THE CHASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Chaska School District in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become a model for educational reform.

In 1986, Chaska was trying to recover from a long and bitter teacher's strike. A new superintendent, Dr. Carol Ericson, had just been hired. Dr. Ericson knew that teachers needed to feel empowered, and to have their obstacles to teaching students and improving learner outcomes removed.

Tor Dahl & Associates was hired with funding provided by the Cray Research Foundation and the First Bank System Foundation.

The most articulate, outstanding teachers and students were selected by their peers to be interviewed. This created a data base of several hundred years of performance histories which provided the foundation for a customized survey for the school district. The insight gained from the interviews and survey helped the district focus on some key priorities with the backing and buy-in from teachers and key stakeholders. Workshops tailored to the specific challenges within the district were then held. This enabled teachers and others to develop specific recommendations for dramatic breakthroughs in education. The data also revealed a 68.1% productivity improvement potential for the Chaska teachers, indicating that there would be significant benefits from implementing the proposed recommendations.

This entire process was conducted by Tor Dahl & Associates over a period of nine months. The recommended changes are being addressed by task forces, headed by a steering committee. Many changes occurred immediately; others are part of a longterm, continuous improvement process. The following results were achieved:

• The schools in Chaska found cost effective and innovative ways to provide vital small group instruction, including the use of para-professionals.
• Implementation of innovative management techniques (such as Sitebased Management) put authority and decision-making in the hands of those closest to the learners, including parents in a cooperative effort.
• In 1990 Chaska received the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching Award from the University of Minnesota.
• The National Education Association awarded grants to four U.S. model districts. Chaska was one of those recipients.
• Norwegian educational experts decided to develop ten pilot sites in Norway to implement the Chaska change process.

Superintendent Dr. Carol Ericson presented the Chaska change model at the World Confederation of Productivity Science 6th World Productivity Congress in Montreal, Canada in 1988.

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