Accountability in education is about taking actions to improve student performance and using data to evaluate outcomes and make decisions. Every adult in the district is expected to contribute. But determining how non-instructional activities can impact student achievement often poses a challenge. Gee Kin Chou, the president of ViKiwi, has suggested that a simple and tangible way for adults responsible for non-instructional activities to contribute is increasing the efficiency of their own work to free up funds for the classroom, and delivering a level of customer service that allows teachers and administrators to focus on student achievement. He explains that in general, 20-40% of a district's budget is spent on activities other than instruction. "Every dollar saved can be shifted to the classroom to make budget cuts less painful for students." And "issues like...inefficient bureaucracies distract urban school superintendents from focusing on student achievement."1
Chou continues: "While there is no magic target, reducing the percentage of the district budget spent on non-instructional activities while improving service quality should be a strategic goal of every district. But prevailing processes and systems often make it difficult to achieve this goal. Oral communications are often misunderstood, cannot be verified, and are easily ignored. And email has hit its limits: messages disappear from the screen whether the work has been completed or not, users have to keep sending more emails to find out what's going on, and there is no clear record of what's been done."
SchoolMeasures™ , ViKiwi's free list management technology, can help address these specific issues. SchoolMeasures drives follow-through and increases accountability because everything is written down and visible to stakeholders. Tasks and responsibilities are clear. Everyone knows what was requested, what has been done,and who is responsible for the next step. Performance management data are automatically generated so managers and staff always have good data to make smart decisions. And the collaborative capabilities of SchoolMeasures facilitate discussions and teamwork across organizational boundaries.
Chou suggests, particularly with constant budget pressures, it is imperative that districts implement accountability initiatives that combine process improvements, technology and cultural shifts to reduce the percentage of the district budget spent on non-instructional activities while improving service quality, and increase funds available to help raise student achievement.
