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How the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math

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How the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math

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Content Running Head: COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH

HOW THE LEADERS OF ONE HIGH-ACHIEVING, LARGE, URBAN HIGH SCHOOL
COMMUNICATE WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH

by
Andrea Kittelson

______________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May, 2016

Copyright 2016 Andrea Kittelson
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH i

Dedication
This dissertation and my entire education is dedicated to the marginalized who deserve
everything.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH ii

Acknowledgements
This dissertation, my education at Rossier, and my entire creative and professional life
would not exist if it were not for all those who have helped to shape who I am, most significantly
my family, friends, and teachers. Without my family having been so on the fringe themselves, in
so many ways, and without my having left home at 15 and having been homeless for a year and
then quasi-emancipated, I would not have the empathy that I do for those on life’s edge. I would
not so fully understand that the people whom we stigmatize and label as “other” are actually,
typically, no different from ourselves except in terms of nurturing and material wealth. It is
therefore our obligation to bridge those gaps, if not by way of economics, then through
education.
Without my friends having become my family at all stages of my life, I would not have
had the strength and presence of mind to pursue my various interests, and I would not have had a
heart full enough to desire to serve.
Moreover, to the teachers who have contributed to my intellectual and creative growth—
from Ms. Russell at Wenonah Elementary School in Minneapolis who let me read aloud to others
in my kindergarten class and take on many leadership roles, to Ms. Pittlecow, my second-grade
teacher, who helped to channel my energy and angst into theater arts, which has since become a
lifelong passion, to Mr. Coklas, my fifth-grade science teacher, who would create the
circumstances through which I would earn a scar on my left hand that would later become fodder
for stories, to Ms. Zawistowki, my fifth-grade history teacher who would enthusiastically delve
into politics, which would inspire me to one day live on a kibbutz in Israel, to Mr. Eide, my high
school English teacher, who read my teenage diary (as an assignment) and never said a word,
just gave me a comforting, knowing glance, to Stephen Kanee at the University of Minnesota
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH iii

who said that my play was “a mess, but when you’re that good, who cares?” which gave me the
confidence to move to California, to Chris Hampton and Bill Peters at San Francisco State
University who pushed open the gates of my imagination so eternally wide that there is no
turning back, to Mohammad Kowsar who dared me to move beyond hokum and only write the
truth, to my professors at USC who have allowed me to be who I am, and the many more whom I
did not mention but who appear in all that I will become after their seeds have taken root—I
offer a huge and hearty thank you.
Finally, I would like to thank this case study’s participants, who invited me into their
professional lives without any hesitation, and of course my dissertation chair, Dr. Pedro Garcia,
and committee members Dr. Rudy Castruita and Dr. Cuauhtémoc Avila, for their wisdom and
guidance. My primary hope is that I do their generosity justice.

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH iv

Table of Contents
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ i
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix
Chapter 1: Overview of the Study ............................................................................................... 1
The Importance of School Leaders ........................................................................................ 2
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 2
The Importance of School Leader Communication .................................................................. 4
The Purpose of this Study ......................................................................................................... 5
The Importance of this Study .................................................................................................... 6
Definitions................................................................................................................................. 7
Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 9
Delimitations ............................................................................................................................. 9
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ......................................................................................... 12
The Flow and Impact of School Leader Communication ....................................................... 13
The Effects of School Leaders on Student Achievement ................................................. 14
The Effects of Parents on Student Achievement .............................................................. 18
The Effects of Home-School Connection on Student Achievement ................................ 21
The Effects of Authority-Figure Communication on Subordinates .................................. 22
The power of bosses.................................................................................................... 23
The power of teachers ................................................................................................. 25
The power of society ................................................................................................... 26
The Effects of Student Self-Efficacy on Student Achievement ........................................ 27
Medium ............................................................................................................................. 28
Written ........................................................................................................................ 28
Spoken......................................................................................................................... 29
Unspoken .................................................................................................................... 30
Language ........................................................................................................................... 31
Heritage language ....................................................................................................... 31
Formal vs. informal register ........................................................................................ 32
Frequency .......................................................................................................................... 32
Tone .................................................................................................................................. 32
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH v

