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| Solving the
dropout dilemma |
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started to take off about four years later when teacher Langford, on a
visit to Phoenix, Arizona, attended a business TQM meeting. He became convinced that the
same processes that had transformed Japan could transform a school. He persuaded Rocheleau
to attend a further seminar, and Mt. Edgecumbe has never been the same.
How do you summarize a school that has turned nearly
every other educational system upside down and inside out? Let's try:
 Teachers and students are all regarded as co-managers. They
set their own targets and goals, individually and collectively. And they evaluate
themselves regularly against agreed standards of excellence. There are no
"incompletes" and "F" grades at Edgecumbe. Each task is not complete
until it is regarded as meeting standards of excellence way above those ever achieved in
any school examination.
The first computer course begins by teaching speed typing. All
students do their homework on a computer, using word processors, spreadsheets and graphic
programs to produce 100 percent perfect results - just as their future businesses will
demand excellence in typing, spelling, accounting, financial and sales reports.
Collectively the school has identified its "internal"
customers (students, teachers, administrators and other staff) and its
"external" customers (universities and colleges, military, industrial and
service work force, homes and society in general).
All activities at the school have been planned in conjunction with
those "customers".
Students and staff have drawn up their own "mission
statement". Among many other points, it stresses that: "The school places high
expectations upon students, administrators and staff. Program and curriculum are based
upon a conviction that students have a great and often unrealized potential. The school
prepares students to make the transition to adulthood, helping them to determine what they
want to do and develop the skills and the self-confidence to accomplish their goals.
Students are required to pursue rigorous academic programs that encourage them to work at
their highest levels."3
The first week of school each year is used for building
self-esteem and quality training. Says a joint student-teacher report: "By
spending the first week focusing on why students attend school, they are ready to learn
and seem hungry to begin. We focus on reaching out to find out what you are truly capable
of accomplishing, not just getting it done."
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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