Lean Frog

Oak Ridge Schools Strategic Plan 2020: Promoting Achievement and Accountability

This is the third post in a six-part series recognizing the state finalists and overall Grand Prize winner of the Tri-State Best Practices contest. Our previous posts featured Alabama state finalists Eufaula City Schools and Muscle Shoals City Schools.

Preparing students for college, career, and life success is a balancing act. School systems not only have to ensure they have an engaging curriculum that addresses the needs of all types of learners, they also must make sure they safely transport students to and from school, serve nutritious meals for students, provide clean and safe facilities, keep parents informed, etc. The list goes on and on. In short, they must strategically plan to meet the current and future needs of their students, staff, and communities. Oak Ridge Schools (ORS), one of the Tennessee finalists in the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices contest, is doing just that with their strategic plan.

Origins of the Oak Ridge Strategic Plan 2020

Superintendent Bruce Borchers, in partnership with educators, administrators, and community members, began the development The Oak Ridge Strategic Plan 2020 in 2016. The team created a district mission and vision and identified goals for improvement in five critical areas:

Academic Excellence: World class, balanced curriculum and instruction focused on student achievement
Educator Excellence: Committed, innovative and qualified educators the direct link to our students
Learning Environment Excellence: Safe, secure and effective environment, classrooms and infrastructure that promote learning
Operational Excellence: Excellence in the administration, application, operation, and accountable stewardship of our valued educational resources to meet student needs
Stakeholder Excellence: A strong family, community and school partnership that values and supports excellence in education

The team meets monthly to review Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measure the progress on each goal. Each goal has an assigned owner. The owner reports on the goal to the board of education monthly and reports on the goals to the community annually. As a result, every department and every school community are afforded the opportunity to actively engage in the success of all students.

Celebrating Successes and Identifying Opportunities to Improve

ORS students are recognized for successes in post-secondary opportunities and problem-based learning

The ORS Strategic Plan 2020 (Oak Ridge 2020) goals for academic, educator, learning environment, operational and stakeholder excellence are all measured quantitatively and tracked on scorecards. Examples of quantitative measures include percentage of teachers implementing projects/problem based learning opportunities (academic excellence goal), percentage of teachers retained from previous year (educator excellence goal), percentage of buses equipped with operable cameras and radios (learning environment excellence), average resolution time for completion of staff help desk tickets (operational excellence goal), and number of advisory council meetings held each year (stakeholder excellence goal), Met goals are celebrated. For example, students were recognized for being certified in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as part of the academic excellence goal of promoting critical thinking skills and problem-based learning. Improvement opportunities and strategies are identified for goals that are not met. The ORS team identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to improvement in each area. When goals for student progress in math were not met, ORS reached out to outside experts for assistance. The result is a best practice that enhances stakeholder engagement, increases organizational transparency, and promotes achievement and accountability.

Why We Like This Entry

While most if not all school systems have a strategic plan, the Oak Ridge 2020 goes beyond what is typically developed and includes Key Performance Indicators, a balanced scorecard, and planned celebrations of success. Oak Ridge has set in place an effective structure for continuous improvement.

Goals are clearly identified and communicated. The scorecard provides a very clear delineation of goals and whether they have been met. Information is clear-cut rather than confusing to stakeholders (students, staff, community members, etc.)
Each goal has a designated owner. The identification of responsible parties makes improvements much more attainable.
Each goal is monitored, adjusted, and improved annually under the direction of district leaders.
Successes/wins are celebrated and keep stakeholders motivated to continue achieving excellence.

ORS uses scorecards to track and report progress toward goals and objectives.

Meeting Their Mission

The community of stakeholders that developed Oak Ridge 2020 created and lives by this mission to prepare each student for excellence in education and the workplace. As superintendent Borchers remarks, “This Strategic Plan is all about continuous improvement and achieving excellence in education. It is an important and detailed framework for ORS that envisions our future and sets strategic goals to realize that future.”

Oak Ridge Schools Best Practices Award check presentation at Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) Legislative Conference. From L-R: Byron Headrick, Holly Cross (Supervisor of Career Readiness and Communications), Bruce Lay (Executive Director of School Leadership), Sherri Headrick

Congratulations Oak Ridge Schools for Your Award Winning entry. We applaud you for strategic planning process and execution that promotes achievement, engagement, transparency, and accountability.

