Virtual Community School of Ohio » CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

VCS Ohio’s Baldrige Framework

VCS Ohio adheres to the use of Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as a means for performance excellence. All VCS Ohio staff is trained in the use of Baldrige concepts and tools as a means for achieving exemplary performance.

VCS Ohio has developed technology and human processes which support the continuous monitoring of teacher and student engagement, interaction and organizational activities. These methods and processes are reflected in our student accountability management system, staff evaluation criteria and in our staff compensation plan.

(For more information on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence at the Ohio Department of Education web site, click here).

Leadership

VCS Ohio’s leadership team has a diverse set of educational experiences which serve the school well in planning and continuously improving district operations.

Leadership team members are responsible for setting strategic direction and monitoring the progress of important district processes.

Expectations of the leadership at VCS Ohio:

Set direction

Monitor progress

Communicate in a clear, consistent, and continuous manner with staff and all stakeholders

Intervene in a supportive and corrective manner

Strategic Planning

District goals are aligned to the requirements of the students and other stakeholders.
VCS Ohio will work with all district employees and stakeholders to develop action plans to accomplish district goals.

Goals and measures in the action plans will always focus on student achievement.

The focus of our action plans are to meet the individual needs of each student at a pace that is consistent with the needs of the individual child while still representing a challenge level for each student.

Each individual teacher’s work plan will be aligned with district goals.

Student and Stakeholder Focus

We will work hard to build positive relationships with our customers.

These methods bring balance to expectations and requirement needs of the school and the needs of students and parents.

EXAMPLES:

Parent Advisory Board

Parent Liaisons

Student Resource Assistants

Information and Analysis

VCS Ohio will collect, manage, analyze and act on information to monitor district progress, support plans for improvement, and improve decision making.

EXAMPLES:

Assessments (day-to-day, state proficiency, other)

Effective Schools Surveys of Parents and Students

Feedback on staff development program

Effective school surveys of staff perceptions of organizational effectiveness

District profile of students for purpose of comparisons with similar districts

VCS Ohio will use data to compare our performance to other districts in the state and nation

Human Resource Focus

VCS Ohio’s work environment will support the development and engagement of faculty, staff and students in accomplishing the district mission.

EXAMPLES:

VCS Ohio has allocated ten days for professional development in the calendar year.

Our staff compensation schedule recognizes and rewards employee contributions toward attaining student achievement and insuring stakeholder satisfaction.

We will monitor the level of employee involvement, well-being and satisfaction.

The district has well-defined communication expectations.

Systems are in place to train and educate employees which lead to the continuous improvement of district processes.

Incentives exist in the district compensation plan which spurs initiative.

A well-defined plan of intervention is in place for staff that is both supportive and corrective.

Consequences are defined for staff members who do not adhere to quality principles and who do not improve over time with the necessary supports.

Process Management

The district staff manages and continually improves a variety of processes designed to achieve district goals.

Each process in the district is subject to rigorous and continuous monitoring with the goal of improving student achievement.

Quality tools, grounded in the concepts of the Baldrige Quality framework, are used to monitor and improve district processes.

School Performance Results

All areas of the district will show improvement over time.

The district will show improvement over time when compared to similar districts.

The district has established appropriate benchmarks in our contract with our sponsor