Running head: CASE STUDY: A NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 1

Case Study: A New York City Public School Principal

Cristina Montagna

Long Island University Post

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Abstract

This case study explores the leadership of a New York City public school principal, who

has struggled with introducing school innovation and building school culture.  The case study’s

location, demographics, and the school principal’s background is discussed.  An analysis of the

issues experienced by the principal is  provided, along with recommendations for how the

principal can close gaps related to: (a) leadership, (b) organizational purpose, (c) the school’s

future, (d) the school’s culture, (e) innovation, and (f) expectations.

Keywords: case study, innovation, leadership, school culture, school principal

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Case Study: A New York City Public School Principal

The following case study explores the leadership of a New York City public school

principal.  It begins with a description of the school’s setting and demographics, as well as the

principal’s background and attributes.  It is followed by a discussion regarding leadership issues

the principal has faced with regards to organizational innovation and building school culture. 

The second half of the case study includes an analysis and recommendations for how the

principal can close gaps related to leadership, organizational purpose, the school’s future, the

school’s culture, innovation, and expectations, as discussed in Myatt’s (2014) text.  

Background & Description

Community/Location

The educational organization in which the principal works is a New York City public

elementary school catering to Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade.  It is located in the Clinton

Hill section of Brooklyn.  This community’s population is racially mixed, with 55% of the

residents Caucasian or Asian and 45% African American.  The residents include many "artists,

architects, photographers, and craftspeople” (Rawson, 2010, p. 272).  In the 21st century, the

neighborhood has experienced a significant increase in population, with increased gentrification

and a growing upper-middle-class population (p. 272).

Demographics

The school is home to 444 students, with student demographics representative of the

community in which it is located.  The school houses 20 classes (see Table 1).  There are 28

classroom teachers, 10 members of school support staff, and a six-member administrative team

(see Table 2).  

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Table 1

Number of Classes Per Grade

Grade Number of Classes

Pre-Kindergarten 3
Kindergarten 4
1st Grade 3
2nd Grade 3
3rd Grade 3
4th Grade 2
5th Grade 2
Table 2

School Personnel

Position Category Number of Personnel

Teachers General Education 24
Special Education 4
Support Staff Paraprofessionals 9
School Aide 1
Administration Principal 1
Assistant Principal 1
School Counselor 1
Parent Coordinator 2
Secretary 2

Leader’s Background

A long-time resident of the Clinton Hill community, the principal began her career in

education as a per diem (substitute) teacher.  After seven years, she became a middle school

teacher, during which time she pursued her leadership degree and principal certification.  After

three years, she became an assistant principal in the school where she worked.  Five years later,

she became principal of the school under discussion in the present case study.  She has been

serving in that capacity for ten years now.

Leader’s Attributes
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This school leader began her principalship after the previous administrator was fired for

teacher harassment.  Thus, this principal was faced with the challenge of changing aspects of the

school’s culture.  In addition, she was and continues to be interested in bringing innovation into

the school.  These are both large tasks for a principal who had no prior relationships within this

school’s community.  

Leadership Issues in Innovation and Building School Culture 

This section of the case study explores the leadership issues, faced by the principal,

pertaining to: (a) implementing innovation to create school change; and (b) building school

culture.  Contentions with regard to school innovation, involve the introduction of technological

and curriculum changes.  Concerns with regard to creating a positive school culture surround

conditions set for innovation, teacher empowerment, and managing a bureaucratic organizational

structure.

Innovation

21st century innovation.  One of the first innovations the principal introduced to the

school was implementation of the XO Laptop Pilot Project in 2009.  Each 4th grade student

received a low-cost, high-quality laptop, known as an XO, as a way to integrate laptops into the

daily classroom curriculum.  The premise behind integrating laptops was to equip students with

21st century skills, such as experience with internet use, online research, and word processing

(Lowther, Ross, & Morrison, 2003).   In addition, the laptops reduced the student-to-computer

ratio from what was in place previously, which helps to make the technology more effective in

education.  Although students and their families were quick to accept the project, these laptops

were designed to be used in conjunction with a specific literacy curriculum, which the principal
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never adopted.   This concern was compounded by the fact that teachers were never provided

with training in how to use these devices and integrate into classroom teaching.    

Another 21st century innovation the principal implemented in each classroom was the

installation of Smart Boards in 2014.  Smart Boards are a brand of interactive whiteboards which

allow you to project an image and 'interact' with it by writing on it or moving it around (Smart

Technologies, 2018).  Studies have indicated that using interactive whiteboards is associated

with large percentile point gains in student achievement, due to their interactive and visual

features (Marzano, 2009).  Students and families appreciated the investment made by the

principal.  But, again, the principal did not provide teachers with any training or technological

support on how to use the Smart Boards or the interactive software that accompanies it.   

