Key Themes

Definition:

A perception or observation that recurs and is expanded upon throughout the scorebook.

Features:

Key themes

·     are high-level strengths or opportunities for improvement comments

·     are relevant to the applicant's key factors

·     are often common (cross-cutting) to more than one Item/Category or are of such significance they emerge from one Item

·     must be traceable to comments found in the Item Worksheets

·     are significant in terms of the applicant's key factors

·     may address a Core Value of the Criteria

·     summarize how well an applicant has addressed the Criteria requirements serve as an Executive Summary

Where to look for key themes:

For key themes related to Process Items, the A-D-L-I evaluation factors are a for good starting point. Several examples follow.

·     Which approaches are sound and systematic?

·     What approaches are well-deployed (or not) throughout the organization?

·     Does the applicant demonstrate organizational learning across the board? If so, where?

·     is there linkage between and among processes? Where?

For key themes related to Results Items, the results evaluation factors are a good starting point to use in determining commonality or themes across all Results Items.

·     Are results trending consistently either up or down? If results are tracked over time, are they sustained?

·     How do results compare to competitors or best-in-class organizations?

·     Are there adequate comparisons provided?

·     To what extent are results segmented to reflect important customer, product and service, market, process, and action plan performance requirements identified in the Organizational Profile and in Process Items [Categories 1-6].

Core Values may also serve as a source for key themes, when examples can be identified from Item Comments.

·     Are there core values for the sector reflected in the Item Comments (e.g., visionary leadership, management by fact)?

Customers:

Applicants

·     The Key Themes worksheet may be the only document reviewed and used by senior leaders for acknowledging best practices and focusing improvement efforts.

Judges

·     During stage 3, Judges use the Key Themes worksheet to develop an overall understanding of each applicant and to distinguish role model practices and key vulnerabilities.

Examiners

·     During each stage of the Award process, Examiners use the key themes to develop a shared understanding of the applicant. Key themes are often used to organize and focus the consensus review and site visit.

Example:

Sandy Hill School District uses a systematic Strategic Planning Process (SPP) that is aligned and well integrated with its performance excellence approaches in key areas (e.g., its leadership system, process design and management approaches, and faculty- and staff focused processes) and includes input from a variety of sources (e.g., student achievement data and performance reviews). The school board, senior leaders, faculty, and staff participate in the development and deployment of action plans, which are delineated at the district and school levels. The alignment and integration evident in the SPP may help the district maintain its focus on the future.

This is a key theme because it describes a sound, systematic process that is important, well-deployed throughout the organization, integrated, or in harmony with other approaches as it includes inputs from key sources at a variety of levels across other Categories, and is linked to a core value—focus on the future.

Non-example:

Although Sandy Hill School District has a Culture Change Process to nurture an environment conducive to student and district excellence, it is not clear how this process creates an environment that fosters and requires legal and ethical behavior. This may be particularly important to the district, given the highly regulated environment described in its Organizational Profile.

This is not a key theme because, although it is important to the applicant, it articulates only one of the multiple requirements of Item 1.1. In addition, it would typically not rate a - -. The only instance that an Item level comment such as this would rise to the level of a key theme would be if this issue had been mentioned multiple times in other Categories or if for example, a major ethical violation could have been attributed to the organizational environment.