This is the second post in a six-part series recognizing the state finalists and overall grand prize winner of the Tri-State Best Practices Contest. Our first post featured Alabama state finalist Eufaula City Schools.

Many young people face a Catch 22 when they enter the job market: Employers want experience, but you cannot get experience unless someone hires you. In a continuing effort to provide Alabama students with real world experiences, the Alabama State Department of Education has partnered with the Alabama State Department of Labor to provide work-based learning programs to local school systems. However, in some cases, students were not afforded opportunities in skilled, technical environments due to employer restrictions on insurance of minors.

Origins of the Pathfinder Program

To alleviate this problem, Muscle Shoals City Schools (MSCS) piloted the Pathfinder Program at the Muscle Shoals Career Academy in August 2014. Pathfinder is a program designed to give business and industry the means to utilize trained and certified high school students in technical and skilled jobs. In addition to classroom and lab/shop training, Pathfinder students must also perform satisfactorily in the workplace to earn their high school diploma and dual enrollment college credits.

MSCS partnered with a local firm, Lyons HR to make it easier for businesses to participate in the Pathfinder Program. As the employer of record, administers payroll, remits related taxes and provides workers’ compensation and general liability insurance for all working students. With the Pathfinder Program, high school students may now work in positions previously ‘off limits.’ These training stations and positions allow students to gain meaningful experiences in a career they plan to pursue after high school while earning a paycheck and school credit.

Businesses that have partnered with the Pathfinder Program include Navistar, ECM Hospital, Helen Keller Hospital, Tasus and original program participant North American Lighting

Impact of the Pathfinder Program

The Pathfinder Program benefits high school students by placing them in an authentic employment position for which they have been trained, allowing them to earn a paycheck, and by helping them obtain a class credit. The program includes an acceptance process whereby students are required to complete an application and interview with both the Coordinator of the Pathfinder Program and the business representative. Once accepted, students complete a training agreement and training plan. The Coordinator maintains weekly contact with students and businesses to ensure on-going success.

The program has grown from one student working at North American Lighting in the Fall of 2014 to students working at a variety of businesses in North Alabama. The program has generated nearly $1 million of economic impact.Through the soft skills that the program teaches, employers report that the Pathfinder students often exceed their expectations. They report to work on time and rarely miss work days. They exhibit a good attitude and are eager to learn new skills. Additionally, attendance at school has seen improvements among students enrolled in this program.

The Pathfinder Program has earned recognition across Alabama and the country. At the time of inception, there was no other program like this one in the US. Now, other schools have toured MSCS facilities and replicated this model. Pathfinder Program Coordinator Tiffany Stonecipher and Career Academy principal Caryn Hairell speak at both state and national career and technical education conferences sharing this best practice with other school systems.
“We are honored that our Pathfinder Program at the Muscle Shoals Career Academy has been chosen as an Alabama finalist for the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices Award sponsored by LEAN Frog,” said Dr.Brian Lindsey, Muscle Shoals Superintendent. “Because the program provides students with opportunities for work experience and prepares them for life after graduation, it can greatly affect students’ lives. Your recognition of the Pathfinder Program’s success will foster its growth and help fund its future.”

MSCS students working at their respective skilled, technical jobs through the Pathfinder Program

WHY WE LIKE THIS ENTRY

The Pathfinder Program is a good case study of effective problem-solving in education.

Take time to identify problem: MSCS took the time to identify the problem that was preventing students from reaching their career goals.
Collaborate with others to find solution: Once the problem was identified (i.e., employer restrictions on insurance of minors), they partnered with Lyons HR to implement a solution
Test solution on a small scale: MSCS piloted the program to test the solution
Remove obstacles to success: Once it was clear the solution worked, MSCS removed obstacles to ensure success of the solution. For example, the system changed the Pathfinder Coordinator position from a 9-month employee to a 12-month employee so coordinator could stay connected with businesses year round.
Standardize success: The academy developed a standardized training agreement and training plan
Share Success: Data from the Pathfinder Program is recorded and evaluated to understand effectiveness and economic impact. This information is shared at each month’s board of education meeting

IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Muscle Shoals City Schools’ award winning practice has taken an employment conundrum for students and created a program that benefits both students and the local economy. “Because the program provides students with opportunities for work experience and prepares them for life after graduation, it can greatly affect students’ lives,” said MSCS Superintendent, Dr. Brian Lindsey. This best practice is growing and MSCS is challenging the community to help it grow even more. As Pathfinder Coordinator Tiffany Stonecipher remarked, I encourage each business that hears of this program to consider giving a young person the chance to be successful. More than anything, I want our young people to see a successful future in their hometown.

