D 49 Up For National Award : Baldrige Foundation | Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee

March 6, 2026

D 49 Up For National Award

byThe New Falcon Herald

El Paso County School District news release Feb. 23

School District 49 is on a short list of organizations selected for Best Practice Spotlight recognition in its pursuit of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The honor acknowledges exemplary practices demonstrated by award applicants that can serve as role models for other organizations.

Baldrige examiners commend D49 for its 49 Voices system, an integrated approach that combines the Voice of the Student, Voice of the Parent and Voice of the Workforce to enhance communication, build trust, and inform strategic decision-making.

Peter Hilts, D49 Superintendent observed, “Our district’s improvement in school performance, choice enrollment, and stakeholder satisfaction is undeniable, and it is no coincidence that virtually all of our successful initiatives began with an idea expressed during one of hundreds of listening sessions. 49 Voices are driving stakeholder approval and helping us meet our commitment to make District 49 The Best Choice to Learn, Work, and Lead.

The 2025 Best Practice Spotlight honorees are:

School District 49 — Education

Mary Greeley Medical Center (IA)—Healthcare

Meritus Medical Center (MD)—Healthcare

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas (TX)—Nonprofit

A small team from D49 will represent the district at the Quest for Excellence Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in the spring of 2026. District leaders will also serve as presenters for the conference, where Baldrige Award recipients and other leading organizations share best practices and innovations that can help any organization improve.

Established in 1987, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award promotes the adoption of leadership-driven, customer-focused quality management systems to enhance organizational performance and sustainability.

Over the decades, the program has expanded to recognize organizations of all types that achieve excellence across their operations and commit to sharing their best practices to help others improve. NIST renewed the program in 2024 to focus on identifying and recognizing organizations that are role models of resilience and long-term success.

The program has fostered the adoption of proven leadership, management and operational best practices, and supported a global community that values people, organizational learning, continuous improvement and striving for sustained excellence.

Editor’s note: In February 2026, The New Falcon Herald published Part 1 of the charter school series, which included basic information about D 49’s charter schools and curriculum. This is a follow-up article describing the history of charter schools in Colorado and D 49.

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Baldrige Excellence Framework

Overview: Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee

The Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee is a formally convened body of recognized experts, recipients, examiners, and sector representatives charged with maintaining the technical integrity, precision, and consistency of the Baldrige Excellence Framework as a globally recognized standard of excellence.

Operating under the authority of the Baldrige Foundation Board of Directors, and with the approval of the U.S. Department of Commerce, this Advisory Committee, guided by its Chair, ensures that the Framework continues to reflect the highest standards of systems thinking, organizational assessment, and performance excellence, which will allow organizations and communities to improve their performance, achieve results, and sustain excellence.

The Committee’s purpose is to:

Preserve and validate the technical accuracy of the Framework’s concepts, criteria, and structure.
Advise the Foundation on proposed revisions, updates, cross-sector adaptations, and the development of additional tools and resources.
Ensure consistency across versions and sectors, maintaining the Framework’s unity, integration, and interpretive reliability.
Provide expert recommendations regarding emerging practices, data requirements, and alignment with related industry-recognized standards.
Safeguard the integrity of the Baldrige model as a trusted national and global standard.
Partner with others in the Baldrige ecosystem to coordinate a relationship between the Baldrige Excellence Framework and the Baldrige Award Criteria that is based on consistency, logic, and harmony to benefit user groups such as Applicants.

Membership in the Committee represents a professional distinction and reflects deep expertise in applying, teaching, or advancing the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Members serve as the technical stewards of the nation’s standard for organizational excellence. The term of a committee member is one (1) year and is renewable by invitation only.

Baldrige Framework National Technical Committee Listing

Role	Name	Title	Company
Chair	Denise Shields	Board Chair	California Council for Excellence
Officer / Ex-Officio	Josh Racette	President & CEO	Baldrige Foundation
Member	Dawn Bailey	Program Manager / Senior Technical Writer and Editor	Baldrige Executive Fellows Program / Forensic Building Science, Inc.
Member	Margot Hoffman	President & CEO / Board Chair	The Partnership for Excellence / Alliance for Performance Excellence
Member	Jan Johnson	President & CEO	Jordan Johnson, Inc.
Member	Cindy Milrany	Chief Strategy Officer/Chief Administrative Officer	Freese & Nichols
Member	Urvi Patel	Senior Director - Quality and Programs	American Health Care Association
Member	JoAnn Sternke	Founder	Leader Excellence
Committee Advisor	Bob Fangmeyer	Program Director	Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Committee Advisor	Harry Hertz	Director Emeritus - retired	Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Committee Advisor	Brian Lassiter	President & CEO	Alliance for Performance Excellence

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