
DATE: Tuesday, April 1, 1997                TAG: 9704010222

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  132 lines

FOCUS ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT KOALATY KIDS RARE IN VIRGINIA - AND A PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL HAS THEM

When students at Churchland Academy Elementary drop notes into a school suggestion box, they're asking for bigger cookies, carpeted classrooms and more crazy-hat days.

As the suggestions are discussed, the students are learning about shared decision-making.

In agenda books similar to daily planners, the school's fourth- and fifth-graders are logging homework assignments and keeping track of personal accomplishments.

At the same time, they're learning time-management and goal-setting skills.

It's all part of an approach, called the Koalaty Kid program.

``Certain schools are selected to be Koalaty Kid schools,'' explained Brittany Evans, a fourth-grader. ``It's combined with the word quality, which starts with a `q,' and the koala bear, which is our symbol for the Koalaty Kid program.''

Churchland Academy, a public school, is one of only two schools in the state certified to participate in the program, which implements the tenets of total quality management.

In adopting total quality management, organizations plan and implement changes, measure results and reward success in an environment that stresses continuous improvement.

Churchland Academy became a Koalaty Kid School last spring after Claude Parent, formerly the school district's quality trainer, became the school's principal.

``In order for you to be a Koalaty Kid school, your staff has to go through quality training,'' which costs about $5,000, Parent said.

When Parent contacted the national organization that oversees Koalaty Kid, the Milwaukee-based American Society for Quality Control, he explained he was already a quality trainer for the school district. After the organization accepted Parent's credentials, Churchland Academy paid a small fee to become part of the Koalaty Kid Alliance.

Currently, there are 118 participants in the alliance, which includes schools in the United States, Canada, Colombia, India, Sweden, the Netherlands and Venezuela, said Crista Toensing, a Koalaty Kid assistant in Milwaukee. The only other Koalaty Kid school in Virginia is Robert E. Lee Elementary in Richmond.

Schools that adopt the program identify areas that need improvement, then work toward achieving their goals by establishing certain standards and communicating clear expectations to those involved.

One of Churchland Academy's goals, for example, is to reduce absenteeism. Last year, the school just met the state standard of 78 percent of the student body not missing more than 10 days of school. Since Churchland Academy implemented the Koalaty Kid Program this year, only 5 percent of its students have been absent more than 10 days.

``Part of it is we make a big deal about Koalaty Perfect Attendance,'' said Don Bradford, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade students. ``We announce the 100 percent classes every day. And the class that has the highest percentage for the month gets free ice cream from the cafeteria.''

In addition to recognizing students with perfect attendance, those who reach certain standards in reading, turning in class assignments and being organized are honored at an awards assembly held at the end of every nine-week grading period.

Students who meet ``Koalaty'' standards receive certificates and get their pictures taken. The pictures are placed on a bulletin board, dubbed the ``Koalaty Wall,'' in a main hallway of the school.

``The goals are to create an atmosphere where all the kids are enthusiastic about learning, they behave responsibly, they feel proud of themselves and their achievements, and they strive to meet high standards,'' said Larry Keith, chairman of the Tidewater section of the American Society for Quality Control, the school's sponsor.

Koalaty Kid attempts to apply the principles of continuous process improvement in a school atmosphere, Keith explained.

``It's always looking for ways to make things better, always looking for ways to improve the school,'' he said. ``Whether it's in appearance, whether it's in student attendance, discipline, grades or achievements. That's really what it's all about.''

Koalaty Kid schools depend on businesses, institutions and other organizations to provide expertise in quality management, funding for special needs and volunteers.

Churchland Academy's sponsors include groups from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Coast Guard and the Navy, BB&T Bank, Tidewater Community College, as well as the Tidewater section of the American Society for Quality Control.

A representative from BB&T Bank comes to the school every Thursday to take deposits from children who have opened their own savings accounts. The Coast Guard has adopted the school's fourth-graders and will be helping them in reading and math. Members of the Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity of Portsmouth are focusing on the needs of the school's second-, third- and fifth-graders.

``I'm trying to relate what's going to happen to them in the real world because when you get in the real world, you've got to do quality work,'' Parent said. ``The employer wants you to come to work on time, do the very best you can, and keep yourself organized. . . .

``The skills that they learn now, the behavior and the habits they learn in elementary school, they're going to take with them the rest of their lives.''

Fifth-grader Josh Lake, 10, is chairman of the Churchland Academy School Improvement Team, made up of five third- through fifth-graders who meet monthly to review student suggestions for improving the school.

``We talk about how kids can make the school better,'' Josh said.

He says he enjoys school a lot more since the Koalaty Kid program was introduced last April and fully implemented in September.

``Before, the students weren't really able to put in their suggestions,'' he said. ``They really didn't have a voice, and now they do.''

Students, however, aren't the only ones with a voice. Faculty, staff and parents have their own suggestion box in the main office. Visitors even receive a questionnaire that asks if they were treated with respect and how long they waited before being helped. The questionnaire also asks for comments and suggestions for improvement.

``We want to know about the services that we provide for you when you come in,'' Parent said. ``We want you to tell us about it so that we can improve.''

In a separate survey, parents were asked to evaluate the performance of the school by either agreeing or disagreeing with 32 statements dealing with everything from accessibility of the staff to providing well-balanced meals.

``We've sent this home several times and review it often,'' Parent said. ``We're constantly asking our customers, `Give us input. How can we improve?' The whole thing is about continuous improvement - how we can do better.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Diane Boone, 11, at left, listens in class at Churchland Academy to

a discussion of lead sentences by teacher Carolyn Thomas. Sitting in

on the lecture, in the background, is Principal Claude Parent.

Photo

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Brittany Evans, 9, a fourth-grader at Churchland Academy Elementary

School, joins her mother, Muriel Evans, in searching for her picture

among students who have earned certificates in the Koalaty Kid

program.