from left to right: Sherri Headrick (LEAN Frog), Celia Rudolph (MSCS Board President), Sally Howell Smith (AASB Exec Dir), Brian Lindsey (MSCS Superintendent), and Byron Headrick (LEAN Frog)

Congratulations Muscle Shoals City Schools and the muscle shoals career academy for your award-winning entry. We applaud you for using effective problem-solving skills to create solutions that positively impact your students and your community.

This is the first post in a six-part series recognizing the state finalists and overall grand prize winner of the Tri-State Best Practices Contest. May these great examples of best practices in Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee public education inspire you as they did us.

What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question that we start asking children at an early age. Eufaula City Schools’ leaders–one of the Alabama finalist in the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest—have not only asked their students this question, but they have developed a best practice that helps student systematically and purposefully explore college and career opportunities.

Origins of “Crayons to Careers”

When Superintendent Dr. Elisabeth Davis arrived at Eufaula City, she realized that many things were happening – fast! Department planning and activities were not always coordinated; in some cases they were siloed. Consequently, she worked with all levels of leadership to align activities system-wide to support the school system’s vision, mission, and values. This became the birth of the “Crayons to Careers” plan. A system-wide calendar was developed detailing all activities that fall under the title “Crayons to Career.” Most activities and events were not new. However, putting all of the events and activities together created a systematic approach for knowing what to do, when to do it, how to do it, who should do it and how the event or activity can be improved in the future.

The “Crayons to Careers” plan focuses on spiraling programs from PreK to 12th grade to introduce children early to career options. For example, students in lower grade levels work in raised beds (provided by an AlProHealth grant through the Barbour County Extension Office), while older students receive training in horticulture at the new greenhouse at Eufaula High School (EHS). Students are given time during school hours and encouraged to take part in activities that are part of the spiraling of programs system wide. School schedules were changed for lower grade levels to have students participate in running school stores and have clubs such as chess on certain days. This means students are now introduced to activities/concepts such as chess, coding, and handling money at a much younger age then they were before this plan. Additionally, upper grade level students participate in activities and teach/coach lower grade level students.

“Crayons to Careers” Community Engagement

Eufaula City Schools’ students and teachers learn about careers and participate in community service activities.

A key aspect of Eufaula City’s plan is community engagement. Students participate in grade-level community service projects based on career interests or themes such as the Senior Citizen Prom, a joint community service project of the EHS Academies. The plan also has ECS staff shadow local business leaders and public servants to understand “A Day in the Life” of these community members so teachers can better prepare their students for those careers. Having a detailed plan helps staff at Eufaula City Schools and community members pay close attention to ways to build upon partnerships. Using the premise that parent, family, and community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance and school improvement, Eufaula City builds on these relationships. When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs.

Why we Like this Entry:

There are numerous reasons to love the “Crayons to Careers” Best Practice.

The impact and focus on all grade levels throughout the system guarantees all students will have equal opportunities to participate. By providing this plan, all teachers are then accountable for providing appropriate opportunities to all students and those opportunities a sequential across the grade spans.

“A Day in the Life of” demonstrates the importance of a high level understanding the Suppliers, Inputs, Outputs, and Customers (SIPOC) of a process, in this ensuring that students are College and Career Ready. Elementary and Secondary administrators shadow each other, Career Tech teachers shadow relevant businesses, and Central Office members shadow students. This provides staff with the opportunity to understand the needs of both Suppliers and Customers in the career development process.

Their consistent planning, implementation, and review of activities and events is reminiscent of the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle that promotes a commitment too continuous improvement.

Helping Students Dream Big

Eufaula City Schools’ award winning practice is consistent with their system motto “Dream Big . . . Innovate Often.” As Superintendent Davis remarked, “We believe we must teach our students how to dream in the elementary grades, and we must equip them with the knowledge and skills to make those dreams a reality as they journey through middle and high school! Our commitment to a purposeful PreK – 12 exploration of colleges and careers through a variety of avenues provides both students and adults with a wide array of innovative experiences to accomplish their big dreams!”

