District Staff Survey 2008-09
Executive Summary from Quint Studer
February 21, 2009
Dr. Schulte;
I have reviewed the staff survey results generated by Paul Fredrick’s company. While the results are not totally complete, Paul assures me they are close and he will finish up all work over next week or so. I will be able to provide results for the group on February 28, 2009 at the session. I am confident there will not be any major adjustments.
Overall the school results show great improvement since the fall 2008 survey. In the last 5 months it is apparent some heavy lifting is taking place. In fact in grades pre k to 12 there is improvement in every single question. Over 1,000 staff completed the survey which provides valid results.
I feel it will take three years to get all schools up to the desired levels of high performance in staff satisfaction so there is still variance at the elementary level but far less than the first survey. All the Middle Schools showed marked improvement and the Parker High School made a huge jump. In all 15 of 17 schools (charter not included due to needing more time to review data) showed improvement. The two that did not improve only went down slightly at .09 and .12. Parker improved .97, Lincoln .82, Roosevelt .59, Edison .57, Marshall .53 and Kennedy .47. The others improved from .11 to .41 a remarkable gain.
There are eight major categories evaluated. These are: District leadership, Building leadership, Safety, Climate, Professional development, Facility/supplies, Impact/involvement and Diversity. All of these showed gains, with some showing significant ones. Diversity went from a 3.59 to a 4.06(.47), Climate from a 3.88 to a 4.16 (.38), Building leadership from a 3.59 to 3.96 (.37), Professional development from 3.44 to 3.73 (.29), Facility/supplies from 3.68 to 3.94 (.26), Safety from 3.68 to 4.08 (.23), Impact/involvement from 4.04 to 4.23 (.19) and District leadership from 3.05 to 3.20 (.15). Elementary, Middle, High and Charter improved in all 8 categories.
It is nice to see even Impact/involvement go up in that it started much higher than the rest with a 4.04. Five months ago there was only one area rated above a 3.9, today there are six.
In the High Schools, both Craig and Parker moved up in every category. In building leadership Craig went from a 3.55 to a 3.70(.15) and Parker from a 2.92 to a 3.89 (.97). One of the goals is to make sure that there is consistency between schools for staff, students and parents. Today this is true.
The middle schools all showed considerable gains. In the last survey the middle school highest staff survey results was Marshall with a 3.78. Today all three middle schools staff surveys are over 4. Marshall went from 3.78 to 4.31 (.53), Edison went from 3.56 to 4.13 (.57), Franklin from 3.56 to 4.08 (.41).
At the elementary level ten out of the twelve schools improved with five now being over a 4 compared to one in the fall. Lincoln went up .82 from 3.30 to 4.12; Roosevelt up .59 from 3.33 to 3.92, Kennedy went up .47 from 3.95 to 4.42. Adams which had the highest staff rating in the fall still improved .29 from 4.15 to 4.44. Van Buren and Monroe which were two of the higher rated schools in the fall both experienced higher staff survey results. Van Buren went up from a 3.86 to a 4.21 a gain of .35, Monroe from 3.93 to 4.16 for an improvement of .23. Jefferson went up .36 to a 3.89, Harrison up .26 to a 3.32, Madison up .18 to a 3.55 and Wilson up .11 to a 3.89. Washington decreased slightly .09 from a 3.84 from a 3.75, and Jackson went down .12 from a 3.82 to a 3.70. I am confident that both these schools can utilize this data, learn from their peers and see still see improvement in the end of year staff survey.
I still need to review more charter schools with there smaller numbers a change of only one survey can make quite an impact, I will have this done by the end of the next week.
These mid year results exceeded my expectations. A very telling question on the impact leadership has on staff is the question “I enjoy coming to work.” While this question will always be one of the higher rated due to the people answering are working in the field they selected, this question went from a 4.09 to a 4.36. It show positive impact the overall work environment can have on individuals.
As the detail of the results is shared, there are areas of opportunities like all surveys have. I am confident with your support and based on my own experience with the school leaders that these results will be used to celebrate the noteworthy achievement and lay solid groundwork for the second semester.
Significant progress is being made to make the School District of Janesville a great place for students to learn, staff to work and parents to send their children to. With the current financial situation in Janesville the quality of the school district has never been more vital. Of course to parents and school personal and the School Board of Education a quality education is always the top priority.
My best,
Quint Studer
Studer Group
For survey results <click here>