Founded by Jack Grayson in 1977, the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) was backed by a powerhouse board of directors, including leaders from Fortune 1000 companies, union heads, and former senior government officials.  In 1983, Grayson started his journey to create the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and later was joined by many people and associations to help establish this Award.  Later, he and his staff created APQC's International Benchmarking Clearinghouse to help organizations identify and learn from best practices, both nationally and internationally. 

In 1996, Grayson created APQC's education initiative to help education institutions restructure academic and administrative processes by identifying, adapting, and implementing best practices found in all sectors including education, business, healthcare, and government.  The initiative focuses on benchmarking process improvement and innovation, quality improvement, knowledge management, use of data, knowledge sharing, and the transfer of best practices.  In 2005, APQC expanded its benchmarking efforts to improve K-12 education with a school district benchmarking project entitled  Process Improvement and Innovation in Education (PIIE).

After introducing the concept to a select group of educators and thought leaders in 2008, APQC Education officially launched North Star in early 2009, piloting the program in leading districts across the country.  The program was named to represent a universal guidance system and an inspiring goal that won't change over time.  Participating districts have already reported remarkable results.  The North Star approach using Process & Performance Management (PPM) Learning Collaborative is quickly gaining momentum as an effective and scalable methodology to transform our education system.

Did you know?

Districts using the North Star (PPM) approach have achieved dramatic results including:

• Overall energy savings of over $4 million
• Out-of-school suspensions reduced by 50%

 Learn more.

To find out how APQC's PPM plan could make a difference in your district, email Melanie at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 713-685-4647 or 800-776-9676 or click here for more information.