Department of Defense Education Activity

Why the Blueprint

A blueprint is an actionable plan that communicates and guides the work of all involved in a project. It is nimble and can be updated as the project develops and needs change. This is also true of our Blueprint, which serves as the foundation for all planning within DoDEA and directs our collective energies and resources as we strive to realize our Vision.

The Case for Continuous Improvement

Learning is an active process of discovery where we cultivate curiosity, perseverance, and the desire to learn. As a Core Value, DoDEA strives every day to foster a passion for lifelong learning in our students and employees.

The Blueprint for Continuous Improvement represents DoDEA’s next step as a learning organization. Continuous improvement is a research-based, ongoing process intended to increase overall effectiveness and make a positive, measurable impact on all stakeholders, primarily students, by focusing on and implementing three essential elements: learn and share, examine and plan, and act and evaluate. For DoDEA, this means setting and working towards ambitious goals, learning from our successes and challenges, and making improvements every day to benefit military-connected students.

Accurate and timely analysis of key data is essential to success of the Blueprint as a continuous improvement tool. DoDEA will use data to document progress towards each goal and update the strategic plan annually. As a result, the Blueprint will be flexible enough to adjust to the changing educational and DoD environments and enduring enough to drive DoDEA to fulfill its Vision. The systemic use of data to inform decision making will lead to greater transparency and organizational accountability. DoDEA’s progress towards each goal and Strategic Initiative will be closely monitored and published annually. As DoDEA learns from our data, we will act and share what we have found.

DoDEA has experienced a great deal of change over the last several years both through our shift to a standards-based educational system and through significant changes to our structure. As a result of those changes, DoDEA is now positioned with the structure and capacity to capitalize on a number of exciting opportunities for students. However, thoughtful and productive change takes time and can only be accomplished through deliberate steps towards excellence. DoDEA must constantly endeavor to improve as we develop and educate students to succeed in a dynamic world.