On behalf of the Kentucky Department of Education, welcome to the Continuous Improvement for Gap Closure web pages. Within these pages are information, resources and tools designed to assist schools and districts in their efforts to reduce the number of students scoring below proficiency and improve overall student achievement.
Understand the Need behind Continuous Improvement
The Novice Reduction
for Gap Closure White Paper outlines the foundation of Kentucky's Continuous Improvement work, including the relevant statutes and regulations, and explains how the Key Work Processes for the Classroom were identified and selected to guide improvement efforts. In Appendix A of this document, there is a matrix that demonstrates the connection between the Key Core Processes, the Kentucky Framework for Teaching and the Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning (CHETL).
Purpose of the Key Core Work Processes
The Key Core Work Processes drive strategic decision-making and guide the development, refinement, and implementation of work systems within your organizations. To define the Key Core Work Processes, we refer to the definition of work systems as outlined in the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence Education. Work systems:
define how the organization's work is accomplished
include the internal work processes and external resources needed to develop and produce programs and services
support delivery of programs and services to student and other customers
ensure purposeful continuous improvement within the organization
Educational work systems involve your instructional team members, shareholders, community partners, and others with a vested interest in student achievement within schools, districts, and communities-at-large.
The Key Core Work Processes also serve as a framework for building the comprehensive school improvement plan (CSIP) and comprehensive district improvement plan (CDIP) for the organization. The work processes serve as the qualitative component of the needs assessment process and help schools and districts identify strategies to be deployed through the continuous improvement plan. Additional information is available in the Examination of Key Core Work Processes Protocol.
Utilizing the following tools will allow teams to purposefully engage with the key core processes and the strategies that support them.
Key Core Work Process (KCWP) Needs Assessments
Potential Activities Aligned to Key Core Work Processes