Quality Education ---> Kalamazoo Promise "Kids get free ride to college" Updated 6/4/06

11/12/05

Kalamazoo - Wow, donors who wish to remain anonymous have set up a fund where all public students will be able to go to a Michigan College Free.

The "Joy of Learning" will be available in this community and felt much wider by a few individuals who have the knowledge to know that this gift will be the best one ever received by most of these children.

Congrats --> DONORS - Hopefully others will see the wisdom of your ways and the foresight of your vision.

PROGRAM TITLE
The Kalamazoo Promise - Kept exclusively at the Kalamazoo Public Schools
INTENT
To provide each Kalamazoo Public School graduate with
the opportunity to attend post - secondary education with up to a 100% tuition scholarship.
ELIGIBILITY
All students who graduate from KPS, are residing in the district, and have been KPS students four years or more.

QUALIFICATIONS
1. A graduate of a Kalamazoo Public Schools' high school.( Kalamazoo Central High School , Loy Norrix High School or Phoenix High School )
2. Admitted to and enrolled at any publicState of Michigan University or Community College.
a. Making regular progress toward a degree or certification.
b. Must maintain a 2.0 grade point average at the post-secondary institution.
TERMS OF SCHOLARSHIP
Four years from graduating date unless interrupted for military service and successfully completing at least
12 hours each semester
ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS
Any public State of Michigan University or Community College.
EXTENT OF BENEFITS
The tuition benefit will be graduated on the basis of length of attendance in the Kalamazoo Public School system.

Length of Attendance Benefit
K-12 .......................100%
1-12 ........................95%
2-12 ........................95%
3-12 ........................95%
4-12 ........................90%
5-12 ........................85%
6-12 ........................80%
7-12 ........................75%
8-12 ........................70%
9-12 ........................65%
10-12 .....................None
11-12 .....................None
12-12 .....................None

ADMINISTRATION
More information about the administration of the program will be made available by January 24, 2006 .
© 2005 Kalamazoo Promise all rights reserved.

UPDATED 6/4/06 - Follow-Up Story

Kalamazoo a city where a quarter of the 77,000 residents live in poverty now feels revitalized.
"We really were in a crisis before the promise," Kalamazoo Mayor Hannah McKinney said.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/NEWS06/606040652

"Total Quality System" What Does It Stand For? ---> Customers, Systems Optimization, One Team & Foundational Elements

Enjoy!

Click To Enlarge "TQS" Pictures

developed by qualityg

Customers (5/8/06)

PTM = Process & Technical Management (qg)

5/14/06 - Systems Optimization

Update - 5/19/06 - ONE TEAM

Updated 5/25/06 - "TQS Foundational Elements"

I hope you can use all or parts of my Total Quality Systems Model - qualityg

Department of Justice (DOJ) - Is Leadership "JUST" to the People or just to Shareholders (i.e., Cess, I mean Whirlpool)

qualityg asks … I often wonder if the Leadership at the Department of Justice (DOJ) is very “Just” in their decisions when it comes to Mergers & Acquisitions?

I wrote this post in the last week of March of this year (2006).

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after the Department announced the closing of its investigation of the proposed acquisition by Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) of Maytag Corporation (Maytag). Thousands of jobs to be lost.“ After thoroughly investigating Whirlpool’s proposed acquisition of Maytag, the Division determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to reduce competition substantially. The combination of strong rival suppliers with the ability to expand sales significantly and large cost savings and other efficiencies that Whirlpool appears likely to achieve indicates that this transaction is not likely to harm consumer welfare.

5/10/06 - HEADLINES


Whirl (Cess)pool to Eliminate 4,500 Jobs by Closing 3 Plants Following Its Acquisition of Rival Maytag


Federal antitrust regulators raised no objection to the combination.
The cuts represent about 5.6 percent of Whirlpool's current work force of about 80,000 employees. But Whirlpool said it will add about 1,500 jobs, many at two Ohio plants, reducing the net loss of jobs to 3,000 positions, or 3.8 percent of its work force.



The DOJ says The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice says sound antitrust enforcement is vital to America's economic health. American consumers benefit from the kind of free-market economy that antitrust enforcement engenders. Protecting against anticompetitive actions, including anticompetitive mergers, helps consumers obtain more innovative, high-quality goods and services at lower prices, and enhances the worldwide competitiveness of American businesses by promoting healthy rivalry, encouraging efficiency, and ensuring a full measure of opportunity for all competitors.

Our focus as antitrust enforcers in reviewing mergers is always on whether a particular merger will hurt consumers by raising prices, reducing quality or limiting innovation. While most mergers either are competitively neutral or beneficial for competition and consumers, there can be no doubt that there are some anticompetitive mergers proposed that would endanger choice, innovation and low prices, and these mergers should and must be prevented.

qualityg says … your focus also needs to include the “PEOPLE” and the “COMMUNITIES” affected by the M/A.

