1 of 36

Douglas School District

Studer BOE Update

September 22, 2025

Dr. Casey Blochowiak

Vice President of Leader Coaching

2 of 36

3 of 36

The Key to Excellence in Education

Excellent leaders balance culture and strategy to achieve sustainable outcomes.

4 of 36

Strategic Direction

FROM RANDOM ACTS OF IMPROVEMENT

TO ALIGNED ACTS OF IMPROVEMENT

5 of 36

Connecting the Dots

We collaborate monthly to help ensure that we are connecting the work:
ELT - 1 Hour monthly connection
6-7 Days Onsite working with Admin, ELT, and Portrait Of a Graduate (POG)

Examples might be. . .

Making Connections

6 of 36

District Services

Parent/Caregiver

Student

Employee

October 6 - 20, 2025

February 2026

May 2026

DSD Experience Surveys 2025

7 of 36

School and Department Improvement Plans

8 of 36

“SHIFTING MINDSETS AND BEHAVIORS IS THE CORE OF ANY CONTINUOUS�IMPROVEMENT JOURNEY.”

JOAKIM AHLSTRÖM, 2015

9 of 36

Why We Do Improvement Plans

Focus – Align our efforts on what matters most.�

Goals – Set clear, measurable targets for progress.�

Accountability – Shared responsibility for improvement.�

Reflection – Identify what’s working and what needs to change.�

Direction – Ensure we're all moving forward together.

Evidence-Based Leadership™, and Hardwiring Excellence™ are trademarks of Huron Consulting Group Inc. and its affiliates, used under license.

10 of 36

Our learning from each short-cycle informs the next short-cycle action plan.

Pause to understand our progress

Teams review progress and adjust

11 of 36

12 of 36

Portrait of a Graduate

13 of 36

We don’t yet have collective agreement on “student success.”

14 of 36

What will do to define DSD student success?	Embark on defining a Portrait of a Graduate ~ 3-4 month process DSD “PoG Leadership Team” will create project plan Environmental Scan PoG Steering Committee will provide input and “course correction” Focus group to provide input
How will I be involved?	Focus group opportunities Possible Steering Committee participation

15 of 36

Peek Around the Corner

October 28

16 of 36

October 28

First look - Employee Experience Survey
End of current cycle/PDSA of improvement plans - reflect and plan forward
First meeting of Portrait of a Graduate Steering Committee

17 of 36

Share Airtime

Be Present

Expect and accept all voices

Respect time

Community Agreements

Progress not perfection

What else?

18 of 36

Experience Surveys

19 of 36

20 of 36

The Nine Principles® Framework

	PRINCIPLE 1: COMMIT TO EXCELLENCE Set high expectations to achieve results while living out mission and values.
	PRINCIPLE 2: MEASURE THE IMPORTANT THINGS Continuously track progress to achieve results with an improvement mindset.
	PRINCIPLE 3: BUILD A CULTURE AROUND SERVICE Serve others with great care and concern.
	PRINCIPLE 4: DEVELOP LEADERS TO DEVELOP PEOPLE Coach people to be their best at work.
	PRINCIPLE 5: FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Attend to aspirations and desires in the workplace.
	PRINCIPLE 6: BE ACCOUNTABLE Commit to individual accountability to achieve organizational goals.
	PRINCIPLE 7: ALIGN BEHAVIORS WITH GOALS AND VALUES Apply consistent practices to move the organization in a positive direction.
	PRINCIPLE 8: COMMUNICATE AT ALL LEVELS People know why what they do matters.
	PRINCIPLE 9: RECOGNIZE AND REWARD SUCCESS Value and appreciate people working together to get results.

Evidence-Based Leadership™, and Hardwiring Excellence™ are trademarks of Huron Consulting Group Inc. and its affiliates, used under license.

21 of 36

Connecting the Dots

Did you struggle identifying the picture that was in your partner’s brain? Why?

Are there times that you as the leader are seeing the dots connected, but your team might not? Why not?

Where do I and/or we have an opportunity to “connect the dots” for our team?

What is a move I could make today or this week?

22 of 36

	2024-2025 21 responses	Fall 2025 Pulse check 16 responses
1 “Very poor”	1	0
2 “Poor”	0	0
3 “Average”	3	3
4 “Good”	9	13
5 “Very good”	8	1
Question Mean	4.10	4.125

District Services Survey

1-question “pulse check” survey to understand if our actions are making a difference.