-from left to right: Sherri Headrick (LEAN Frog), Mitzi Clayton, Sally Howell (AASB), Otis Hill (ECS), Byron Headrick (LEAN Frog) and Louise Conner (ECS)

Congratulations Eufaula City Schools for your award winning entry. We applaud you for your commitment to purposeful preparation of students and to consistent review of your efforts.

Spring is in full-bloom here in the southeastern United States and LEAN Frog is pleased to announce that the Louisiana school systems’ first year of participation in this Best Practices Contest has blossomed beyond our expectations! The Louisiana entries were highly competitive and well-deserving of recognition. After several rounds of judging, LEAN Frog and co-sponsors the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASS)/Louisiana Association of School Executives (LASE) are excited to announce the Louisiana Finalists in the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest. . .

Central High School (Central Community School System in Baton Rouge, LA) and Jackson Elementary School (East Feliciana Public Schools in Clinton, LA). Formal recognition and a $1,000 cash prize will be given to each of the finalists at an award ceremony to be held at their prize-winning schools. Additionally, the Louisiana finalists will be recognized at the at the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASS) Summer Conference June 20-22 at the Double Tree in Lafayette, LA.

Central High School’s (CHS) “Student-run Help Desk” is a best practice begun in 2015 – a year after the start of their 1:1 digital initiative. Inspired by college, student-run technology “help desks”, the CHS student-directed and staffed Help Desk provides full-time tech services on 1,400 student/teacher laptops. Additionally, these students maintain all classroom workstations, projectors, printers and nearly every other technical device. The Help Desk staffers provide technology training to incoming students and professional development to faculty. These help desk students secure real-world IT experience (e.g., troubleshooting problems, repairing hardware and software, tracking inventory, communicating with customers, developing standard operating procedures), develop technical writing skills (e.g., creating training documents and documenting standard operating procedures) and jump start their careers by earning CompTIA A+ certification. Some students have gone on to become employed by the school system’s IT department.

A Central High School student-run Help Desk staffer repairs a laptop.

Jackson Elementary School’s (JES) “Cubs Morning Meeting” began in 2014 to address student and staff needs to develop a common language and space to explore the school’s values of respect, responsibility and kindness without sacrificing instructional time. The Cubs Morning Meeting (20 minutes first thing in the morning) has evolved into an almost entirely student developed and led assembly involving all members of the Jackson Elementary School Cub family (kindergarten through fifth grade). This best practice has helped JES achieve a variety of quantitative and qualitative school goals connected to climate (e.g., 28% decrease in out of school suspensions), efficiency (e.g., reduced number of informational faculty meetings, adding a monthly meeting focused entirely on professional development without increasing the number of faculty meeting the staff needs to attend), and student leadership and public speaking skills (e.g., “Author’s Chair” presentations). Because each homeroom gets at least two weeks of practice leading Morning Meeting each school year, the number and variety of students provided with leadership and presentation skills has grown exponentially.

Students share their writings in the “Author’s Chair” during Jackson Elementary’s Cubs Morning Time

Louisiana had a record number of entries its first year participating in the Best Practices contest. We thank all of those who took the time to enter the contest and we applaud all your efforts on behalf of the students in Louisiana public schools!

The Alabama finalists were announced in December 2017 at the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) Annual Convention (AASB is the Alabama contest co-sponsor.) The Tennessee finalists were acknowledged at the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) Legislative & Learning Conference in February 2018 (TOSS is the Tennessee contest co-sponsor). All six state finalists will compete for a Grand Prize of an additional $4,000 that will be awarded at a Board of Education meeting of the winning school system. This presentation will allow the local community to share in the school system’s recognition for positively impacting student achievement and promoting the effective and efficient use of public resources.

The state plan for the Louisiana State Department of Education is Louisiana Believes. The Louisiana Believes plan was designed to ensure that every child is on track to a college degree or a professional career and emphasizes the crucial role students, parents and teachers play in helping students achieve. This strong belief is echoed in the entries we received from Louisiana school systems in their first year of participation in the Best Practices contest*. Well, we believe that Alabama and Tennessee have some stiff competition for taking home the Grand Prize in the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices contest. In their first year out of the gate, Louisiana public schools have submitted innovative and impactful entries that demonstrate the strength and depth of public education.

