Task I: Apply the Baldrige Framework.

(See framework and template below)

· Create an Organizational Profile for your school answering P1 & P2’s “basic questions”
from the Baldrige Framework document, using the “overall questions” to guide your
work. Complete a review of your school by answering the “basic question” for Baldrige
category 3,
Category 3: Customers (Basic questions)- overview of school
a. 3.1 How do you listen to your students and other customers, and design programs
and services to meet their needs?
b. 3.2 How do you build relationships with students and other customers to
determine satisfaction and engagement?
· Identify 3-5 strengths and 3-5 OFI’s (Opportunity for Improvement) for Category 3.
· Select one OFI and develop an improvement plan using the framework provided on page
two. You will not likely be able to implement your plan but be sure to share not only
what you plan to do, but how you will study the results.

Organizational Profile
P.1 Organizational Description: What are your key organizational characteristics?
a. Organizational Environment
1) Educational Program and Service Offerings: What are your main educational program and
service offerings? What is the relative importance of each to your success? What modalities do
you use to deliver your educational programs and services?
George Washington Carver, a Des Moines Public Schools elementary building, serves four-
hundred twenty students from the east side of Des Moines grades kindergarten through fifth
grade. Students at Carver speak thirteen different languages, over sixty percent of students are
ELLs. Carver uses in-person learning with online technology to help daily learning of EL
(English Language) curriculum and math. Students are all enrolled in art, music, P.E.,
counseling, and library. There is access to special education, T.A.G., Title 1, and SUCCESS
services. Carver also supplies free lunch to all students in the building and collaborates with the
Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa to provide after school and summer care for students.
Needs are also being met through special education and ELL services. FAST (Formative
Assessment System for Teachers) testing and ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student
Progress) are used as educational assessments.
(2) Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture: What is your mission, vision, and values? Other than
values, what are the characteristics of your organizational culture, if any? What are your
organization’s core competencies, and what is their relationship to your mission?
The mission of the district has just changed from “A model for urban education” to “Come here.
Become the best you here.” The vision is to have a community school model. The individual
mission for Carver is “At Carver, students are challenged to learn with a growth mindset,
encouraged to do their best, and motivated to achieve success in a safe, caring environment.”
More time is spent as educators talk about our core competencies around equity: learning,
thriving, and belonging. Teachers and staff should be: 1) providing students with essential
knowledge, skills, and abilities, 2) ensuring each student reaches their maximum potential
through enriching relationships, and 3) working in partnerships with students, families, and the
community to create connections that increase student success. All these pillars align with the
building mission.
(3) Workforce Profile: What is your workforce profile? What recent changes have you
experienced in the workforce composition or in your needs regarding your workforce? What are•
your workforce or faculty/staff groups and segments; • the educational requirements for different
faculty/staff groups and segments; • the key drivers that engage them; • your organized
bargaining units (union representation), if any; and• your special health and safety requirements,
if any?
At Carver, there are sixty-eight staff members ranging from custodians to instructional coaches.
The current layout includes twenty-two classroom teachers. Kindergarten and third grade are
the only grades without four sections. They have three, which means two classrooms are
currently not occupied or used. Other staff include three extended core teachers, two counselors,
one behavior strategist, ten special education teachers/associates, four ELL teachers, three
interventionists, two instructional coaches, with the rest of the numbers falling in administrative
work, food service, or custodial duties.
What the numbers show us currently is that all grade levels have seventy-five up to eighty-two
students, which means large class sizes for kindergarten and third grade. It has already been
shared that fourth grade will be losing a section next which means continued numbers, but more
large class sizes to meet budget needs. What is needed is another behavior strategist and more
sub-coverage now. Half of the teachers in the building are also a part of the DMEA union,
including three staff members in leadership roles.
(4) Assets: What are your major facilities, equipment, technologies, and intellectual property?
There is a 1:1 technology ratio at Carver. Since Covid-19 has relaxed, all students keep their
laptops in the building which has been a major change including turning in student hot spots
and need for Wi-Fi at home. Go Guardian is always used to monitor student Wi-Fi usage at
