Principal Karen Janney of Montgomery High School has earned one of her profession’s highest honors. The Association of California School Administrators selected Janney as Administrator of the Year in the secondary principal category.

“This is a tremendous honor for Karen Janney and something the students and staff of Montgomery High can all take pride in,” said Sweetwater Board President Pearl Quiñones. “Her contributions to the school and to the mentoring of her colleagues are an inspiration. It is great to see her recognized on such a grand scale.”

Janney had already earned the association’s Region 18 award for Administrator of the Year. Now, as the state award winner, she will be formally honored at the association’s statewide conference in the fall.

“Wow,” Janney said of her reaction to the award. “I was shocked and then I thought that this award is a direct reflection of the work our staff and students have accomplished. Montgomery has dedicated staff members who are committed to increasing student achievement and students who believe in themselves. We focus on working together and that's how we get our results.”

ACSA supports California's educational leaders; ensures all students have the essential skills and knowledge needed to excel; and champions public education.

Sweetwater District administrators and staff members captured three other Region 18 awards. Tom Teagle, principal of Montgomery Adult School, was named Administrator of the Year in the adult education category. Thomas Logsdon, principal of Alta Vista Academy, earned Administrator of the Year recognition in special education; and Donna Hirsch, executive assistant to the superintendent, was honored as “Confidential Employee of the Year.”

“This says a lot about the high caliber of people working on behalf of our youth in the Sweetwater District,” said Sweetwater Superintendent Dr. Ed Brand. “We’ve always known they’re special. Now, their colleagues across the region and state are taking notice, too.”

With 25 years’ experience as an educator in the Sweetwater District, Janney brings a wealth of institutional and practical knowledge to her craft. Janney began her tenure at Montgomery by infusing the three principles of business book author Ken Blanchard’s Gung Ho!® throughout the campus culture. Staff T-shirts contained the phrase Gung Ho! Janney gave each staff member a copy of Blanchard’s book for Christmas. And a shelf in her office is lined with figurines representing animals central to the book, each beneath a framed motivational poster with the word “Teamwork.”

Janney’s staff members have been able to translate motivational tools into improved student achievement. The number of Montgomery graduates entering University of California/California State University schools jumped by one-third, Advanced Placement course enrollment doubled and Academic Performance Index scores increased 42 points—all in just two years.

Says Janney: “We can’t have random acts of leading. It has to be deliberate. Everything that I do, everything that I plan, is deliberate. I plan for the year—actually, for two and three years out.”

From the outset, Janney set about creating a “professional learning community” for adults—the staff members—that helped develop a culture of increased expectations of students. Says Janney, “You believe in the staff, the staff believes in the students. I am the teacher of the teachers.”

Janney’s already sharing her expertise countywide as a Model Mentor Principal through the Principals Development Partnership of San Diego County.

And to help improve communication with students, Janney appears on student-run television news station KMMI every morning. Her message includes thematic character education vignettes. She recently talked about how geese fly in a V-formation, how uplift helps the flock fly further than one geese flying alone. Teamwork. She always ends her segment with, “This is Miss Janney. Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.”