Some of the Louisiana-submitted best practices involved:

Increased Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) education opportunities for K-12 students to expand their critical thinking skills and prepare them for the 21st century workforce
Student-led early morning assemblies that distribute important school news and shared “cultural values” and spotlight student and staff recognitions
Professional Development for Career Technical Education (CTE) Teachers that focuses on the economic growth plans of the community, facilitates learning and collaboration with local businesses, and promotes students earning industry certifications
A strategically focused blueprint for increasing student achievement, developing educator effectiveness, and building public confidence
Expansion of the student directed and staffed IT “Help Desk” to deliver full-time technology maintenance services, enhance the use of technology in academic projects, and provide CompTIA A+ certifications for students
Intensive ACT preparation to help students increase their scores and broaden their college opportunities.

We are thankful for the wonderful entries submitted by Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama and we greatly appreciate the support provided by our public education co-sponsors -Executive Director Sally Howell and the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) in Alabama, Executive Director Dale Lynch and the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) in Tennessee, and Executive Director Mike Faulk and the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASS) in Louisiana. Thanks also to Executive Director J. Rogers Pope and the Louisiana Association of School Executives (LASE).

So now the question is . . .

Stay tuned for the revelation of the Louisiana finalists (see previous posts about Alabama entries and finalists and Tennessee entries and finalists) who will receive $1000.00 each and for the Grand Prize Winner selected from each state’s finalists. The Grand Prize winner will receive an additional $4000.00 cash award!!!

* LEAN Frog sponsors the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices Contest for Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana public schools in association with the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB), the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS), and the Louisiana Association of School Executives/Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASE/LASS) LEAN Frog established the contest to give back to public schools and to promote creative and sustainable practices that impact student achievement and encourage the effective and efficient use of public resources. Started in Alabama in 2014, expanded into Tennessee in 2016 and into Louisiana this year, winners receive public recognition and a cash prize for their successful entries.

Alabama may reign as the National Champion in football, but there is stiff competition coming from Tennessee for the overall grand prize winner of the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices contest. In the presence of 75+ Tennessee Directors of Schools and Superintendents, the two Tennessee Finalists were revealed at the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) Legislative and Learning Conference. [The two Alabama finalists were revealed at the Alabama Association of School Board‘s (AASB) Winter Conference in December. Click here for information on contest winners Eufaula City Schools and Muscle Shoals City Schools. Louisiana finalists will be revealed later this spring.]

The winning entries — “Strategic Plan 2020” from Oak Ridge Schools and “STEM Education Program” from Warren County Schools – were selected as the “BEST of the Best Practices” submitted from a diverse and competitive field of high quality Tennessee school system entries.

In the 2nd year of this contest in Tennessee — sponsored by TOSS and LEAN Frog — these two EXCEPTIONAL entries were publicly recognized, and each received a $1,000 cash prize. Both entries will compete against the contest finalists from Alabama (co-sponsored with the Alabama Association of School Boards/AASB) and from Louisiana (co-sponsored with the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents/LASS) for the Grand Prize of $4,000. The Grand Prize winner will be recognized at a school board meeting so the local community can share in the school system’s recognition for positively impacting student achievement and promoting the effective and efficient use of public resources.

The Oak Ridge Schools’ “Strategic Plan 2020” was initiated by Superintendent Bruce Borchers in 2016 in cooperation with educators, administrators, and community members. This insightful plan is designed to achieve five strategic goals: academic excellence, educator excellence, learning environment excellence, operational excellence, and stakeholder excellence. Each strategic goal has a designated owner. Each goal is monitored and measured with specific quantitative measures. ORS uses a scorecard system to track each goal and their associated Key Performance Indicators. As goals are met they are celebrated throughout the school system. Each goal report is shared with the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the community and new/revised goals and strategies for the next year’s improvements are created based upon analysis and input. This collaborative Best Practice has promoted stakeholder engagement, transparency, and accountability as ORS prepares students for college, career, and life success.

from L-R: Byron Headrick, Holly Cross (ORS Supervisor of Career Readiness and Communications), Bruce Lay (ORS Executive Director of School Leadership), Sherri Headrick

Warren County Schools partnered with business and industry to develop a comprehensive STEM program centered around Mechatronics-a blend of electronics, mechanics, and computer/processor control technologies critical in manufactured products and the manufacturing process. Working with local industry and the Tennessee Department of Education, WCS created a Mechatronics Pathway curriculum. Program enhancements now include robotic stimulators in all schools and the “STEM on Wheels” lab that transports robotic equipment and 3-D printing to the schools. This successful Best Practice has helped students develop system critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and begins a career path in engineering and industrial manufacturing through the earning of the Level 1 Siemens Mechatronics Industry Certification.

