In an effort to improve the quality of instruction in its classrooms, the Los Alamos Public School District in New Mexico has adopted the Baldrige Award criteria. The Los Alamos Monitor reported the Baldrige Award criteria adoption has already been met with some success. The district’s main office has formed a Baldrige Leadership Team made up of representatives from the maintenance, transportation, custodial, warehouse, human resources, special education and administration departments. The team is currently performing a self-study.

The district’s Los Alamos Middle School and Mountain Elementary, which implemented Baldrige Award criteria before the district, have already won state awards for their improvements. Teacher workshops on how to use data to drive decision making for better instruction are part of other continual improvement efforts.

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