Curriculum innovation.  Today, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015,

which replaced NCLB, emphasizes the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL), as it

contains several provisions [Sec. 1111(c)(4)(B)(v)(I)] that encourage states and districts to

promote the development of social and emotional skills (Council of Chief State School Officers

[CCSSO], 2016).  As such, having received a competitive grant, the principal bought into a

character building curriculum, known as The Leader in Me.  This curriculum is a series of 40

lessons taught throughout the academic school year, focusing on the five domains of SEL (i.e.,

self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, relationships skills, and positive decision

making) (Covey, 2015).  

The first year this program was implemented, the teachers were provided with

preliminary resources, but not the full curriculum for each grade level.  The second year, the

teachers were provided training in how to teach SEL skills, as aligned with The Leader in Me

curriculum, but no resources or teaching materials were purchased.  As of today, teachers are still
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expected to teach SEL skills in the classroom, without related training, supports, or curriculum

resources.  So, although the principal initially introduced this curriculum, there was no consistent

follow through with implementing the program.

Another program that the principal adopted, and which is very popular with the student

body, is known as CookShop Classroom.  This is a federally funded nutrition education program,

which provides schools with all of the training, curriculum materials, equipment and support

needed to implement a comprehensive, hands-on nutrition education program at no cost to

schools (Food Bank for New York City, 2018).  But, again, this program but has had little to no

consistent follow through, with teachers oftentimes receiving limited quantities of food, and

some weeks, no food at all.

School Culture

School culture can be described as the traditions, beliefs, policies, and norms of the

school (Short & Greer, 1997).  The principal described in this case study has set many norms

with regard to how innovation is implemented within the school.  These norms include

conditions set for change implementation, as well as the bureaucratic organization within the

school that limits teacher empowerment, communication, and decision-making abilities. 

Conditions for innovation.  Short and Greer (1997) discussed that innovation is critical

if new ideas are to emerge in schools.  Although this present case study’s principal shares her

vision of the school as one based on innovation, evidenced by the multiple programs adopted,

she falls short of providing the necessary supports (e.g., administrative support, teacher training,

and teacher and student resources and supplies) the multiple projects require.  Despite this,

research indicates that conditions which encourage innovation include the principal’s role in

helping to create an open school climate and providing supports needed for change (p. 71).
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Empowerment.  Short and Greer (1997) define empowerment as a process whereby

school participants develop the competence to take charge of their own growth and resolve their

own problems.  Within this case study, the principal plants the seeds of innovation, but she does

not empower the teachers to work collaboratively and take ownership of project implementation

in their classrooms.  Yet, studies indicate that the culture of a school changes significantly when

teachers are empowered, stop functioning in isolation, and start collectively solving problems (p.

134).  

Bureaucratic organization.  Short and Greer (1997) explain that in a healthy

organization, there is relatively equitable distribution of power and influence among all

stakeholders in the organization.  Yet, within the case study’s school, the teachers are not part of

the decision-making process within the organization, due to its bureaucratic structure.  Ironically,

any effort of change or innovation in an school is predicated on teachers being involved in the

central decision making that affects their work life in the organization (p.69).  

Analysis of Leadership Gaps and Recommended Strategies

This section of the case study analyzes the principal’s issues in relation to six leadership

gaps that need to be closed in order for innovation and school climate to thrive. 

Recommendations, laid out in Mike Myatt’s (2004) text, Hacking Leadership, are discussed in

terms of how the principal can close gaps related to leadership, organizational purpose, the

school’s future, the school’s culture, innovation, and expectations.  

Hacking the Leadership Gap

Leadership gap.  In order to hack the leadership gap, a leader must first understand what

this gap is.  According to Myatt (2004), the leadership gap is the difference between a leader’s

assessment of their leadership ability and how those they lead rate them.  Prior to addressing
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issues related to the leadership gap, leaders must first recognize where they stand within their

organization.  Understanding this will help this case study’s school principal further develop

leadership skills, particularly those related to control, teamwork, and preparation.  Thus, she may

benefit from administering surveys to relevant school stakeholders (e.g., teachers and other

school staff), and analyze the collected data to  better inform intentional changes in her 

leadership practices.

Control gap.  Myatt (2004) discussed that leaders often mistakenly lead through control,

but that in order to gain influence, it is more effective to surrender than control.  He further

elaborates that “surrender fosters collaboration, encourages innovation, and enables possibility”

(p. 6).  The principal discussed in this case study does not include teachers in the decision-

making process, nor does she empower the teachers to work collaboratively and take ownership

of the innovative projects she introduces into the school, due to the bureaucratic hierarchy that

organizes the school.  If the principal were to practice surrender, she would be better able to

facilitate the distribution of authority within the school, thus fostering collaboration and

innovation (true school change). 

