A strategic

planning tool, the Balanced Scorecard has been the subject of four articles

in the Harvard Business Review, two best-selling business books translated

into 21 languages and numerous case studies and public conferences.The

editors of Harvard Business Review identified the Balanced Scorecard as

one of the most significant ideas of the past 75 years.

While successfully

practiced in the business environment, the Balanced Scorecard is just

beginning to be adopted in the government sector.In the Fulton County

School System, the Balanced Scorecard provides the strategic framework

from which all decisions are made.It allows the system to apply business

practices to management.Objectives and performance measures are established

in five categories:student achievement, stakeholders, instructional and

administrative processes, staff learning and growth, and financial performance.

Members of

the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame have proven that they are strategy-focused

organizations that have achieved breakthrough results.In order to be selected

for the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame, the Fulton County School System

had to submit evidence of successfully following the principles of the

Balanced Scorecard, as outlined by creators Robert S. Kaplan and David

P. Norton.The system also had to show significant improvement as a result

of using the Balanced Scorecard.Drs. Kaplan and Norton personally select

Hall of Fame members.

Fulton County

Board of Education President Katie Reeves enthusiastically supports the

Balanced Scorecard approach."The Balanced Scorecard allows the Board

to identify items with the greatest potential for significant and immediate

impact on student achievement, as well as areas with significant room

for improvement," she said."It gives the Board the strategic

imperatives we need to direct our decision making.By annually reviewing

our targets, the Board and community receive an objective evaluation of

school system successes.We can easily see which objectives were met, and

which fell short.This is valuable as we seek not only to plan for the

future, but also to measure the past."