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NEA KEYS

Letter from the President

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to NEA’s Keys to Excellence for Your School (KEYS) continuous school improvement program. This site is dedicated to educators – like yourselves – who are interested in creating high-performing schools. Your Association is eager to be a partner in this quest.

KEYS is researched-based, field-tested, and data-driven. Explore this newly enhanced program called KEYS 2.0 and learn how this program can close the achievement gaps; create opportunities that encourage and promote Association-district partnerships; and help schools build internal capacity for self-assessment and continuous school improvement.

The KEYS school reform initiative begins with a survey that reveals the strengths and opportunities for improvement in a participating school. Data from the survey indicate where a school stands on some 42 indicators that research has shown correlates with a high-performing school.  The survey takers are kept anonymous.  And because the data belong to the Association, results cannot be released without Association approval.

KEYS’ distinct advantage over other school improvement programs is that KEYS is non-prescriptive. KEYS allows school and district stakeholders to decide what action to take based on survey results and their own priorities. KEYS is a systemic approach to school reform, and a tool that supports ongoing Baldrige and Baldrige-like continuous school improvement efforts, including accreditation. 

KEYS empowers educators to become decision-makers in partnership with school administrators and the rest of the school community. But to be successful, KEYS demands commitment from all stakeholders in the school improvement process.
The KEYS website offers what you need to implement the KEYS school improvement program, including:

  • resources that can complement your school improvement effort if you already have another program in place; 
  • downloadable KEYS materials (i.e., KEYS brochure, KEYS Action Guide, Facilitator’s Guide, school sign-in procedure, etc.);
  • surveys in English and Spanish;
  • survey reports for schools and for districts when multiple schools from the same district participate in the survey; and
  • 24/7 technical support.


KEYS is your dues dollars at work. Introduce this program to your school or district and witness NEA’s commitment to school improvement in action. I hope you will take the steps to begin the journey to improving public education in your community!

Sincerely,

Dennis Van Roekel, President
National Education Association

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