school, on-school devices. Individual student devices cannot join the Wi-Fi networks which
block a wide variety of sites, social media, and games. The only major facilities besides the
typical spaces are the connected Boys and Girls Club which utilizes the school facilities to run
their programming.
(5) Regulatory Environment: What are your key applicable occupational health and safety
regulations; accreditation, certification, or registration requirements; education sector standards;
and environmental, financial, and educational program and service regulations?
The district utilizes Panorama surveys to document and gather data on working conditions and
mental/physical health and safety at each building. In the past year, Carver has gone up in terms
of the general happiness of staff and our excitement to come to work. SEL (Social Emotional
Learning) is prioritized for students and staff within the building.
Carver follows direction under the Department of Education, the Board of Educational
Examiners, Iowa code and legislation, and Des Moines Public Schools School Board. To keep
teachers accountable for learning, each year a variety of trainings are posted on Vector
Soultions (formerly Safe Schools) to continue promoting new knowledge. BoEE policies are
followed in terms of certifications and furthering education. First and second tear teachers
engage in a learning cycle including three formal observations and completing a portfolio. After
that point, teachers are on cycle for formal observations and must complete a yearly IEPDP.
With insurance benefits, staff can receive the physical and mental health care they need.
b. Organizational Relationships
(1) Organizational Structure: What are your organizational leadership structure and
governance structure? What structures and mechanisms make up your organization’s leadership
system? What are the reporting relationships among your governance board, senior leaders, and
parent organization, as appropriate?
At Carver, there is a principal and an associate principal. From an outsiders’ perspective, the
principal handles day-to-day school operations, manages school logistics, sets learning goals
for students and teachers, interviews, and hires school personnel, sets the school calendar,
implements new ways of improvement, and provides support where needed throughout the day.
The AP handles behaviors in the building, handles sub coverage, and provides support where
needed throughout the day. I am not sure it is the most functional way of dividing up leadership
duties. The instructional coaches take on the role of mentoring and educating teachers. The BLT
(Building Leadership Team) is used to working together through the school improvement
process. This team, at Carver, seems to function more as a “here is what we are going to do,”
gives us feedback, top-down approach to decision making.
(2) Students, Other Customers, and Stakeholders: What are your key market segments,
student and other customer groups, and stakeholder groups, as appropriate? What are their key
requirements and expectations for your educational programs and services, student and other
customer support services, and operations, including any differences among the groups?
Organizational Profile 5
The main customers are the students, their families, and the community. Students come to learn,
and the expectation is that they leave with more knowledge, creativity, individuality, role-
models, passion, a sense of purpose, and hopefully how to read, write, and do math. Their
families hopefully also expect these same things and want their students to acquire those skills.
The expectation is that families are allowed to be a part of the learning process and their
students get their needs met while in the classroom.
(3) Suppliers, Partners, and Collaborators: What are your key types of suppliers, partners, and
collaborators? What role do they play in producing and delivering your key educational
programs and services and your student and other customer support services, and in enhancing
your competitiveness? What role do they play in contributing and implementing innovations in
your organization? What is your key supply-network requirements?
Each Des Moines school has a community schools coordinator, and it is their sole job to bridge
that gap between community and school. The coordinators work to improve student outcomes,
support transitions in schools, improve community and family engagement, and expand the
community school model.They create partnerships and help formulate conversations around
improvement. This position is completely funded by the United Way of Central Iowa. The Boys
and Girls Club plays a significant role in providing extra academic support, childcare, and
providing basic needs like dinner, food pantries, clothes, etc. Carver works with Hiatt Middle
School and East High School, as they are the direct feeder pattern. Other outside partners
include providing vision screenings and glasses for students and dentistry.
P.2 Organizational Situation: What is your organization’s strategic situation?
a. Competitive Environment
(1) Competitive Position: What are your relative size and growth in your education sector or the
markets you serve? How many and what types of competitors do you have?
All the Des Moines area elementary schools on the East side serve a similar population. The size
