ABSTRACT
Historically, change in education has tended to focus on the school building or classroom, with little attention given to the impact that change might have outside the building. A district’s school board must have the same commitment to creating and maintaining Deming’s constancy of purpose as the superintendent. Change will also require the commitment of resources to build capacity. It will take money and time for training, practicing and problem-solving. Lacking the commitment to provide the necessary resources is analogous to building a wagon without wheels. School boards committed to change must be willing to provide the appropriate resources to move reform forward. Having the school board involved early will be a critical step toward sustaining a long-term commitment because leadership is often transitory. School boards need to adopt hiring criteria that include knowledge of Continuous Quality Improvement and a commitment to sustain the school system’s current quality initiative.
