Ethics

Audit: Menomonee Falls School District

Corey Golla
December 18, 2016

While maintaining a vibrant, structured, and active ethics program is important for school

districts the moral architecture that promotes ethical behavior is much more complex. Moral

architecture is a collection of principles, virtues, and courtesies that people in a given organization

implicitly agree ought to guide their collaborations. (Wagner & Simpson, 2009, p 6) The School District

of Menomonee Falls has a strong moral architecture born in the traditional community commitment to

strong schools coupled with a forward thinking leadership team dedicated to living its mission and

committing to the success of all students. That mission Pursuing Excellence One Student at a Time, is the

backbone of our efforts to personalize learning which requires us to do what is right for each student

regardless of how that might impact challenge our support internally or externally. That said, there are

a number of technical steps we could take to tighten the processes and increase our communication

that would strengthen our ethics program.

Menomonee Falls School District serves just over 4000 students in a suburban school district.

The district manages four elementary schools, one middle school, and one comprehensive high school.

Quest is an alternative option that exists at a separate location but within the district as an option for

students that may have struggled in the traditional high school setting due to social concerns, anxiety or

behavior. The district is diverse celebrating a minority population of approximately 25%. The primary

populations include Hispanic (4.5%), African American (8%), Asian (7%) and nearly 5% self-reporting as

bi-racial. The demographics of the district demonstrate a potential shift with a growing Hispanic and

Indian population. The district includes a sizable population of families (16%) that participate in the free

and reduced lunch program due to being economically disadvantaged.

 The district is regarded as high performing as indicated in its 98% graduation rate, 96%

attendance rate, and steady growth in participation and success in the Advanced Placement program.

Our graduation rate places us in the top five in Wisconsin and included a 100% graduation rate among

African American and Hispanic students. This is reflective of our efforts to close the achievement gap

and prepare all students to succeed after high school. Presently nearly 30% or our high school students

participate in an AP course with 107 AP scholars recognized in the spring of 2016.

The workforce in Menomonee Falls is largely homogenous. Well over 90% of the staff is white with

many residing and even growing up in Menomonee Falls. This is a traditional middle class community

with a staff that often perceives issues from a traditional middle class lens. Adapting to cultural changes

within the district coupled with the dramatic changes within education has challenged the culture of the

district. We have to date withstood those challenges with our staff engagement data demonstrating

improvement and maintaining itself among our benchmark districts. In both 2015 and 2016 SDMF was

recognized as a Top Work Place by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel based on survey data from our staff.

We are exceptionally proud of that standing given the challenges we have taken head on.

The school district has a relatively traditional leadership structure. The district is governed by a

board of seven community members and lead by a Superintendent. A cabinet that includes a single

director of each of the following divisions; human resources, curriculum and learning, assessment and

technology, finance, pupil services, facilities and operation support the superintendent. The leadership

team includes principals at each building, one associate principal at our largest elementary school, North

Middle School, and two associates at the high school. The teachings staff is served with robust coaching

and leadership in the form of instructional coaches at each level. This is significant in that it provides

support for our improvement model that allows us to live our mission of Pursuing Excellence One

Student at a Time. A critical component of an ethics infrastructure is assuring equal access to a

guaranteed viable curriculum. The inclusion of these coaches alongside curricular leaders earning

stipends allows us to work explicitly toward consistent curriculum and strategies in all classrooms for all

students.

The district has a traditional ethics infrastructure evident in board policy, the staff and student

handbooks, and standard policies. Ethics, however, are best governed by belief, culture, and practice

and SDMF has worked tirelessly to work toward implementing the principles of Improvement Science to

better serve students. It will be shown that these principles create an infrastructure that relies on

results, stakeholder feedback, and critical action steps aimed at helping all students learn. This

commitment assures equity in education. What follows is an overview of both the traditional

infrastructure as well as our improvement framework.

Menomonee Falls has what is likely a standard set of policies intended to govern ethics in the

district. It begins with the School Board that operates under a policy dictating ethics and a code of

conduct. This is a thorough policy that defines the parameters in four main areas where board members

must model ethical behavior, legal requirements, political discourse, integrity, and accountability to

stakeholders. The legal compliance is self-explanatory. Section two of this policy reminds board

members to represent all constituents honestly and equally and to support one another in their efforts

to have a harmonious and productive board. Section three relates to integrity and specifically outlines

the duties and responsibilities that will allow the board to govern effectively. The final section outlines

the relationship between board members and the district leadership, essentially clarifying the role of the

board as guides and supports to the work in the district. A body of ethics is carved in rules and

regulations but it lives in culture. This policy lays the foundation for a respectful culture among the

governing body.
A further review of the board policies illustrates attention to ethical behavior by the district in relation

to its two primary stakeholder groups, students and staff. Students are protected by an obligatory but

important non-discrimination policy. Students are protected throughout board policy in language

governing the board, leadership, and staff. All employees and volunteers must pass a background check

prior to working with students. Funds raised by students must include students in the decisions

regarding spending. Board members are expected to represent all constituents, a practice that protects

families that may not be directly and regularly engaged with a board member.

