Applying Deming's 14 Point Plan to LAUSD (Part One of A Continuous And Never Ending Series of Improvement)

Applying Deming’s 14 Points: How to "fix" LAUSD (Part One of a continuous and never-ending series of improvement)
by Zuma Dogg

First, it needs to be mentioned that you gotta break up LAUSD into smaller systems.

It’s way to big and way to beuracratic to operate efficiently. Besides being too big geographically, it’s too wide socio-economically. The higher performing schools in the more affluent areas seem to get the “house advantage” over the lower performers in lower economic areas. (Different needs and attentions.) But even socio-economic inequalities aside, it’s just too big a system to operate as an efficient system.

But, we are stuck with this monstrosity of a system, for now. So we need to keep in mind that LAUSD just hired David Brewer to transform the school system. So using past performance results (of previous administratons) to predict what will happen now and in the future, may do more harm than good.

You don’t want to make changes, based on processes that are now null and void because Brewer has or is making changes in those departments. But desparate people, in fear, love to make a new adjustments and changes before we even have a chance to analyize the last set of changes.

Then you make the change, when you were headed in the right direction and then you just made things worse. When a sailor turns the wheel of the ship, there is delay time before you change course/see results. So if you turn the wheel, right as you were about to see the shift/results, you are undermining the whole plan and making things worse.

I also think a lot of the problems with the school "system" are factors that will persist no matter who is at the helm as Superintendant. (High cost of housing preventing new teacher recruitment, unsafe streets for kids, overcrowded classrooms, lack of parental involvement, lack of reading skills, broken administrative processes, system glitches, etc.)

So it is Brewer's job to take the input from the workers and customers (parents and kids) and make those changes/fix the system.

So now that we have a new Captain at the wheel (Admiral actually) we are going to have to wait and see what he does first, then evaluate his first round of decisions and actions and evaluate the results. So, I’m no fan of slamming on the brakes, switching drivers, and handing control over to the Mayor, who has his own set of systematic processes to overhaul.

If Dr. Deming were Brewer, he would make it known to all parents, students and teachers that transformation is on the way. One leader is now in charge of this transformation. And request input from all interested parties. Empower everyone on the job to use common sense and experience to do their best job, and let management know how they can help you do a better job/improve. For example, maybe the gym teacher suggests moving classes to after lunch, when the kids have more energy to burn, rather than right before lunch when they are ready to drop because no one eats a good breakfast. Or a principal that tells the teachers, "Hey no mid-term exams the day after American Idol finals. Kids won't study, and overall test scores will drop." (Based on what the teacher learned last year.)

Let common sense prevail, wherever legally possible. Knowledge comes from everyone within the system (it is called a school “system”), and if your ship is sinking, don’t ask what kind of life jacket they are throwing you.

For example, maybe the janitor can tell cafeteria not to serve a certain item anymore, because most of it is ending up in the trash. (The meal planner would never know, cause all of it was served. Or the parking lot attend who notifies the principal that the lights need to be replaced in the staff parking lot because kids shot them with a BB gun. (And the principal would never know because he leaves work before dark.) Kids know the problems; parents know the problems; teachers know the problems. Many of them have the solutions. Embrace your biggest assett, community input. (And I see Brewer doing that.)

Now, let’s look at some bigger picture solutions outside LAUSD’s job description that can help “fix” LAUSD.

So, a more immediate first thing that can be done to fix the school system starts at home. Parents need to accept responsibility and become active participants in their children’s lives. You can judge what a young kid says, and how they behave by the standards imposed on them by the parents. It’s tough to say “no” to your kids, when other parents say, “yes”, or don’t say anything at all, because the kids are left un-attended.

Too many parents think it is the schools and teachers job to instill dignity, respect and discilpine into their kids. BUT IT IS NOT. That is the parents’ job. The schools job is to educate kids. Help fix LAUSD by fixing your kids, so the school can do it's job. (Teach them how to read, write, add, etc.) Asking your kid, “How was school today? Did you do your homework?”, is not taking responsibility for your child’s eductation.

I know it’s tough to be a parent to your kid, these days. The high cost of housing, taxes and gas makes it hard to make ends meet, and both parents (if there are even both parents at home) have to work long hours, and travel through long traffic-jammed commutes, for not enough pay, at the end of the day.

And at the end of that day, It’s much easier to say, “yes”, than argue a long protracted battle over how late a kid can stay out, or how many hours they can use myspace, youtube, ipod, xbox, or even regular old TV. And it doesn’t help when other parents refuse to do a thing to help instill disipline, morals or standards in thier kids.

But you must rise to the challenge and be the leaders and role models in your kids’ lives. Parents, don't rely on the City to be your kids babysitters after school. Rely on each other. Spend more time talking to each other about after school activities. Do more for each other. Talk about what your kids are and are not allowed to say and do. Try and convince other parents to go along with the higher standard, so all the kids that play together lift each other up, instead of drag each other down.

So that's ONE thing the community can do to fix the schools (besides reducing classroom size, paying teachers more so we can recruit new ones, after school programs, safer streets and other things that are out of your control):

Take on more responsibility to do the job you asked for when you had a kid. Be a mentor -- to your own kids. You cannot leave the job of raising your kids and teaching them responisibity and values needed to keep them in school, graduating and productive members of society we need them to be to a school system. That’s not THEIR job, it’s YOURS. Take on the challenge. It will be almost as enriching and rewarding of an experience as myspace or YouTube.

There IS much for LAUSD to do as well, especially in the areas of management of quality and productivity as it related to operations and the administrative system itself. We'll cover some of that next. But the parents and kids have a long way to go before they can start pointing too many fingers at the system itself.

I have detailed a plan based on Dr. Deming's 14 points for methods of management of quality and productivity that should be applied at LAUSD to help eliminate the beuracrtatic waste that is costing this City billions of dollars and hindering student achievement. You can read the 14 point plan at www.zumadogg.blogspot.com (See "Interpreting Deming's 14 Points.")

Zuma Dogg
International Consultant, Methods for Management of Quality and Productivity