of buildings, numbers of staff, and population of students are vastly different. Capitol View and
Carver are the main feeders into Hiatt Middle School. Capitol View can support four sections of
each grade level which means they can take in more students than Carver can. This means the
community around Carver is just a little bit smaller, but that also means it is a close-knit
community. “Capitol Park” is a heavy Spanish speaking community which draws in more ELL
students and their families. DMPS is always going to be in competition with the suburbs for
resources, funding, academics, and activities. In terms of competitiveness of teachers, DMPS
strives to provide the best benefits package as well as incentives like the Drake Blue Contract to
get teachers to stay.
(2) Competitiveness Changes: What key changes, if any, are affecting your competitive
situation, including changes that create opportunities for innovation and collaboration, as
appropriate?
In Des Moines, there are high turnover rates for students. Families are constantly moving due to
various circumstances. In general, we are also seeing more behavioral incidents than before
Covid-19. Some families will up and move their student to another school if they are having
issues, instead of dealing with the problems head on. Since Carver is right next to downtown, the
hospitals, and the Capitol Complex, there are fewer homes and apartments geared towards
lower income families which decreases accessibility within the school boundaries. After Covid-
19, many teachers left the profession or moved to the suburbs to avoid the lasting effects on our
students and schools. The mental health of teachers is leading to burn out and leaving the
district which re-instates the question of how we can better support teachers.
Iowa legislation is also playing a significant role in the changes happening to the education
landscape in Iowa. With this school voucher option, we will see more kids leaving the district,
along with the funding that comes with each child. Enhancing private school options will have a
massive impact on the current state of Des Moines Public Schools.
(3) Comparative Data: What key sources of comparative and competitive data are available
from within the education sector? What key sources of comparative data are available from
outside the education sector? What limitations, if any, affect your ability to obtain or use these
data?
The main source of comparative data is housed on the network called Tableau. Usually, this
data is always accessible to school leaders and teachers, but since the DMPS cyber-security
incident, those reports have not been re-established on the network for viewership. On Tableau,
you can access data on district-wide testing scores, behavior referrals, diversity data, and more.
As a school, we do receive back comparative data for FAST (Formative Assessment System for
Teachers) testing which enables the school to re-address areas of improvement and set new
goals. For teachers, DMPS does not have competitive pay for the work that is being put in.
DMPS needs to find more ways to be competitive in retention of teachers like they did with the
Covid-19 incentives given last year.
b. Strategic Context
What are your key strategic challenges and advantages?
One of the greatest advantages of Carver is the attention to culture and inclusions. We strive to
make all families feel welcome in our space and offer resources to support student and family
needs.
Carver struggles with attendance of students. Carver is ranked second to last of all DMPS
schools on the attendance scale. Often this is due to children staying home and watching
younger siblings while parents are at work. Since there is little access to universal pre-k and
childcare services, students must step up. With those two extra classrooms, Carver is opening
two sections of morning and afternoon half-day preschool classes for next year, which should
help with this gap. Carver will continue partnering with Boys and Girls Club to provide
childcare when the students are not in class, hoping to decrease that gap in learning and
attendance. Opening the pre-k sections in the building will make Carver more competitive
amongst other area schools.
We cannot change affordable housing or the location of the school. What we can do is better
support the students and families that we do have. Hopefully with improvement models in place,
numbers of students, retention of teachers, and competitiveness can change.
c. Performance Improvement System
What is your performance improvement system, including your processes for evaluation
and improvement of key organizational projects and processes?
Carver is supposed to be using the School-Collaborative Problem-Solving Process. This process
focuses on 1) defining the problem, 2) analyzing the problem and verifying causes, 3) developing
and implementing a plan, and 4) monitoring and evaluating the plan. I have not seen this
process in place within the building.
MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) is a priority within the district. If I were in a leadership
capacity, I would now utilize the PDSA process or some of the Baldrige questioning to inform
decision making and include others in the improvement process. Equity, inclusiveness,
continuous improvement, and evidence-based decision-making are fundamental to all DMPS
structures.

