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LaShondra Evans

Grand Canyon University

EAD 529 Clinical Internship II: Learner Centered Leadership

Michael Sollitto

October 6, 2021
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Case Analysis

In this case study, I have just become the principal over a school that currently has an

accountability grade of a “D” that is considered a tough school. The student population is mostly

Hispanic and African American students that come from low-income families. The teachers on

campus are predominately veteran teachers that have been through at least fourteen

administrators. As the new principal, I am faced with the challenge of raising the level of student

achievement while solving discipline and improving the culture of the campus. This is a

tremendous challenge because there are many stakeholders involved. The students, parents,

community, and teachers will all be affected by my decisions that I make for the campus. In

Texas, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has annual performance reports called TAPR to give

each school their grade. If a school has a failing grade for three years in a row, the state will

order and implementation of interventions. Senate Bill 1365 proposes that the Texas Education

Commissioner can appoint a board of managers to take over a school district if one or more

individual campuses have failed to perform adequately under the accountability system.

Pasadena ISD, the school district that I currently work in has a policy/goal about curriculum that

states: We will ensure rigorous curriculum and meaningful experiences through innovative

learning environments that meet the individual needs of each student. Strategies that the district

uses to support this policy is to provide district wide and campus-based staff development and

curriculum guidelines provided by district specialist.

The situation with the school that has now become my responsibility can be

overwhelming. I think it’s important to brainstorm possible solutions. Afterwards, I would get

with my administration team to brainstorm ideas together and see how close they are in relation

to my solo brainstorming.
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Possible solutions are:

 Provide the staff with PD on classroom management

 Look into buying new curriculum

 Moving teachers around within the school

 Conduct a campus needs assessment

 Delve into the school improvement plan

 Build valuable relationships with students, parents, and staff

When you are chosen to lead a campus in a difficult situation, it’s critical that your

decisions create a better environment for all stakeholders. I would first conduct a campus

needs assessment that has an emphasis on student discipline during teacher’s first week

back on campus. I would also provide professional development on cultural awareness

and building relationships during that first week. I would meet with each teacher one on

one to hear their concerns and find out about their career and personal goals. During the

first week of school, I would hold a discipline assembly to set clear expectations and

consequences for the campus. During the first month of school, I would host a parent

night where parents can learn about the expectations for their students on campus. Parents

would also have the opportunity to give feedback through a questionnaire during the

parent night. All these actions steps would allow stakeholders to have buy in into the

process to create a campus with a culture of learning and success.

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Rationale

A campus needs assessment allows the staff to have an anonymous voice. This creates

trust because the staff knows that you care about the concerns more than who is telling you the

concerns. The point of the campus needs assessment is to see the discipline issues through the

lens of the teachers and staff. Veteran teachers usually don’t have classroom management or

discipline issues. I want to know if teachers feel supported when it comes to discipline issues. I

want to create a culture in which teachers feel highly supported. My theory behind this is that

supported teachers support their students. These teachers have been through fourteen

administrators. Do they have any hope that an administrator will stay and help them? My main

goal would be to let teachers know that I am here to make a change for the better by working and

collaborating together so that we are working together to do what is best for students. By

providing teachers with professional development on cultural awareness and classroom

management strategies, teachers can see the value in their students as well as building

harmonious relationships with their students. Having good relationships with students requires

set expectations. The discipline assembly would be to inform students that I believe in them by

setting high expectations for them and if they are broken, they will have consequences to face. I

also perform walk throughs during the first weeks of school to see if teachers are providing

engaging lessons to the students. If a student is interested in what they are learning, they are less

likely to have discipline problems. I also believe that it is important to reach out to the

community and parents. The parent night can build important relationships with the staff and

community. Parents will also be informed of the consequences if their child does not follow the

school’s expectations. With the parent night, I hope to bring a sense of togetherness with the

community and the campus. According to Tonich, a principal’s leadership ability can have a
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significant effect on school performance (2021). Tonich also states that a principal can influence

the culture of a school and can improve performance through the culture of the campus. As much

as this is known, some new principals get overwhelmed they forget to create a great school

culture. I plan to build a culture of positive relationships between the staff, students, families,

and community partners to ensure students have the best learning environment possible.
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References

Pasadena ISD. (n.d.). Pasadena Independent School District. Retrieved October 6, 2021, from
https://www1.pasadenaisd.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=36819429.

Tonich, T. (2021). The Role of Principals’ Leadership Abilities in Improving School

Performance through the School Culture. Journal of Social Studies Education Research,
12(1), 47-75. Retrieved October 7, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/219412/.

Ahmad, Abdul Razaq; Chew, Fong Peng; Zulnaidi, Hutkemri; Sobri, Kiagus Muhammad; Alfitri
International Journal of Instruction, v12 n2 p259-274 Apr 2019