Purposefulness .................................................................................................................. 33
Consistency and Shared Belief ......................................................................................... 34
Gaps in the Research ............................................................................................................... 34
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 34
Chapter 3: Methodology............................................................................................................. 36
Study Design ........................................................................................................................... 39
Sample and Population ........................................................................................................... 40
Instrumentation ....................................................................................................................... 43
Data Collection ....................................................................................................................... 44
Interviews .......................................................................................................................... 44
Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 45
Reliability and Validity ........................................................................................................... 46
Confidentiality ........................................................................................................................ 46
Ethics....................................................................................................................................... 46
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 47
Chapter 4: Summary of Findings .............................................................................................. 48
Focus of the Study .................................................................................................................. 48
Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 48
Setting ..................................................................................................................................... 48
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 49
Data Collection ....................................................................................................................... 49
Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 50
Findings................................................................................................................................... 51
Research Question 1 ............................................................................................................... 52
Research Question 2 ............................................................................................................... 69
Research Question 3 ............................................................................................................... 75
Research Question 4 ............................................................................................................... 78
Additional Findings ................................................................................................................ 81
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 83
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions, and Implications ............................................................. 84
Summary of Background and Purpose ................................................................................... 84
Lens and Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 84
Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 85
Summary of Findings .............................................................................................................. 85
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH vi

Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 86
Tightly Woven Fabric, or Attribution Matrix ......................................................................... 87
Implications for Practice ......................................................................................................... 89
Limitations Not Previously Discussed .................................................................................... 89
Future Research ...................................................................................................................... 90
References ..................................................................................................................................... 91
Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in Mixed-Methods Study 1 ............................................. 104
Appendix B: Invitation to Participate in Mixed-Methods Study 5 ............................................. 105
Appendix C: Invitation to Participate in Case Study .................................................................. 106
Appendix D: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 107
Appendix E: Attribution Matrix.................................................................................................. 108

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH vii

List of Tables
Table 1: Characteristics of Participants .........................................................................................41
Table 2: Participants’ Chosen Media and Favorite Medium of Communication ..........................54
Table 3: Communication: Media and Messaging ..........................................................................67
Table 4: Research Question 1: Findings ........................................................................................68
Table 5: Use of Code Switching ....................................................................................................71
Table 6: Summary of School Documents ......................................................................................72
Table 7: Data and Emergent Themes .............................................................................................77
Table 8: Participants’ Additional Thoughts ...................................................................................80

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH viii

List of Figures
Figure 1: Where Stakeholder Communication Meets Student Achievement ................................13
Figure 2: Gearing Up for Subordinate Achievement .....................................................................23
Figure 3: Flow of Analysis ............................................................................................................51
Figure 4: Attribution Matrix ..........................................................................................................88

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH ix

Abstract
The purpose of this instrumental case study was to understand the ways in which the
leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about
math with the intent to shine a light on the issue of communication with families as it relates to
student achievement and the persistent math achievement gap among Latinos. Specifically, the
researcher set out to answer the following four research questions: (1) How do the leaders of one
high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math? (2) Is
communication with families about math purposeful? (3) Is there consistency in message? (4) Is
there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays in student
math achievement?
This study was a qualitative analysis involving the triangulation of interviews,
documents, and audiovisuals. The findings show that while the leaders of this particular school
do share beliefs and they do communicate consistently with students, they do not communicate
as consistently with families, nor do they communicate consistently or purposefully with Latino
families specifically about math. Despite these findings, however, the school boasts high
achievement in math among Latinos, which, the researcher holds, is likely due to other factors,
including the strong sense of community, the pervasive positivity, and the many systems of
support; this would have to be confirmed through future studies.
This study provides fertile ground for future studies, as it brings to the fore notions of
purposeful communication with families; purposeful communication with subgroups; purposeful
communication specifically about math, community, and positivity; and the effects of systems
rather than aspects of systems on student achievement.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 1

