How many of you have pursued the school improvement “magic elixir''?

The “magic elixir” has come in many forms across my more than two-decade career in education, and I suspect you’ll recognize its siren song even if you haven’t fallen prey yourself. It may have reared its head as a reading curriculum, an online tutoring platform, a revised organizational structure, or a new five-year strategic plan. You may have dabbled in all four of these areas—curriculum, online programs, human capital planning, and strategic initiatives—among many others. The attraction to these “magic elixirs” doesn’t seem to weaken, even when you recognize that there is no such thing.

The Lure

There is an urgency to improve America’s education system for good reason, especially in our nation’s most disadvantaged schools post-pandemic. Attendance rates and test scores were low prior to the pandemic shutdowns of 2020, but those outcomes have dropped considerably in many places, even after returning to in-person learning. These schools are often chronically stressed work environments, where of course it makes sense that educators are trying to latch on to any number of change ideas.

Unfortunately, these “magical” school improvement ideas are pursued at tremendous costs in the form of time, money, and energy. Too often in our attempts to improve schools, we go fast, learn slowly, and fail to appreciate what it takes to make some promising idea work in practice. Left in the never-ending wake of good intentions are educators with initiative fatigue. After many cycles of this type of improvement effort in both traditional public and public charter schools, the System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) caught my attention. 

Here’s why.

History’s Hidden Turning Points

A few years ago, I stumbled across a U.S. News & World Report cover story from 1991 entitled “History’s Hidden Turning Points,” which included a list of nine lesser-known but nonetheless world-changing events. The list included the mission of the Apostle Paul to spread Christianity during the first century A.D., the Great Black Death Plague of Europe starting in the mid-1300s, and Napoleon's conquest of Europe in the early 19th century. Among this list was W. Edwards Deming’s guiding of the economic and quality miracle that occurred in Japan beginning in 1950. The full list of these events is captured in the table below.

Table 1. History’s Hidden Turning Points

What was it exactly that put Deming on the list of historical turning points with such rarefied company? What was it that he did to guide the economic and quality miracle in Japan after World War II left the country devastated? These are the questions that drove me deep into the study of Dr. Deming and his System of Profound Knowledge. As an educator, I wanted to know if the System of Profound Knowledge could be applied to school improvement efforts to bring about a similar type of quality miracle. I’m thoroughly convinced that this is possible, and this conviction has put me on a years-long study of the Deming philosophy.

Understanding Profound Knowledge

The purpose of my next several posts is to discuss this philosophy. Next month, I’ll define the System of Profound Knowledge. In the subsequent summer months and into the early fall, I’ll provide an overview of each of its four components and examples for how the theory can be applied in schools. I’ll attempt to make the case that the System of Profound Knowledge is the map of theory educational systems leaders need to bring about breakthrough improvements in the schools they lead. Until then, you can learn more about the transformative impact profound knowledge has had on my own approach to school improvement here and here.

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John A. Dues is the Chief Learning Officer for United Schools Network, a nonprofit charter management organization that supports four public charter schools in Columbus, Ohio. Send feedback to jdues@unitedschoolsnetwork.org.