Similarly staff is protected by non-discrimination policies and procedures and even hiring is

protected by and Equal Opportunity policy. Further protections are provided to employees in a

grievance policy and procedure as well as protections against sexual harassment. Like board members

employees are governed by a conflict of interest policy and code of conduct language.

Ethics related to financial management are outlined in detail in the board policies. Annual

audits are required, strict guidelines regarding purchasing and bidding are outlined as are policies

regarding the acceptance of gifts, conflicts of interest, and fund raising guidelines. It seems that the

district policies lay a sound foundation for ethical behavior.

Considerable time and effort has gone into developing a staff handbook in recent years. This was

especially important following the passage of Act 10, which resulted in decommissioning the unions and

eventually nullifying the collective bargaining agreements for much of our staff. The handbook now

outlines the benefits and expectations for our employees. There is a wealth of information in this

handbook that relate specifically to ethics. These include the following topics:

Bullying and Harassment of Students Policy Child Abuse Reporting

Confidentiality Equal Educations Opportunities
Conflict of Interest Contracts and Conflict of Interest
Drug and Alcohol Policies Discipline and Dismissal Procedures
Professional Conduct Expense Reimbursement
Honesty Nepotism
Personnel Files Political Activity

Similarly our students are given a handbook each year that shares expectations and

consequences for behavior as well as information and contacts to guide them to help should they have

concerns with how they are treated by peers or adults. Students involved in athletics receive a

handbook specific to them that includes the code of conduct for participants, consequences, and an

appeal process for discipline related to co-curricular code violations. Admittedly the co-curricular code

is similar to others in that it applies a Universalist approach to discipline. Given the public nature of

athletics and activities very little discretion is applied to punishment. The rules are universally

applicable and never favor or disfavor any individual or group. (Wagner & Simpson, 2009, p. 30) Like

most other districts we have evolved away from zero tolerance policies in our code of conduct.

Nonetheless students can quickly find themselves at risk of losing these important opportunities

following a series of bad decisions. It is an area we might need to review to assure it is reflective of our

values.

Ethical behavior related to financial management is regulated through a complex series of

internal controls using technology. All purchase orders and payments navigate through a complex route

of approvals assuring that expenditures are subject to checks and balances through the system. Even

upper level administrators are checked by internal controls approved by others working in finance.

Ultimately all expenditures are also approved by the school board. Modern technology has positively

impacted ethical behavior related to finances. A close review of the system will reveal that there are
still funds that are sometimes left unchecked in the area of fundraising and ticket sales at events. The

development of some checks in these areas would mitigate those risks significantly.

While this complex set of policies, procedures, and documents lays the technical foundation for

the oversight of ethical behavior in the district there is plenty of room for improvement in how we

communicate this information. All new leaders do attend a one-day orientation with the central office.

During this session the handbook is reviewed. That is helpful but that day is content heavy with

discussions related to benefits and key procedures related to working in the district. Many critical items

are likely not covered and those that are could easily be forgotten. Each year the district and buildings

have an opening in-service that each last about 3-4 hours. During those times some key policies or rules

may be reviewed based on recent developments or to be legally compliant. This is another time where

employees are distracted by frenetic pace of preparations for the upcoming year. It is also a time that

administrators are trying to manage multiple roles of motivator, manager, visionary, and building leader.

There are very few times during our year when these critical items are covered intently. Board policies

are almost never addressed and it is not uncommon that changes are made that go unnoticed. We are

risking major oversights in some of these areas.

Given the gravity of education as a necessity for success after school there is more moral artistry

in the application of discipline among the student body in general than what was described in the more

universalist approach to conduct among students in co-curricular programs. Greater efforts are made to

teach and model good behavior through district wide interventions systems (PBIS). All four of our

Elementary schools have been designated as schools of distinction. All of our staff in the middle school

are trained in Restorative Practices. This empowers them to lead students through processes that help

them understand the impact of their decisions on others and apply restorative circles to resolve these

conflicts. The result has been a dramatic decrease in suspensions in both the middle and high schools.
At the high school behavior intervention plans are developed when students are demonstrating

behaviors that impede their learning or are distracting to others. These students develop a goal based

on their behavior and have wrap around support with a team of teachers designed specifically for that

student based on their needs. Regular huddles, short reflective meetings, are held that include the

student. During these huddles the team reflects on the goal and the next steps.