From L to R: Byron Headrick, Bobby Cox (WCS Director of Schools), Sherri Headrick

This year’s Tennessee entries included a wide-range of Best Practices — from a mobile summer feeding program to blended educational opportunities in a suburban/rural area to identifying and helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed in postsecondary education. We thank all of those who took the time to enter the contest and we applaud all your efforts on behalf of the students in Tennessee public schools!

Stay tuned for detailed posts on each finalist from Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana.

Dave has one word for the Tri-States Best Practices competition–“hot! hot! hot!” I guess that’s actually three words. See below for what he has to say about some of the entries we’ve received so far from Tennessee school systems. Keep ’em coming Tennessee. Your deadline to submit entries is Tuesday, January 23!

It may be snowy and bitter cold outside, but here at LEAN Frog we are warm — basking in the “heat” of the exciting entries that are representing Tennessee public school systems in the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest! Alabama did a great job in submitting many fine entries (see previous posts about Alabama entries and the two Alabama finalists who each won $1000 as state finalists: Eufaula City Schools and Muscle Shoals City Schools. Feature posts about these finalists are coming soon), however, Tennessee has “thrown several logs on the fire of competition” and this Contest is “ablaze.”

Some examples of Tennessee entries received so far are:

A program that identifies and assists students from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in postsecondary education
A comprehensive, stakeholder-engaging plan to improve processes in key goal areas
A summer feeding program enhanced by a diner-style mobile component
A STEM educational program introducing, training, and providing dual enrollment opportunities to students
A technology-based program — serving an urban/rural county with a high-poverty rate — by providing multiple educational opportunities
A school-wide positive collaboration and celebration time

So…when you are taking a break from building snowmen and drinking hot cocoa, enter the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest before the Tennessee submission deadline of Tuesday, January 23, 2018. (Louisiana school systems: your deadline of Monday, February 19 is fast approaching as well.)

LEAN Frog and contest co-sponsor the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) will announce the two Tennessee Finalists at the upcoming TOSS Legislative Conference (February 5-7). The Finalists will each receive $1,000 and will compete against the Alabama and Louisiana Finalists for the Grand Prize! The grand prize winning school system will receive an additional $4000 and be recognized at a school board meeting so the local community can join in on the celebration.

For further information about the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest go to: https://theleanleap.com/contest/. Remember to follow us on Twitter for updates on the contest. Click here for brainstorming tips on identifying best practices and Click here for posts on previous winners.

LEAN Frog began the Best Practices contest in 2014 with the purpose of giving-back to public schools. The contest promotes creative and sustainable practices that impact student achievement and encourage the effective and efficient use of public resources. The contest started with Alabama public schools in 2014, expanded to include Tennessee public schools in 2016 and now includes public schools in Alabama, Tennesee, and Louisiana in the Tri-States Best K-12 Practices contest.

Eufaula City and Muscle Shoals are the Alabama Finalists!

GREAT things are happening in Alabama public schools! This past Friday, Eufaula City Schools and Muscle Shoals City Schools were recognized as the Alabama Finalists in the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices” Contest.

Their titled entries — “From Crayons to Careers: Intentional Preparation for College and Career Readiness” from Eufaula City Schools and the “Pathfinder Alabama Program” from Muscle Shoals City Schools – were selected through a double-judged process as the “best of the best” from a large, competitive field of high quality Alabama school system entries.

In the 4^th year of the “best practices” contest in Alabama — sponsored by the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) and LEAN Frog — these two OUTSTANDING entries were publicly recognized and received a $1,000 cash prize at the AASB Annual Convention in Birmingham. Both entries will compete against the finalists from Tennessee (co-sponsored with Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents/TOSS) and Louisiana (co-sponsored with Louisiana Association of School Executives and Louisiana Association of School Superintendents LASS/LASE) for the Grand Prize of $4,000 and regional bragging rights for impacting student achievement and promoting the effective and efficient use of public resources.

