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To do this, the district's new superintendent plans to implement the Malcolm Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence, a program established by Congress in 1987 as a quality improvement program for business and industry and later expanded to include small business, education, service and health care.

Last year, President Bush signed into law legislation to expand the program to include non-profit and government organizations.

Participating organizations judged in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resources focus; process management; and results.

These criteria measure how effective a school district is at achieving excellence in performance, Wilson said.

"We will benchmark against these criteria as a way to move the organization forward," Wilson said. "The critical quality processes to help us meet these criteria must be embedded in our day-to-day operations and used in every aspect of our organization."

Education and health care were added to the program in 1999. Since then, 83 applications have been submitted in the education category. Elementary and secondary schools, and school districts are eligible. Baldridge awards are presented each year by the president.

Wilson also plans to build stronger ties between the district and municipality.

"The Mt. Lebanon municipality and school district are inextricably linked," he said. "A renowned, respected school system serves all residents and builds community pride."

It is important, he said, to get better as a school district.

"Everyone in the community benefits from having a top school system," Wilson said. "We know we have one here and we want to continue to set the highest criteria for performance."

Wilson said he plans to keep residents updated on performance of the district so that they can see that goals are being met.

"We need to report frequently on our overall performance and let the community know where we are," he said. "I want everyone to know about the good things we are doing. I know it's not always happy news and we have our challenges, but if we focus on our strategic plan, it gives us a clear road map of where this district is headed."

The strategic plan was approved March 21, district spokeswoman Cissy Bowman said. The plan, based on the Baldridge program, had input from staff, administrators, teachers, parents and residents, she said.

Wilson told the board last week that the strategic plan will tackle five major goals -- student learning targets, constituent satisfaction, employee development, alignment of support services, and fiscal responsibility.

"We will establish the indicators of success and track our progress on each," he said.

Wilson, 55, should have no problem getting acclimated to the job he was appointed to last week since he has been serving as acting superintendent for the past eight months. He was named acting superintendent after the district bought out the remaining 3 1/2 years of former superintendent Margery Sabel's contract last fall.

"He has demonstrated sound management of his staff and has shown this board that his vision for our district's initiatives, especially our new strategic plan and the quality process, is in sync with both the board and the community," school board president Carol Walton said.

Wilson received a three-year contract -- the minimum the state board of education allows -- that pays him $135,697 annually.

"I am very excited to have this opportunity to lead the district," Wilson said. "We have significant challenges facing us, but we also have a solid infrastructure that enables us to tackle those challenges. We have set high expectations for ourselves and have a solid plan for reaching those expectations."

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