Page 114 - Superintendent Report 2023-24

Lean Six Sigma

As part of the District’s continuous improvement journey, the Division of Performance Accountability
offered employees training and certification in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) during the FY23 school year. The LSS
certification has been widely regarded in the business space for decades and has recently been adopted by
leading school districts nationwide, including sister counties, Orange and Broward. Lean Six Sigma seeks
to improve operational performance by eliminating resource waste and defects. It combines Six Sigma
methods and tools with the lean manufacturing/lean enterprise philosophy.

The training builds a continuous improvement mindset throughout the organization by gathering the customer’s voice,
managing data and metrics, and empowering individuals and teams to own and improve their work. All employees can attain
yellow belt certification, which provides an overview of concepts central to Lean Six Sigma. The green belt training is an in-
depth course that develops candidates into improvement project facilitators and employee coaches. The implementation
of an 18-month, results-based improvement project is required for certification.

What began as a capacity-building initiative in Human Resources quickly spread to other departments. More than 700
District employees have been trained in Lean Six Sigma. In FY23, the bi-monthly Lean Six Sigma Innovation Labs continued.
This interactive Google Meet is where all existing LSS-trained staff meet to continue learning and discussing root causes,
process maps, and more. These LSS Labs are well-attended, recorded, and archived for continuous learning.

School District of Palm Beach County Lean Six Sigma belt pyramid

114 // Superintendent Annual Report 2022 - 2023