Preparation gap. Myatt stated that good leaders take risks, but great leaders are

prepared for the risks they take (p. 13).  This statement suggests that leaders need to take time to

prepare their team for changes being implemented (risks).  Thus, the school principal may

benefit from prior preparation (and organization of needed project supports) before

implementing various changes.  Myatt suggests that creating white space (i.e., intentional periods

of isolation), to allow other stakeholders (e.g., teachers) to step up and increase their

contributions to project implementation, can assist in project preparation.  In turn, this strategy

has shown to enhance school collaboration and productivity (p. 15).

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Hacking the Purpose Gap

Pursuit and purpose gaps.  The school principal has the goal of creating an innovative

school, but her innovative pursuits have lacked focus, consistency, and unyielding collaboration

among stakeholders.  To address the pursuit gap, Myatt had suggested that pursuit must be

“intentional, focused, consistent, aggressive, and unyielding,” as well as outcome-focused, and

collaborative (p. 25).  Although the principal is pursuing innovation, this organizational purpose

will remain fruitless without the clear definition and articulation of vision (why), and the

alignment of teachers and other relevant stakeholders (who) with this vision (p. 28). 

Profit and purpose gaps.  One of the advantages of adopting pilot programs and

receiving grants are the financial benefits tied to the projects.  Unfortunately, the principal has

focused on the short-term financial incentives associated with adopting many new projects (e.g.,

the XO Laptop Project, CookShop Classroom, French Immersion program funds), at the expense

of effectively implementing the new projects.  Thus, although the principal has a vision of

creating an innovative school, this vision has yet to be integrated into the strategies of the

school’s daily operations.  

Myatt suggests that purpose drives profit and that it is never too late to redefine an

organization’s purpose (p. 29).  Thus, the principal may benefit from aligning values, vision,

culture, and talent, to redefine the school’s purpose.  The same way she is introducing innovative

projects, she can innovate the organization’s purpose, in an effort to sustain real school change.

Hacking the Future Gap

Vision Gap and understanding the past and present.  The commitment of leadership

to pursue a clearly articulated, and well-aligned vision for the future, is highly relevant (p. 34). 

At the same time, it is important to understand that the future is something that can be influenced
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by a leader’s thinking and actions.  Thus, Myatt suggests that to hack the future, a leader must

have a clear perspective on the past (p. 36).  

The school principal can use the experience and wisdom acquired from previous

innovative endeavors, as a springboard to the future (p. 37).  In other words, she would benefit

from reimagining how she leads future school change, based on lessons learned from previous

attempts at change.  If she continues to implement change the same way she has always

proceeded (e.g., stuck using unproductive methods of the past), the school’s road to the future

will remain unpredictable.

Considering the present, is just as relevant as considering the past.  A leader’s actions in

the present will determine the type of future their organization will have (p. 38). Thus, if the

principal does not make necessary changes to support innovation, teacher empowerment, a

shared vision, and a healthier school culture, in the present, the success of future endeavors will

remain uncertain.

Pulling the future forward.  Again, this school principal values innovation, but,

inspiring innovation and leading change call for the adoption of a cultural mindset (p. 40).  To

develop this mindset, the principal will need the support of school stakeholders, especially

teachers, as they are the ones tasked with implementing new projects within the classroom. 

Myatt suggests that to predict the future the leader must become skilled at understanding and

garnering support from these stakeholders (p. 41).  Furthermore, he recommends that leaders

understand: (a) what motivates these stakeholders (motivation hack); and (b) their behaviors

(rhetoric hack), as well as their character and commitment (observation hack), to better predict

the future of a project.  

Hacking the Culture Gap

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Strategy gap.  Creating a healthy culture requires incorporating it into an organization’s

values, purpose, vision, and daily strategic operations (p. 58).  As part of the daily strategy (e.g.,

behaviors, decisions, and operational focus), stakeholders can visibly feel a healthy culture,

fostering their desire to identify with it.  The school principal in this case study, has not driven

culture by strategy, and would therefore, benefit from aligning strategy with culture, in effort to

increase school staff talent and school sustainability.

Culture Construct.  Culture is something to be led, not managed (p. 61).  Myatt explains

that this shift in paradigm arises from the premise that culture should not be imposed on

stakeholders because the stakeholders are the culture, as they are the actors helping to create it. 

So, in developing a healthy school culture, the present school principal should guide her efforts

away from managing a bureaucratic hierarchy, and more towards leading a culture.  To begin

this venture, the principal may first want to understand what is going on inside her school, which

can be accomplished through interviews or surveys administered to relevant school stakeholders

(p. 76).