Category 3: Customers
3.1 Customer Expectations: How do you listen to your students and other customers, and
design programs and services to meet their needs?
When talking about customers, in school, that refers to students (and their families). Listening to
students/families and taking feedback occurs through the process of conferences and exit surveys
(leaving the school or at the end of fifth grade). Data is tracked to acknowledge where student
needs are and to address the services students need to be successful. Many students are on IEP
(Individualized Education Plans) plans which require individualized feedback, listening to
families regarding concerns or learning, and adjusting plans as needed.

a. Listening to Students and Other Customers

(1) Current Students and Other Customers: How do you listen to, interact with, and
observe students and other Customers to obtain actionable information? How do your
listening methods vary for different student groups, other customer groups, or market segments?
How do your listening methods vary across the stages of students’ and other customers’
relationships with you? How do you seek immediate and actionable feedback from students and
other customers on the quality of educational programs and services, student and other customer
support, and transactions?
When communicating with families that speak other languages besides English, translators are
used to provide actionable information and have that steam line of conversation. At Carver,
there is access to language services for Spanish, Swahili, Somali, and Karen languages
DMPS does host open forums district wide to provide feedback. Carver’s principal prioritizes
being an excellent listener for families regarding issues. Being open to building relationships is
the key to obtaining needed information. Without close lines of communication, there is no way
of knowing if something is wrong at home, students are hungry, or their family member died.
(2) Potential Students and Other Customers: How do you listen to potential students and
other Customers to obtain actionable information? How do you listen to former,
competitors,’ and other potential customers to obtain actionable information on your educational
programs and services, student and other customer support, and transactions, as appropriate?
?
b. Student and Other Customer Segmentation, and Program and Service Offerings
(1) Student and Other Customer Segmentation: How do you determine your student and
other Customer groups and market segments? How do you• use information on students,
other customers, markets, and program and service offerings to identify current and anticipate
future student and other customer groups and market segments; and• determine which student
and other customer groups and market segments to emphasize and pursue for growth?
Language needs are a big way students are segmented at Carver. If there are four children that
all speak Swahili and need ELL services, they will usually be in the same classroom. This allows
them to communicate in their first language while also working on their English skills and
provides a consistent schedule for groups. All TAG students are usually grouped together, so
they can all work together on higher-level differentiated work or pulled for math or English
Numbers for TAG currently in the single digits per grade level. Across all classes, there is
usually even distribution amongst low level learners and students just needing Tier 1 instruction.
(2) Program and Service Offerings: How do you determine educational Program and
service offerings? How do you• determine student and other customer and market needs and
requirements for program and service offerings;• identify and adapt program and service
offerings to meet the requirements and exceed the expectations of your student and other
customer groups and market segments; and• identify and adapt program and service offerings to
enter new markets, to attract new students and other customers, and to create opportunities to
expand relationships with current students and customers, as appropriate?
Superintendent/school board?
3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you build relationships with students and other customers
and determine satisfaction and engagement?
The principals are always outside in the mornings and outside after school talking with students
and families. They are always present during lunch, some recess times, and in the hallways.
They are always prioritizing making connections with students during the day, at conferences, or
Title 1 nights.
In terms of the Carver clientele, it is sad to say, but if we keep a family through the whole school
year or all the way from kindergarten through fifth grade. Families do not always leave because
they are not satisfied, but only about 2/3 of our students stay with us for all six years of
schooling, so it is a sign of a satisfactory educational experience. Satisfaction can also be
determined by behavior and academics.
a. Student and Other Customer Relationships and Support
(1) Relationship Management: How do you build and manage student and other Customer
relationships? How do you market, build, and manage relationships with students and other
customers to• acquire students and other customers and build market share; • manage and
enhance your image; • retain students and other customers, meet their requirements, and exceed
their expectations in each stage of their relationship with you?
Each quarter, all staff members must send parents/families a positive contact about how they are
doing in school. This could be a phone call about a student helping another student with a math
problem. This could be a text about their score on a vocabulary test. The goal is to not always
send bad conversations home to families. It is about finding the good and creating those healthy
relationships. This always makes students feel proud of themselves.
(2) Student and Other Customer Access and Support: How do you enable students and
other Customers to seek information and support? How do you enable them to access your
programs and services? What are your key means of student and other customer support and
communication? How do they vary for different students and other customer groups or market
segments, as appropriate? How do you• determine your students’ and other customers’ key
support requirements, and• deploy these requirements to all people and processes involved in
student and other customer support?
DMPS provides a wide variety of resources we direct families towards, more so than any other
district in Iowa. We can point students and families in the right direction of what they might
need. We have access to adult programs. Childcare, clothing assistance, domestic
violence/victims' services, dental care, English language learning communities, employment,
financial assistance, food assistance, foster care, housing, legal services, medical care, mental
health services, parenting assistance, basic living supplies, technology, transportation, tutoring,
and youth programs. I think we would like to say we help provide our families with the needed
support.
Our communication could use some work to help spread the word of these resources. We
already have a dysfunctional communication system that differs from teacher to teacher which
makes it a little difficult to do what is best for students and families. Teachers use Talking
Points, SchoolCnxt, Infinite Campus, email, texting, phone calls, etc. We are making it too
complicated for ourselves and our families.
(3) Complaint Management How do you manage student and other Customer complaints?
How do you resolve complaints promptly and effectively? How does your management of
complaints enable you to recover your students’ and other customers’ confidence, enhance their
satisfaction and engagement, and avoid similar complaints in the future?
Elementary students are some of the most honest people I have ever met. They will tell you when
they are satisfied or not with content, activities, or topics. They are not afraid to speak their
minds. Sometimes we take these complaints with a grain of salt, but sometimes if we notice a
whole class struggling, not staying engaged, or even behaviors showing, we may need to make
some adjustments. Many of these complaints can be resolved by just listening. Other times this
may require a quick shift or change. Adminstrators and teachers must be problem solvers for the
big issues and the small.
b. Determination of Student and Other Customer Satisfaction and engagement
(1) Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and engagement: How do you determine student and other
Customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and engagement? How do your determination methods
differ among your student and other customer groups and market segments, as appropriate? How
do your measurements capture actionable information?
?
(2) Satisfaction Relative to Other Organizations: How do you obtain information on
students’ and other Customers’ satisfaction with your organization relative to other
organizations? How do you obtain information on your students’ and other customers’
satisfaction• relative to their satisfaction with your competitors; and• relative to the satisfaction
of students and other customers of other organizations that provide similar programs and
services, or to education sector benchmarks, as appropriate?
?
c. Use of Voice-of-the-Customer and Market Data: How do you use voice-of-the-Customer
and market data and information? How do you use voice-of-the-customer and market data
and information to build a more student-focused culture and support operational decision-
making?

