Amberlee Lively

Roster #11

Case Study #16: Kate Sullivan

Kate Sullivan has been the principal at North Hills Elementary School for 17 years. The

city, North Hills, is facing an evident decline due to a rise in crime, poverty, immigration, and

drug dealing. These events have a negative impact on North Hills Elementary School, leading to

overcrowding, disconnected parents, and language barriers. Sullivan stated that one in five

students at her school are ESL, with 50% of students who are Hispanic, 20% who are Black,

20% Asian, and 10% White. Because of the issues facing the city, many of the middle and

upper-class families have left North Hills. It is estimated that wealthier school districts in the

same area spend $14,000 per student per year, whereas North Hills receives less than half that

amount. Due to overcrowding, Sullivan had to transform the Library and Physical Education

spaces into classrooms, in addition to the eleven portable classrooms occupied at her school.

One the morning of the day described in the Case Study, Mrs. Sullivan sees a group of

boys playing a new game on the playground. She sees the boys playing with large sums of

money, twenty and fifty dollar bills, as well as what appears to be vials of drugs. After further

questioning, it became clear that the drugs were not real, but the money was, and it belonged to

Miguel Aurillio. Miguel’s father arrived at the school very angry, and aggressively grabbed his

son by the collar of his shirt, demanding to know where the money was. Sullivan calmed the

situation, but still called for help from the security guard and the head janitor. Despite this

ordeal, Sullivan had a meeting with Peter Warren and Nason Burns later that day. They were the

superintendent and the education department’s deputy commissioner. In this meeting, Mrs.
Sullivan shared the evident issues at her school, as well as various solutions to the problems. It

was clear that the two men were in no hurry to help better the lives of the students or staff at

North Hills Elementary School. They wanted solutions to get better test scores and better overall

attendance. The men left, leaving her with the task of writing a report of the various programs

that could be implemented at her school. The report was due in a month, just in time for it to be

neglected over the summer break. Kate Sullivan looked back out her window as the day came to

an end, and a light rain beginning to fall as she saw Miguel sitting alone on the bench.

1. What are the issues at North Elementary from Kate’s perspective?

From Kate’s perspective, there are various issues at her school, most of them stemming from the

decline of their city. As crime and poverty increased, more and more wealthy and middle-class

families began to leave. Her school received numerous students immigrating from other

countries, which increased language barrier challenges, which was difficult for the teachers and

the students. Overcrowding is one of Kate’s biggest issues. They have eleven portable

classrooms at their school, and even had to remove and convert the space used for Library and

Physical Education into additional space for student instruction. Kate was mostly concerned

about the well-being of the students at her school, but the test scores and attendance are more of

the issues that she faces. From her perspective, there are only so many things that she can

control. For example, she does not control how much money her school gets per student, or how

long it takes to get leaks and other issues fixed.

2. What are the problems from your perspective?

From my perspective as an outsider reading Kate’s story, I obviously see the same major issues,

such as overcrowding and the lack of money and resources at her school. I also see major issues

with the Superintendent and the school district as to how they are handling various issues. I am

sure Kate felt the same way, but it was not discussed much in the Case Study. I am concerned as

to why the education department officials have waited so long as to come and visit the school

and assess the issues Kate is facing. If they would have come sooner, they would have been able

to draft a plan, instead of waiting all the way until the next school year. It is upsetting to see the

lives of these students and teachers be pushed to the side, despite the evident concerns that Kate

Sullivan has no control over.

3. What should Kate do to improve the test scores and attendance at the school?

There are many different things Kate can try to do in order to improve the test scores and

attendance at her school. Attendance became an issue at my high school in the last few years, so

the dean’s secretary would call students into the office as soon as they were absent a couple

times to see if there were any issues or if they could bring in a note to excuse the absence. At

Kate’s school, teachers and administrators could talk to the students about how important it is to

come to school, as well as individually talk to the students who seem to be struggling to get to

school. Additionally, since they are young children, they could include incentives for coming to

school, like sticker charts or other school-wide things to make sure they feel accomplished for

coming to school. In regards to test scores, one of the big issues was the ESL and the remedial

reading classes taking place in the hallways. If there was a more secluded space for the students

to learn, they would likely do better on the tests. This was one of the issues brought up in Kate’s
meeting with the department officials, and it does go back to the overcrowding that is occurring

in her school.

4. What should she do about Miguel?

I think Kate should especially watch out for Miguel, and make sure there are no other signs that

he is in immediate danger. I am uncertain if the situation had enough of a reason to contact Child

Protective Services, but if it was she should contact them. It would also be beneficial for her to

talk directly with Miguel’s teacher and ask them to have increased attention to any odd behavior

or other signs of distress. Kate could also ask the school counselor to talk with him, or help him

find strategies to find and make new friends.