Richmond County became the second school system in Georgia to develop a balanced scorecard system and post it online for the public to view.
"This is really going to be wonderful when we talk about continuous improvement," Joslyn Fields, the professional learning school improvement coordinator, said Tuesday during school board committee meetings.
The scorecard is a strategic plan outlining the school system's goals, the specific measures each department must meet to achieve those goals and who is responsible for that progress. For example, the scorecard lists the school system's test results alongside the specific benchmark the school system aims to meet.
The scorecard lists goals for each department within the school system with the same specificity.
The scorecards allow the public to monitor the school system's progress, Superintendent Dana Bedden said after the meetings, adding that such scorecards are popular in business.
"If people don't think you're going to monitor it, what happens?" Dr. Bedden asked.
Goals are met when everyone knows they're being monitored for progress, he said.
When asked how the school system operated previously, Dr. Bedden said he didn't know.
"Schools did their thing," he said. "Departments did their thing."
There was no coordination and no way to ensure progress was being made, the superintendent said.
Mrs. Fields said the strategic plan completed Tuesday reflects years of work. It went online about 11:20 a.m. Tuesday.
"Not only can we access this, but the public can access this," she said.
The scorecard can be accessed by going to the Web site, www.rcboe.org, and clicking on the school board section. Click on eBoard, and the balanced scorecard is listed under the strategic plan tab. It is listed as "RCSS 2010."
"I think it's just a wonderful achievement," board member Helen Minchew said. "I just think we sort of arrived."
Richmond County is second only to the Forsyth County school system, Mrs. Fields said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
A school board committee recommended delaying the move of the students housed at Bungalow Road Alternative School to what will be the Tubman Education Center. The one-year delay would allow renovations at Tubman to be expedited and cause fewer distractions to classes. The strings program, which was already moved, would remain at Tubman.
Comments
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
