1

Performance Evaluation and Action Plan

Desherae R. Frost

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 533-O501: Developing and Empowering Instructional Leaders

Dr. Joan Hudson

July 6th, 2022

 2

Part 1: Case Analysis

Instructional leaders like Mr. Wong in case study two need to ensure that everyone on

your team is on the same page in that they are upholding the expectation of student achievement

while maintaining the rigor in their classroom. A grade team leader can do this by (a)

establishing clear goals that align with positive student outcomes; (b) ensuring that there are

teachers and appropriate resources to support those goals; (c) actively coordinating curriculum;

(d) actively promoting and participating in formal and informal learning opportunities and €

creating a safe and supportive environment (Robinson et al., 2008, p. 637.). When it comes to

assisting outlier teachers like Mr. Blumenstock, it is the grade team leader’s responsibility to

make sure that his lesson plans are aligned to standard and aligned with the departmental goal.

Additionally, the grade team leader is responsible for having a crucial conversation with Mr.

Blumenstock, conducting informal observations, and providing coaching and follow-up action

steps so that he can get on the same page.

The stakeholders that should be involved in the conversations relative to the next steps

should be the department chair and the administrative team, especially since everything from

initial conversation to the lesson plan audit, observations and action steps should be documented.

This is to ensure that the administrative team is aware of the grade team leader’s own action

steps in providing interventions for Mr. Blumenstock. The questions to be considered when

contemplating next steps should be whether Mr. Blumenstock is going to receptive to coaching,

how to approach him in a way that serves the interest of the team and makes him feel supported,

and what are going to be the highest leverage action steps that Mr. Wong can give to make sure

that Mr. Blumenstock hits the seventy percent goal.

Part 2: Identify the Larger Issues

 3

Educational policies, no matter their source, influence the responsibilities, and sometimes

prescribe the actions of teachers and teacher leaders (Levin & Schrum, 2016., p.115). School

policies that might affect my decisions have to do with time management and what is beyond the

realm of teacher responsibility. For example, Mr. Blumenstock might not be able to attend the

meeting especially if they run long or run outside of working hours. Moreover, the anecdotal

information may be hearsay, and because of this, it’s important in both the instance of

Blumenstock not attending meetings and the hearsay to not jump to conclusions. To make a clear

decision on formulating an action plan in collaboration with Mr. Wong, I need to see copies of

his lesson plans, scope and sequence (pacing guide), assessment, and his assessment data. I

would also need to see meeting minutes from Mr. Wong to assess whether the meetings are

productive and designed to implement departmental goals that are aligned with the school’s

mission and vision of high student achievement.

Choosing to do nothing will almost certainly lead to more students falling behind, and if

our aim is to support a culture of high student achievement, then choosing inaction would do Mr.

Wong, Mr. Blumenstuck, his team, and the students. Furthermore, choosing to do nothing in

choosing not to offend the outlying teacher means that I’ve chosen that teacher’s feelings over

those of the team, and that sends the wrong message. As an administrator, the goal is to always

nurture success. Choosing to let Mr. Blumenstock not meet expectations without addressing the

situation sends the message that the team’s success doesn’t mean much, that Mr. Wong’s success

as a teacher leader doesn’t mean much, and that student achievement doesn’t mean much and

that goes against everything in the school’s mission and vision. However, by choosing to take

action I send the message that I support Mr. Wong, support the team, and support the students.

Moreover, developing an action plan for Mr. Blumenstock shows that I’m willing to aid in his
 4

success because I believe in his ability to achieve. Making an action plan means that I’m

invested in his success. Still, by choosing to develop a plan, I could run the risk of offending Mr.

Blumenstock, who could then choose not to be receptive to any of the coaching and action steps

outlined for him.

Part 3: Creating an Action Plan

My action plan is to be a collaborative effort with Mr. Wong and the administrative team.

It starts with Mr. Wong having a crucial conversation with Mr. Blumenstock, and framing it

from a collaborative culture standpoint. School leaders play an important role in cultivating a

belief that teachers share responsibility for all the students at the school, not just those in their

classrooms (Datnow & Park, 2015., p. 12). Mr. Wong needs to reiterate how integral Mr.

Blumenstock is to the team’s success in reaching their goals and how important is for students to

achieve mastery in his classroom. His success is tied to the group’s success, and because of that,

it is crucial that he shows up and participates in the grade team meetings and is also an active

participant during team planning. Once this point is documented and communicated, Mr. Wong

needs to follow up with lesson plan audits to ensure that Mr. Blumenstock’s lesson plans are

aligned to standard and aligned with the shared team goals. This can further be emphasized with

a series of informal observations and on the spot coaching to address Mr. Blumenstock’s pacing

issues and issues with monitoring for student achievement. If Mr. Blumenstock proves himself to

be inffective or unreceptive to this feedback, then the next steps will be a crucial conversation

and meeting with the administrator, in which Mr. Blumenstock may have to be placed on a

Performance Improvement Plan. The plan is meant to be a collaborative effort between Mr.

Wong and the administrative team in that we will develop it together, and I will step in for Mr.

Wong if he has trouble with his action steps or having those crucial conversations with the
 5

outlier teacher. The challenges that I anticipate will be that initially, Mr. Wong may feel

uncomfortable with having the conversation with Mr. Blumenstock. In that case, I would suggest

that an administrator be present for the meeting so that Mr. Wong feels supported while he’s

offering to support Mr. Blumenstock. It would also be a good idea for the administrative leader

to model how to have crucial conversations and invite Mr. Wong to practice role-playing those

conversations for additional support. I would give him ways to present data, and frame the

conversation in a way that is data-based and not personal. My ongoing support would include

giving Mr. Wong a timeline of thirty days to have the crucial conversation and document his

interventions with Mr. Blumenstock, and then have regular check-ins with Mr. Wong to see how

the interventions are going and if administration needs to intervene.

 6

References

Datnow, A., & Park, V. (2015). 5 (Good) Ways to Talk About DATA. Educational Leadership,

73(3), 10–15.

Levin, B. B., & Schrum, L. (2016). Every Teacher a Leader. SAGE Publications.

Robinson, V. M., Lloyd, C. A., & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student

outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational

Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 635–674.