When students do make decisions that impede on the safety and education of others the district has

developed a consistent set of practices to investigate these events. Careful attention to the due process

of students is clear in our policies but more importantly it is applied consistently in our practice.

Interviews and written statements from victims, witnesses, and the accused students are taken and

carefully scrutinized by a team of administrators. While both secondary schools have a police liaison

officer on staff the police and school complete separate investigations. In rare cases where expulsion is

considered we are attentive to the policies and state laws that govern these decisions. The result of all

of this work has been nearly a 70% reduction in suspensions at the secondary level and expulsions are

extremely rare.

Clearly our communication regarding policies and procedures surrounding ethics needs to improve.

What we are most proud of at Menomonee Falls is the efforts we have made to embed Improvement

Science principles across the district. These efforts that begin with a clear vision around student

learning and care have enabled us to sustain a moral architecture that can withstand the challenges

posed in public education.

The framework begins with clear identification of our values. Among the most important of these

values are our service excellence standards. These standards clearly state our belief in the importance

of treating others well. They drive our interactions with our students, parents, and one another. We

have placed a premium on service to one another. Several years ago our district identified staff
members from all work groups that exemplified customer service and collegial behavior best. That team

of teachers, custodians, educational assistants, and clerical staff developed our service excellence

standards with a coach from Studer Education. That same staff rolled those standards out to all

employees, shared posters that are hung prominently across the district, and continue to train all new

staff. This has dramatically influenced our culture to become more professional, reliable, caring,

respectful, and supportive of one another.

Following the establishment of core principles or pillars clear goals and metrics are established to allow

for the careful monitoring of progress toward those goals. While it may not be clear from the outside

this attention to metrics related to our values is the key component to building and sustaining a moral

architecture. Our achievement data clearly illustrates our successes and challenges in the pursuit of

success for every child. As the work develops we are able to identify groups and individual students that

are struggling and dedicate resources (time, money, and personnel) to intervening for students that may

be struggling. That is the ultimate moral architecture, applying resources where they are needed rather

than equally among all students without regard to their level of need.

Our work with Studer Education as our leadership coaches has also supported a successful

implementation of employee check-ins or rounding. This core tactic requires leaders to check in with

each employee in the system 2-3 times a year and ask three core questions:

What is going well for you in your work?

Are there barriers or problems I can help you with?

Is there someone you would like to recognize that has been doing excellent work or that has

been helpful to you?

These questions provide the framework for conversations that can allow leaders to get to the route of

challenges for students and staff while also allowing the opportunity for staff to share any ethical
concerns directly. The final question accompanied with the practice of directly sharing the shout outs

are a successful platform to celebrate examples of our service excellence standards. This practice has

been a culture builder.

A third component of our improvement framework that serves our moral architecture well is the survey

and survey rollout practices we have implemented. All staff members are provided an opportunity to

give direct feedback to supervisors twice a year through a survey and accompanying comments. The

results of these surveys are compiled and compared with past performance and with other districts

administering the survey. The rollout process requires leaders to share the results and solicit feedback

directly with those that were surveyed. As a leader I will ask what items are contributing to our high

marks that I should continue or bring to scale and what specifically is recommended for improvement

related to the pain points in the results. We also survey students and parents in separate surveys, share

those results publically, and work with focus groups to better understand the results. These surveys

help us sustain our good will and moral architecture, as we can understand the experiences of those in

all groups that might be feeling disenfranchised. While we dont collect data specific to ethics, the core

tenets of our architecture can be understood through the data we collect in our improvement

framework.

I am proud of our work at Menomonee Falls as it relates to ethics. I believe we can improve the

communication and access to the specific policies, laws, processes, and system documents that address

the technical component of ethics. Establishing an ethics team to monitor these items specifically might

help us improve in this area. We could also improve by tracking ethics complaints or violations

specifically in our core data to drive improvement in this area. I do believe that our service excellence

standards, feedback loops, check-in process, and surveys have allowed us to foster the open

communication that is essential to sustaining an ethical organization. The transparent communication

with parents through the surveys and when major concerns arise has demonstrated our willingness to

tackle tough ethical issues no matter the cost to our image. This culture coupled with internal controls

and processes developed in our policies and respective handbooks have supported strong and

consistent responses to ethics issues that have arisen. Sustaining these positive elements in our moral

architecture while improving in some technical areas will allow us to continue our strong tradition of

moral leadership.

Bibliography

Wagner, P. A, & Simpson, D.J. (2009). Ethical Decision Making in School Administration. Los Angeles:
Sage.