Scarcity gap and hacking scalability.  Everyone can lead, and healthy organizations

realize that every employee must lead, in effort to create a culture of leadership (p. 63).  In other

words, leadership is not reserved for the select few, like a  scarce commodity, it must be

ubiquitous.  This culture of leadership exits when leaders understand their role in developing

other leaders (p. 73).  This empowers groups to become more productive, and in turn, creates

scale, which requires collaborative group efforts.      

The present school principal manages a bureaucratic structure, rather than leading a

culture of leadership.  In leading a bureaucratic hierarchy, teachers are isolated and not

empowered to collaborate or participate in decision-making, or, in other words, lead.  For the
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principal to create a culture of leadership and scalable school organization, Myatt makes several

suggestions: (a) focus on ubiquitous leadership (where everyone leads); (b) put the organization

above personal interests; (c) involve all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process

(i.e., drive decision rights down); and (d) embrace dissenting opinions (p. 75).

Hacking the Innovation Gap 

Change gap.  Every organization must change to survive, yet it is difficult to effectively

integrate innovation and change (p. 139).  This difficulty has been experienced by the principal

in this case study.  Her adoption of new projects have not been supported by execution

frameworks, and thus, true innovation has not emerged, casting doubt on her management

credibility.  

Myatt discusses a three-step process for leaders in need of hacking the Change Gap (p.

143-144).  The first step is to identify the need for change within the organization.  The next step

is to lead change by identifying advocates who can help build the power base for real change. 

The third step requires managing change, by aligning the vision shared by the leader and

advocates, and delegating responsibility, accountability, and authority to these change agents,

while providing them with needed supports and resources for project implementation.  In

addition, Myatt highlights several factors that need to be in place prior to initiating change,

including stakeholder buy-in, as well as consideration of the feasibility, value, associated risks,

and measurability of any new projects (p. 144-145).    

Hacking the Expectation Gap

Alignment gap.  Myatt notes that a leader’s follow through on what they say matters

greatly (p. 155).  He also explains that it is difficult for leaders to regain trust and credibility lost

when they fail to keep their commitments.  The school principal under discussion  would
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therefore benefit from aligning expectations, pertaining to innovative projects, by systematically

connecting what is said with what is done (following through).  

To deliver on such commitments, Myatt makes three recommendations (p. 157-158). 

First, collaboration with all relevant stakeholders early and often is necessary, in order to

communicate and align expectations. Second, rather than making verbal commitments, which

can lead to misunderstandings, leaders should rely on clearly outlined and written commitments

and expectations.  Third, leaders should treat all commitments like formal projects to better

manage performance, continuity, delivery, and accountability of all involved parties.   

Discipline gap.  To further maximize her effectiveness as leader, the principal may also

benefit from developing discipline.  Disciplined leaders are recognized because they accomplish

set goals.  The school principal sets goals for innovation, but lacks follow through.  She may

benefit from up-scaling discipline to various areas of her work.  For instance, Myatt suggests that

leaders seek out gaps in alignment by taking an assessment of what they do and do not excel at,

and then seek disciplined improvement in needed areas (p. 160).

Moving Forward

The present case study analyzes the principal’s gaps in leadership, making suggestions

for how she may move forward to close these gaps.  Closure of these gaps would ideally assist

her in moving toward sustained organizational innovation and leading a positive school culture. 

In summation, these recommendations include:

 The practice of surrendering and adding rigor to project preparation efforts, in order to

close the leadership gap.

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 Articulation of the school’s vision and stakeholder alignment with this vision, as well as

integrating the vision into the school’s daily strategic operations, in order to close the

purpose gap.

 Utilization of lessons learned from past and present experiences, and pulling the future

forward by garnishing advocate support, in order to close the future gap.

 Alignment of school strategy with culture, and creation of a focus on ubiquitous

leadership, to close the culture gap.

 Identification of project advocates and development of project execution frameworks, to

close the innovation gap.

 Development of discipline and alignment of project expectations with clear project

planning, to close the expectation gap.

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roughESSA101316.pdf 

Covey, S. (2015). The 7 habits of highly effective people in education: A review of the academic

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ucation.pdf 

Food Bank for New York City. (2018). CookShop classroom. Retrieved from

https://www.foodbanknyc.org/cookshop-in-schools/

Lowther, D., Ross, S., & Morrison, G. (2003). When each one has one: The influences on

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10.1007/BF02504551

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Myatt, M. (2014). Hacking leadership. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Rawson, E. R. (2010). Clinton Hill. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Short, P. M., & Greer, J. T. (1997). Leadership in empowered schools: Themes from innovative

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SMART Technologies. (2018). Home of the SMART board. Retrieved from

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