23 of 36

Agenda

Connect to Purpose
Experience Surveys
School and Department Improvement Plans
Portrait of a Graduate
Peek Around the Corner - October 28
Closure and Feedback

24 of 36

District Services Survey

ELT shares an update on next actions.

25 of 36

Parent/Caregiver

Execute on our collective action step.

Connect the dots between feedback and action.

You told us [x] would make a difference so we are doing …

Upcoming 1 question “pulse check” survey” at fall conferences.

26 of 36

Parent/Caregiver

Upcoming 1 question “pulse check” survey at fall conferences.

Action	Owner	By When

27 of 36

Student

By October 1 rollout your student survey results and identify 1-2 action steps that you will execute.

Checking in: What steps do you need to take?

28 of 36

Employee

Survey Window:

October 6-20

1. I feel supported with good processes and the appropriate resources to do my job.
2. I receive feedback on my strengths as an employee.
3. I feel supported in balancing my work responsibilities.
4. I receive appropriate recognition when I do good work.
5. I believe that leaders in my immediate work environment are genuinely concerned for my welfare.
6. I feel that resources in my immediate work environment are allocated to maximize effectiveness.
7. I have the opportunity to provide input on decisions that affect my job.
8. I have a clear understanding of my expectations as an employee.
9. I have the support needed from leadership in my immediate work environment to accomplish my work objectives.
10. I receive feedback concerning areas for improving my performance.
11. I feel that organization-level resources are allocated to maximize effectiveness across the organization.
12. I believe organization-level information is communicated in a timely manner across the organization.
13. I see progress being made to create a culture of success for employees across the organization and for those we serve.
14. I would recommend that parents select my organization to serve their child.
15. I feel that others in my organization connect with me in honest two-way communication.
16. I work in an organization where employees regularly share and exchange ideas.
17. I feel that organizational culture supports open and honest communication.
18. I have a clear understanding of the mission and goals of my organization.
19. I believe my work positively impacts those we serve.
20. I feel a sense of pride when I tell people where I work.

29 of 36

Employee

Survey Window:

October 6-20

How likely are you to recommend this organization as a good place to work?
How likely are you to recommend your immediate work environment as a good place to work?
Three Open Ended Questions: What is working well at your organization? What areas in your organization could be improved? Who would you like to recognize for supporting you in your work?

30 of 36

Learning Cycle-PDSA

What am I wanting to improve ?

Modifications to the plan for the next cycle

What actually happened?

Results and how they compared to predictions

DO

PLAN

STUDY

ACT

Student Success

01

02

03

04

31 of 36

PDSA - Plan - Do - Study - Act

Evidence-Based Leadership™, and Hardwiring Excellence™ are trademarks of Huron Consulting Group Inc. and its affiliates, used under license.

32 of 36

CREATES A STRUCTURE MONITOR PROGRESS
PROMOTES INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
DEMONSTRATES DEGREE OF EXECUTION
VALIDATES PROGRESS AND SUCCESS
IDENTIFIES AREAS OF CHALLENGE, OR WHERE WE ARE STUCK
HELPS US DEFINE THE NEXT RIGHT THING TO DO�

�

THE STOP LIGHT PROCESS

33 of 36

Green: Items that are completed.

Yellow: Items in Progress.

Red: Stalled or not started yet.

Reliability and Accountability: �Did we do what we said we would do?

34 of 36

Sample Template: School Improvement Plan.docx

Locate your building/department template:

> Main Google Folder: 25-26 DSD Improvement Plans

> School / Department Name

School Plans	Department Plans
Carrousel School Improvement Plan	B & G Dept Improvement Plan
Badger Clark School Improvement Plan	Business Office Dept Improvement Plan
Francis Case School Improvement Plan	Human Resources Dept Improvement Plan
Vandenberg School Improvement Plan	Food Services Dept Improvement Plan
DMS School Improvement Plan	Transportation Dept Improvement Plan
DHS School Improvement Plan	Technology Dept Improvement Plan

35 of 36

Closure

What idea, approach, action from today is most meaningful to your leadership?

36 of 36

Your Feedback Matters

https://surveys.studereducation.com/f/41790091/3f31/