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Schools set lofty goals

JANESVILLE — Janesville's public schools—the best in Wisconsin, a model for the whole country.

Impossible?

School board members and the superintendent dare to hope that they can make it happen.

Their hopes are based on a management process, tried in a few schools but never in an entire school district. In fact, the process was invented not for schools but for hospitals.

Studer Group of Pensacola, Fla., has had nationally recognized success in improving health-care organizations. Now, it's branching out to schools, and Janesville is its prime testing ground.

Studer Group's CEO, former Janesville resident Quint Studer, is providing the theories, expertise and its staff time, not to mention air fare and lodging, to train Janesville school leaders. All free of charge.

The goal: Make Janesville a showcase for school improvement.

The process got under way last spring. Most teachers and other staff started to feel the effects this fall.

"There's been a shift of mindset. The all-consuming focus is to focus energies on improving student achievement, reducing student absences and increasing satisfaction of parents and staff," said Superintendent Tom Evert.

"It's shaken our routine," Evert said. "It's moved us from a comfort level to an adventure level. The adrenline is flowing, and we're fired up to get improved results, as opposed to business as usual."

The Studer process is designed to improve quality and customer service. The idea is to establish a system that runs like the Energizer Bunny and fosters continual improvement.

It will take time for the system to fully take hold, and while Evert and others expect some improvements in the near term, they expect its full effects to kick in after three years.

"It is a marathon not a sprint process," Studer said.

Accountability

A key part of the system is to hold leaders accountable not only for results but for the satisfaction of their employees and customers.

In Janesville, that means the superintendent, principals and other officials are being evaluated on the basis of the goals. Student achievement, truancy, and the satisfaction of parents and employees are the main goals. The evaluation won't just be the opinion of that person's supervisor. It'll be based on data.

Remember when your teacher said your assignments would count for 30 percent of your grade, class participation for 20 percent and tests 50 percent? That's similar to a Studer evaluation.

Each principal or other manager has a Leadership Evaluation Manager. The LEM is a form that spells out the percentages that make up that person's final grade. The LEM specifies which goals count for how many points, leading to a final score.

Goals are measured with data such as test scores, truancy rates, staff turnover rates, financial goals and survey data. The surveys are aimed at showing how well parents and staff are satisfied with the principal's or superintendent's leadership.

For example, Craig High School Principal Mike Kuehne's LEM for this year stresses test scores as more important that Craig's truancy rate. Each counts for a portion Kuehne's final grade.

Evert's LEM stresses state test scores, as well as improving staff satisfaction and meeting budget goals.

Key points: Each manager is evaluated with the same system, and each evaluation is based on data, not on someone's personal preference or subjective impression.

Someday—maybe—teachers and other staff will be a held accountable in the same way. That has yet to be worked out, and union contracts would have to be changed, said Bill Sodemann, a school board member who has been closely involved in the process for the past year.

Sodemann is hopeful teachers would agree to change the work rules.

Teachers are on the district's Studer steering committee, and so far, they have been supportive, Sodemann said.

Changing the work rules is a bridge yet to be crossed, said teacher Jennifer Fanning, who sits on the steering committee.

"I can't say definitely one way or another," Fanning said.

Fanning said performance on the LEMs has not been tied to salaries, yet, but she said that's not necessary for it to work.

"As educators, we have high standards for ourselves, and the evaluation tool itself is a huge motivator," she said.

Evert said he won't tie performance to principals' salaries this year. "But that is coming, for sure."

The first surveys—of parents and staff—were sent out last spring. Principals shared the results with their staffs this fall so everyone was aware of what needs to be improved.

The first surveys are baseline data, officials stressed. They are a starting point from which to measure improvement, or lack of improvement, on future surveys. The next staff survey is scheduled for February.

'Common sense'

Why will this process work where so many other attempts have done little to change Janesville's middling test scores, for example?

One answer is that principals know from the outset that they will be evaluated each year based on specific measures.

Officials hope the Studer process will result in one of the best school districts in the state, or even the country.

Fanning holds that hope in part because it will attract the best teachers: "Who wouldn't want to come work at a place where everyone is valued for the work they do, are held to high standards, and you can count on the people you're working with, and have student achievement held at the forefront? Can you imagine who will come to Janesville?

"Then think about students: Who wouldn't want be in a classroom where the teacher feels passionate about what she is doing?"

Sodemann is equally as upbeat. He compares the process to a teacher telling students that "this will be on the test." That's when students pay attention, he said, and principals now know exactly what will be on their tests.

"It's not a magic recipe. It's just common-sense things to do to make sure we're getting the best out of our people," Sodemann said.

"I'm optimistic because it's a hands-on, results-oriented model," Evert said. "It's tangible. It increases communications. It sparks debate. It's a lot of hard work...

"In five or 10 years, we're going to be somewhere, so why not try this model and push ourselves to get it done?"

STUDER PRINCIPLES

The Studer management principles that the Janesville School District has adopted involve a variety of techniques and principles. Here are some of what's going on:

-- Employee input is more important, especially in the selecting new managers. This increased participation was put in place when the district hired new principals earlier this year, officials said.

-- Ideas that work are identified for use throughout the organization. For example, Wilson School greatly improved attendance this year through an incentive program. Officials are looking to adapt the idea for use around the district.

-- Leadership Development Institutes, all paid for by Studer Group, are continuing to spread the Studer gospel among district managers.

-- All new employees are interviewed at 30 and 90 days into their jobs to find out how satisfied they are with their jobs. That information is used to find ways to recruit quality employees in the future.

-- Pillars, which identify the district's overarching principles, have become part of everyday district business. The pillars are named people, service, quality, growth, finance and health & safety.