The Eufaula City Schools entry represented a deliberate move from a system of schools to a school system. The school system reviewed activities across the district and tied all major activities and events to their “Dream Big, Innovate Often” theme. All levels of leadership throughout the system worked together to develop a systematic approach to knowing what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and who should do it. After the completion of events, leadership followed by recapping what was done and developing detailed notes for continuous improvement.

-from left to right: Sherri Headrick (LEAN Frog), Mitzi Clayton, Sally Howell (AASB), Otis Hill (ECS), Byron Headrick (LEAN Frog) and Louise Conner (ECS)

The Muscle Shoals City Schools entry addressed a national problem — students in Work-Based Learning programs not being afforded opportunities in skilled, technical environments due to employer restrictions on insurance of minors. To alleviate the problem, Muscle Shoals piloted the Pathfinder program at their Muscle Shoals Career Academy. They partnered with a human resources company to be the employer of record. At the time of inception, there was no other program in the nation like it. Now others are replicating this best practice across the country.

-from left to right: Sherri Headrick (LEAN Frog), Celia Rudolph (MSCS), Sally Howell (AASB), Brian Lindsey (MSCS), and Byron Headrick (LEAN Frog)

This year’s Alabama entries represented a vast range of departments/functional areas (from Child Nutrition to Career Tech), addressed numerous challenges schools/school systems face (from summer slide to lack of summer and other employment for students), and creatively used resources such as social media, scheduling, and buildings. We thank all of those who took the time to enter the contest. We applaud your work and we thank you for all you do on behalf of Alabama public education.

Stay tuned for feature posts on the Alabama finalists.

Are you ready for some positive, uplifting news about Alabama public education?

Want to hear about some OUTSTANDING instructional and non-instructional practices that benefit children?

Well the Alabama entries for the “Tri-State Best K-12 Practices”* contest deliver just that. This year in Alabama, many INNOVATIVE and AMAZING entries were submitted for the Contest! The number of entries received increased dramatically and the quality was dazzling. Also, as in the past, several school systems, submitted multiple entries!

This year’s Best Practice entries covered timely and important issues such as the following:

Offering new educational opportunities based on the needs of students and their families.
Creating programs and organizing entire schools to promote sustainable project based learning.
Providing skills, certifications, and job experiences in technical fields;
Using survey and assessment data to design programs and practices to better support students’ academic performance and social development
Developing detailed outreach plans to encourage and support students in state and national competitions.
Designing structures to align activities system-wide to support the school system’s mission and motto.
Re-focusing schools’ organizational/administrative structure and physical environment to enhance student experiences during the school year and over the summer in creative and innovative academic activities.
Establishing practices to provide more collaboration time for teachers
Using social media to celebrate students and staff, promote activities, and increase transparency.
Advancing unique professional development opportunities for teachers.
Creating programs and practices to address problems such as the summer slide and lack of employment opportunities for students.
Ensuring that all students have opportunity to have a nutritious breakfast.

Stay tuned for MORE GOOD NEWS about Alabama as LEAN Frog announces the Finalists for the Alabama portion of the contest at the AASB 2017 Annual Convention Awards Luncheon on Friday, December 8, 2017 in Birmingham! The two finalists receive $1000.00 and will be eligible for the $4000 grand prize award!

Note: The Tennessee and Louisiana entry acceptance periods are still open. Tennessee entrance period ends January 23 and Louisiana entrance period ends February 19. We are expecting Innovative and Amazing entries from you as well. Click here for brainstorming tips on identifying best practices. Click here for posts on previous winners.

LEAN Frog was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie^® Award in the Company of the Year category in the 15th annual American Business Awards.

More than 3,600 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Startup of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Live Event of the Year, and App of the Year, among others. LEAN Frog was nominated in the Company of the Year category for small businesses and professional services.

Over 190 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners. “The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries that we received this year. The competition was intense and every organization that has won should be proud,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. The judges’ comments highlight LEAN Frog’s success in positive impacting public education.

“I like what this company is doing, they have found a niche and have delivered products that are a value-add to school districts
“The role of LEAN Frog in developing our educational community is substantial and cannot be underestimated”
“An organization doing fantastic things for public education.”

“Our team’s ingenuity and hard work have allowed LEAN Frog to positively impact students’ lives through helping school systems improve operations and re-invest savings back into classrooms,” said Byron Headrick, LEAN Frog President and Co-founder. “We’re honored to be recognized by the Stevie Awards for our dedicated commitment and actions serving students in public education.”

The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations–public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2017 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

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