"The loss of jobs in this community will not be easy to swallow (Whirlpool/Maytag Merger), which is why we must begin acting right now to support this community and its workers during their difficult transition period," Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

No sir, your job was to prevent this from ever happening and making sure if it did go through your people would be protected.


People who lose their jobs at places like Lucent, Maytag and AT&T (prior to them Ameritech, prior to Ameritech--> PacBell) no longer pay taxes; they draw unemployment (whoops I forgot those dollars get taxed too).

I’m not going to go into the rising crime rates and suffering that it causes families. I’m just going to say:

Department of Justice – "Please Wise-Up" until you look at the end-to-end system when it comes to your reasons for granting M/As, include dollars lost to families, educations, communities, unemployment, welfare, crime, etc... These costs are unknowlable which = Disaster in both short and long term health of our nation.

Simple Survey Steps with Good Results

Last week I had two separate conversations (educational & business) about developing surveys that actually get information that can be useful and not waste the responder’s time.

Please use the following guidelines to collect data from internal or external customers (educational/business) to do one or more of the following:

· Verify the team is working on the right theme or problem statement.
· Measure customer satisfaction levels to determine a quality indicator, set goals or to
measure whether change has occurred.
· Collect data on probable causes/barriers.
· Collect data on possible countermeasures/solutions.

TYPES:
· Written for Distribution
· Internet
· Telephone
· Mail
· Email
· Focus Groups

GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING SURVEYS:

Warning! Surveys can be very time consuming for your customers/participants and yourselves. If you are unable to follow the guidelines for conducting surveys, you may do more harm than good with your customers. If you do not know how you will use the information or data do not ask the question.

Please don't make it confusing or difficult, if you can't understand the question throw it out.

Here are the Simple Steps:

Step 1 - Objectives
Define the purpose, determine what data you want (checklist) and why you are collecting it. If you are unable to determine in advance how you intend to use the
data when you receive it, Stop!

Step 2 - Sample
Identify who and how many (use statistically accepted method,) to interview (target audience) and choose a method (i.e. random) for selecting participants.

Step 3 - Method
Determine what to ask. Talk to small portion of your target audience (one on one,
focus group) and develop questions (method) from their input.

Step 4 – Questionnaire/Survey
Outline appropriate instruments (i.e.; form, survey, checksheet) for screening and
data collection.

Step 5 – Pretest
Prepare plan to pilot the survey to ensure you’re getting the correct information/data that you need to make inferences/conclusions.

Step 6 – Field/Location
Prepare plan and schedule date(s) and location(s) for collecting and processing information/data.

Step 7 – Analysis
Select appropriate techniques/tools (i.e.; checksheet, graphs, charts) for analyzing
and interpreting the information/data.

Step 8 – Report
Prepare plan for final documentation and determine how you will report survey results. Make sure you do a gesture of thanks to respondents if applicable.

Quality Education --> Math & Science vs Heart & Lungs - They are all losers without the rest of the system - HuH?

Math & Science Go Together Like Heart & Lungs

I’m really tired of reading and hearing about how bad this problem is in our educational system. I have written about this before and I will continue to write about this subject until someone in our education system comes to terms with the fact that we will create another disaster in leadership like we do with thinking MBAs are the answer to our leadership and management system in American Business (WRONG).

Let me try to explain, Math and Science are important to the educational system just like the Heart and Lungs are to the human system. HOWEVER, they are only parts (yes major) of the system. Independently they will fail and cannot survive.

The Heart & Lungs must be part of the overall human system or they are useless unless they can pump blood and air to other vital organs within the human body.

Math and Science are no different to the educational system. Alone or together they will not round out or complete what it means and takes to be a functional member of society. History, Geography, Civics, Language Literacy, Music, Arts, Physical Fitness … must also be included for a person to survive in what we call the human race.

We tend to go overboard when we lack in a certain area, unfortunately by the time we find out we are way behind. Putting all you eggs in one basket will not solve the problem going forward. Will somebody please look at problems in a systemic manner?

State Warns Colleges They Better Shape Up Fast

I love it when people in authority like CEOs and in this case State Education Superintendents declare and pontificate that things and people get better because they said so.

In Michigan, Mr. Flanagan who has been in office less than a year said if colleges don’t start certifying better teachers fast he is going to set up a “RATING” system by June of this year. What he failed to mention is that ratings's evil twin “RANKING” will also go with this ridiculous declaration.

Mr. Flanagan, business and education have been trying to set up rating and raking systems for decades and they all fail, so how are you going to do it by June.

To prove this point I went out yesterday in my backyard and yelled at my new trees I recently planted to get stronger, healthier and taller by June or I will rate you and cut down those that don’t heed my commands.

The wind suddenly picked up and blew through the older trees and said “ What an idiot, do you know nothing about care taking, cultivating, leadership and growth?”