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Studer Year 2: Signs of progress

JANESVILLE — The Janesville School District is starting its second year of a new way of doing business. Staff calls it the Studer process.

Part of the process involves doing something that might not come natural to a boss: Listening to what employees have to say and striving to make those employees happy in their jobs.

That’s why the Studer process calls for regular surveys to gauge staff satisfaction. The district recently completed its second survey, and the results show improvement from the first one, done in spring 2008.

Most schools saw most of their ratings go up, but Jackson and Washington elementary schools saw lots of change in the negative direction.

Jackson Principal John Walczak is new this year, while Washington’s principal, Scott Garner, is in his second year, noted Superintendent Karen Schulte.

“What I liked about both of those principals is they didn’t make excuses for those numbers going down but dug in with their staffs right away” to find solutions, Schulte said. “I felt the principals took that very seriously.”

The surveys are not the only way principals are evaluated. They also must answer for test scores and truancy statistics, among other measures.

Parker High School, where Steve Schroeder replaced Dale Carlson as principal last fall, showed marked improvement on the survey.

“That tells me that possibly Parker is very happy with their new principal,” Schulte said.

Schulte noted the middle schools improved quite a bit, too.

“I see our middle school principals as really working together, learning together, and they’re just a really great team,” Schulte said.

Schulte also singled out Lincoln and Roosevelt as schools where the principals embraced the process and reaped improvements.

Schulte said she is not concerned about any of the principals’ dedication to improvement. And it’s too early in the process to discipline anyone for survey results, she said.

“I feel we’re all in this together. We’re all learning together and all striving hard to be high performers,” Schulte said.

That includes Principal Marlene Novota at Harrison Elementary, which had some of the lowest scores in last year’s staff survey.

For instance, Novota got a 2.88 last year for the question “My principal demonstrates genuine concern for my welfare.” That’s on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most positive.

This year, Novota got a 3.45 for that same question in the new survey.

A 3 is considered average. Schulte said the goal is to achieve a 4, with anything above that being exceptional.

Novota noted that Harrison improved in most of the other questions, too.

“That, to me, speaks volumes for us and that we’re heading in the right direction,” she said.

Novota said she has embraced the Studer techniques of sending out notes of praise and thanks and “rounding” with every staff member regularly.

Rounding means meeting with the employee and asking specific questions, such as: Who has done something lately that deserves praise? What’s working? What do you need to do your job?

Rounding keeps lines of communications open in both directions, Novota said.

Novota said she and her staff also have taken steps to make Harrison feel more like an extended family. For example, “good news boards” in the classrooms and in the teachers’ lounge allow students and teachers to announce positive things that happened in their lives.

The boards provide a sense of community, “so everybody is in tune with each other, not only in their professional life but in their personal life,” Novota said.

“I had a dance competition and got three golds!” one student posted on a board.

“I got a new dog,” another wrote.

Teachers also hold morning “community circles” that allow students to talk about anything that they need to express.

Teachers also have boards where they tell of good things their students are doing. One note posted in a hall said: “(Student’s name) has done a nice job of staying positive, even when facing a challenge.”

“I am very happy about it,” Novota said of the improved scores. “Harrison is a good school, a great place for me to be. We have great students, great parents, a lot of support.”

She added: “I’m not afraid of change because I think change means growth.”

Principals also fill out satisfaction surveys for all the departments, from food service to maintenance to student services. Department heads were required to discuss their scores with principals this year, to discuss ways to improve, Novota said.

Another staff survey is planned before school lets out in June, and a second parent-satisfaction survey also will be done this spring. State test scores are scheduled to be released this week.

Leadership scores

The Janesville School District staff satisfaction survey combines a series of questions to show how well each school does in “building leadership,” effectively giving an overall score to each principal. Here are the building leadership scores from the first survey in 2008 to the second one in 2009:

School 2008 2009

District 3.59 3.96

Elementary 3.66 3.96

Adams 4.15 4.44

Harrison 3.06 3.32

Jackson* 3.82 3.7

Jefferson** 3.53 3.89

Kennedy** 3.95 4.42

Lincoln 3.3 4.12

Madison** 3.37 3.55

Monroe 3.93 4.16

Roosevelt** 3.33 3.92

Van Buren 3.86 4.21

Washington 3.84 3.75

Wilson* 3.78 3.89

Middle 3.67 4.18

Edison 3.56 4.13

Franklin 3.67 4.08

Marshall* 3.78 4.31

High 3.25 3.79

Craig 3.55 3.7

Parker* 2.92 3.89

* Indicates a new principal since the first survey was taken.

** Indicates principals retiring in June.