Identify 3-5 strengths and 3-5 OFI’s (Opportunity for Improvement) for Category
3: Customers
Strengths:
Inclusion/Diversity: Attention to inclusion and diversity is a top priority within the building, as
most of our students are minorities. We must prioritize making all students feel safe and
welcome when they are at school. They need to learn about diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Students are taught to dive deeper and learn without a narrow lens.
Partnerships: Quite a few partnerships were mentioned above. Without these partnerships,
Carver would not be able to meet basic needs of the students while they are at school. They
would not have access to free childcare, free vision screenings, free oral health care, etc.
Community Experiences: Carver does an excellent job of providing experiences for students and
their families. Carver puts on two Title 1 nights each year to increase student/family learning at
home. Students travel to the zoo, the science center, the civic center, hockey games, basketball
games, botanical gardens, etc. A wide variety of experiences are given to students.
Social Emotional Learning: Carver does a wonderful job of prioritizing SEL (Social Emotional
Learning). Every Monday morning, they spend thirty minutes on emotion regulation strategies
and implement techniques throughout the day. It is teaching to the whole child. Students really
struggle with communicating how they feel and why, so this is vital to their daily learning.
Counseling and Mental Health Services: Carver is lucky to have two full time counselors, a
psychologist, a social worker, and more at their disposable at school. Students need to feel safe
and feel like they can share what is going on in their lives, so we can help them with the
resources they need. All students have counseling class three times a month and access to
individual or group sessions weekly. Mental health services are necessary for our students.
Improvements:
Communication: In terms of the customer, there are quite a few improvements Carver and
DMPS could make to improve the customer expectations and engagement. The first being
communication. There is not a universal form of communication for families. It is left up to the
teacher and varies between building to building. Some teachers use Talking Points. Some use
SchoolCnxt. Some use Infinite Campus or email. I have heard some teachers use ClassDojo,
Remind and Seesaw. Some just send a text home or call. There are too many ways to make
contact that it is hard to keep track of. With our high population of ELLs, we need to utilize one
form of communication where translations are accessible. Right now, too much pressure is being
put on our translators to make that contact for us. We must find a better way to keep families
informed.
Specials Rotation:
Class Sizes: The varying class sizes have become difficult for not just teachers, but also for the
students. It is well known in research that smaller classes enhance student learning. Some of our
classes have sixteen kids (fifth grade) while other classes have twenty-five kids (kindergarten)
with no assistance, except for intervention time. It is inequitable to put twenty-five kids in a
classroom room where there could have been another section and class of eighteen students
down the hall. This also makes differentiation and individual attention more difficult for a
student, slowing down the learning process. The bigger the class, the more behavior issues as
well.
Attendance: As mentioned above, Carver struggles with attendance and implementing the Pre-K
classrooms could increase daily attendance. There are some other ways to help increase those
numbers, but we need to start working toward more solutions to fix this worsening issue that is
also plummeting test scores and leaving gaps in learning from when students are missing school.
Subs/Sub Coverage: Just like every other DMPS school, Carver struggles with sub coverage.
There is one building sub and she works every day. The population of our staff is on the younger
side, so lots of women are going on parental leave, requiring long term subs. Many teachers are
left filling in during their plan time or taking on extra duties where needed. Even though
compensation is being offered, teachers are still losing plan time and there is still a sub shortage.
How is this affecting the customer? This shortage creates an unstable learning environment for
students and decreases morale.
Universal Behavior Management: There is not one behavior management plan or ideology
utilized at Carver. Everyone does what they think is best for students. It is great teachers have
that trust and autonomy, but it creates inconsistencies from teacher to teacher. When students
move from grade to grade or to specials, there is not a clear system that everyone uses.

