Schools 130
Figure 10.5. Grade 3 Control Chart for Seventeen Schools 132
vii

PREFACE
The foundation for From Systems Thinking to Systemic Action is
rooted in the teachings of W. Edwards Deming. The first section
of the book is a concise description of systems thinking; the second
section contains 48 key questions, divided into twelve chapters. The
questions are written to guide leaders as they transform their sys-
tems. Leaders are admonished to build quality into their systems and
not attempt to inspect quality into their systems. From Systems
Thinking to Systemic Action is written to assist leaders on this journey
from systems thinking to systems action.
Dr. Deming loved to ask his audiences the question, “Who has the
most influence over a ship crossing the ocean?” After rejecting the
answers captain, navigator, and engine room operator, he stated that
the person with the most control over the ship is the person that de-
signed the ship. It will never perform better than it was designed to
perform. Thus, I would say that the person who took the bell-shaped
curve from science and misapplied it to education probably has more
control over today’s education than any current practicing educator.
If only a few can succeed in every classroom, then no matter how tal-
ented the captain (school superintendent/director), the navigator
(principal), or the engine room operator (teacher), the students can-
not all excel. The school cannot perform better than it was designed
ix