Building a Culture of Staff Engagement in the Kaukauna Area School District

By Mike Slowinski, Superintendent, Kaukauna Area School District

The Engagement Imperative
Across the country, educators and leaders are grappling with what Gallup calls the "engagement crisis." Nationally, just 31% of employees in the U.S. are engaged, while 17% are actively disengaged, otherwise known as “loud quitting.” Schools are not immune to this reality. When staff are disengaged, the impacts are felt by students, families, co-workers, and entire communities.

As part of its strategic plan, the Kaukauna Area School District has placed a priority on creating a culture of highly engaged staff in each of its schools, recognizing that staff engagement is not just a priority for Human Resources, but it is also a critical component for student learning. Research consistently shows that engaged employees are more productive, experience less burnout, and deliver higher-quality outcomes (Gallup, 2024). In schools, this translates into improved student achievement, stronger relationships, and higher retention of talented staff.

Measuring What Matters: The Q12 Framework
To anchor this work, KASD adopted Gallup’s Q12 survey, a research-based tool designed to measure the essential elements of employee engagement. The Q12 items move from basic needs (e.g., “I know what is expected of me at work”) to deeper drivers like purpose (“The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important”). All KASD staff take the Q12 assessment each fall and spring, and the data is used to create differentiated action plans for increasing staff engagement at each school.

Initially, districtwide data revealed both areas of strength and opportunities for growth. For example, staff rated highly on questions around commitment to quality and that they have supervisors or others at work who care about them as people, but lower on recognition and feeling equipped with the materials and equipment they need. Importantly, this data was not used as a compliance exercise, but as the launch point at each school for authentic and candid dialogue, reflection, and action planning.

Moving the Needle: From Data to Impact
After two years of implementation, KASD’s intentional focus on engagement is already yielding results.

• Staff engagement jumped from 35% in the first year of implementation to 45% in the 2024-25 school year, placing the district 14% above the national average.
• The district has also seen a 27% increase in the number of engaged staff and a 38% reduction in those who are actively disengaged.

These numbers are not just statistics. They reflect real improvements in culture, which have in turn influenced key outcomes:

• Student achievement has risen, moving the district from the 79th to the 83rd percentile in reading and math.
• Voluntary staff turnover dropped 32.5% compared to the prior four-year average.
• Community satisfaction with the school district has soared, with the district’s Net Promoter Score increasing by 42 points.

Stories from the Schools
The most compelling part of Kaukauna’s engagement journey is found not in numbers, but in the lived experiences of its schools. Each building started from a different place, yet all have leaned into the same belief: engagement is built through intentional actions and authentic conversations.

• At Tanner Elementary, staff engagement rose from 45% in Fall 2023 to 65% in Spring 2025. The school achieved this remarkable growth by focusing on clarity and responsiveness. Leaders worked to ensure that every staff member had a clearly defined role, knew what was expected of them, and received regular feedback. By building consistent feedback loops, asking staff what they needed to be successful and then acting on that input, Tanner created a culture where employees felt supported, equipped, and valued.
• River View Middle School saw a significant shift as well, moving from 24% of staff engaged in Spring 2024 to 34% in Spring 2025. The key was not a new program, but a new way of embedding engagement into the daily rhythm of school life. Leaders intentionally wove conversations about engagement into staff meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and decision-making processes. Most importantly, they connected the dots, helping staff see how building-level decisions were tied to their work and to engagement overall. This transparency strengthened trust and helped staff understand how their voices and experiences were shaping the school’s direction.
• Finally, New Directions Learning Community, a school already known for high performance and strong engagement, asked how they could move from good to great. The staff answered by embracing purpose and shared leadership. They elevated mission statements from words on the wall to lived daily practices through “mission moments” at meetings, visible displays, and aligned professional development. At the same time, teachers were empowered to lead in new ways, strengthening ownership and reinforcing that every opinion matters. Through their efforts, NDLC’s engagement has risen to the 83rd percentile in Gallup’s database across all industries. 

Together, these stories illustrate that engagement is not one-size-fits-all. Whether rebuilding from a disengaged culture, recalibrating expectations, or deepening already-strong connections, Kaukauna schools show that when leaders listen, act, and connect purpose to practice, engagement follows.

Lessons for Leaders
Kaukauna’s experience offers insights that extend beyond its own schools. For leaders working to strengthen engagement in their districts, three lessons stand out:

1. Engagement is not a program; it’s a culture. Sustainable engagement doesn’t come from a one-time initiative or a checklist of activities. It grows when leaders consistently connect engagement to daily practices, decisions, and relationships. Importantly, engagement is not something that simply happens to you from your principal or supervisor, it’s something everyone owns. Each staff member contributes to building the culture, and when ownership is shared, engagement becomes part of the fabric of the school.
2. Data is the starting point, not the finish line. Engagement data is most powerful when it sparks deeper conversations about what staff are experiencing. Tools like the Q12 allow schools to take a much more intentional approach to improving engagement, identifying specific areas of strength and growth rather than relying on assumptions. More importantly, the data opens up authentic dialogue and creates a culture of candid feedback where staff and leaders alike can be transparent about challenges and work together on solutions.
3. Celebrate growth, not perfection…and celebrate often! Progress in engagement is rarely linear. Scores may rise, dip, or hold steady as culture shifts and new challenges emerge. That’s why it’s critical to recognize growth at every stage, no matter how small. Celebrating forward steps reinforces the importance of engagement, sustains momentum, and reminds staff that progress, not perfection, is the goal.

KASD’s efforts show that focusing on staff engagement pays dividends for educators, for students, and for the entire community. By combining research-based measurement with intentional action plans and strategies, the district has built momentum toward a culture where teachers and staff feel seen, heard, and valued.

As Gallup reminds us, engagement is not just about satisfaction; it is about energy, involvement, and a belief that one’s work makes a difference. In Kaukauna, that belief is becoming a reality every day.

The Kaukauna School District will be presenting on this topic at the Elementary Principal Convention (October 1-3, 2025 in LaCrosse) and Middle & High School Principals Convention (February 11-13, 2026 in Green Bay).