One OFI; Improvement Plan with PDSA- communication?

FBLE Framework

Your work here should be able to answer three basic questions:

1. For what problem is this a solution?
2. By what method will improvements be made?
3. By what method will we know how well your plan achieved its desired outcome(s)?

Please address these three items before developing your improvement plan:

Opportunity for Improvement (select from just one Baldrige category of your choice):

Why did you select this OFI?

What is the theory that drives your improvement plan? (i.e. “Based on the work of “ “, if we
do “x” then “y” will happen.

Improvement Plan Template

Opportunity for Improvement (select from just one Baldrige category of your choice)
 Action Responsibilities Timeline Assessment Resources Communica
Steps (Who Will Do It?) (By When? Processes Needed tion Plan
(What Will Date/Month) (What methods (Resources Needed (Who is
Be Done? will be used Resources involved?
Be assess results?) Available) What
specific) methods?
How often?)

Board Goals

Goal 1: The Percent of All Fourth Grade Students Proficient on the ISASP ELA Assessment Will
Increase From 52.7% in June 2022 to 67% in June 2026.

Goal 2: The Percent of Black Male Fourth Grade Students Proficient on the ISASP ELA Assessment

Will Increase From 29.5% in June 2022 to 67% in June 2026.

SEL - Panorama Monitoring

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous fall in "Student-Teacher Relationships"

on the Fall Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous fall in "Self-Efficacy" on the Fall

Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous fall in "School Climate" on the Fall

Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous fall in "School Climate" on the Fall

Teacher Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous fall in "School Safety" on the Fall

Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous spring in "Student-Teacher

Relationships" on the Spring Student Panorama Survey.

 100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous spring in "Self-Efficacy" on the Spring

Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous spring in "School Climate" on the Spring

Student Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous spring in "School Climate" on the Spring

Teacher Panorama Survey.

100% of schools will have a 2% increase from the previous spring in "Student-Teacher

Relationships" on the Fall Student Panorama Survey.