Chapter 1: Overview of the Study
Fundamental to America’s promise is the notion of equity, though in the realm of
public education, it has been a long time coming and has not yet fully arrived.
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (Brown v.
Board of Education, 1954), which had previously granted individual states the right to
educate Blacks and Whites separately in public schools once thought to be “separate but
equal” (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896).
In the unanimous Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, Chief
Justice Warren opined that state laws segregating public schools according to race were in
violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and were therefore
unconstitutional (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). Justice Warren proclaimed that laws
separating students by race did so to the detriment of students of color.
In the years following Brown v. Board of Education, additional court decisions have
been handed down, such as Cooper v. Aaron (1958), which called for increased enforcement
of Brown v. Board of Education; and laws have passed, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, in
an attempt to equalize opportunities for citizens of color, who are also typically citizens of
lower socioeconomic means (Palardy, 2008). Despite these decisions and laws, and myriad
other attempts to arrive at the equality promised by the Declaration of Independence,
inequality persists, and more must be done.
Toward that end, scholars have conducted research that has had a positive impact in
the realm of education, and school leaders have striven to do all that they can to meet the
various needs of their ever-changing populations.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 2

The Importance of School Leaders
Those standing at the gates of equity, acting daily as shepherds nudging teachers toward
sound pedagogy and students toward their futures, are the school leaders who manage the
school’s daily functions. They hold the vision, set the tone, turn abstract goals into tasks, and
spearhead the analysis of alleged successes. Without school leaders keeping all stakeholders on
the same grassy field and working toward the same end, little would be achieved.
O’Donnell and White (2005), through quantitative study, found that principals who create
a positive climate with significant teacher buy-in and who consistently state aloud, and behave in
accordance with, the school’s high-achievement mission yield greater student achievement.
Similarly, Gentilucci and Muto (2007), through mixed-methods analysis, found that student
perception of principal engagement affects student motivation and hence impacts student scores.
Further, a plethora of additional researchers has found, through various empirical means, that
school leadership, and, in particular, the school principal, plays a significant role in student
achievement (Heck & Hallinger, 2009).
Why, then, should not principal communication with Latino families about math play a
significant role in Latino math achievement? Moreover, it is not just the principal that paves the
way. Through distributed leadership (Heck & Hallinger, 2009), a variety of stakeholders each
using a variety of strategies work in concert to foster student achievement.
Statement of the Problem
Across the nation, Latinos trail behind Anglos in math achievement (Hemphill &
Vanneman, 2010). While Latinos and Anglos both grew somewhat in math achievement from
1990 to 2009, the 26-point gap between them has largely persisted (2010).
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 3

Across the state of California, only 24% of Latino middle and high school students are
proficient in Algebra I or higher math, as determined by their scores on the California Standards
Test (CST) (California Department of Education, 2013), which represents a 76% achievement
gap, and this gap in achievement has generally been maintained over the course of the past 10
years (2013). Keep in mind that not all Latino middle and high school students take grade level
or higher math. For example, in 2013, 59% of California public school Latinos took Algebra I,
while 37% took General Math. Among those who took General Math, 42% scored below basic
or far below basic (California Department of Education, 2013). Therefore, an even greater
percentage of Latino middle and high school students remain severely deficient in math.
This low level of achievement in math among Latinos raises many questions about the
myriad possible causes and is met with a sense of urgency. It is important to address this gap in
math achievement among Latino students in California, and ultimately across the nation, because
it is critical that all students be competent in math in order meet the entrance requirements of
four-year universities. Currently, the entrance requirements of both the University of California
and the California State University system include three years of college-preparatory math
including basic and advanced algebra and geometry (California Department of Education,
Graduation Requirements, 2013). If students must remediate in community college, they are less
likely to complete college at all (Bahr, 2012; Beasley & Fischer, 2012).
It is also important to address this gap in math achievement because all citizens should be
deft at basic numeracy (Reyna & Brainerd, 2007). One must be able to work well with numbers,
not just for the sake of balancing the family budget, but also for the sake of one’s health. In order
to make wise decisions about calorie intake, blood sugar monitoring, blood pressure medicine,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 4

health insurance, assisted living arrangements and more, one needs to fully understand, both
conceptually and procedurally, foundational math and algebra.
Finally, it is crucial to bridge this gap, as the goals of any democracy should include
equity and access, and as long as any one population is marginalized, equity and access do not
exist.
The Importance of School Leader Communication
Much has been studied and shared about the impact of teacher communication on
students (Cazden, 2001; Vick & Packard, 2008). It is only logical that the messages that teachers
communicate to students would have an impact on student achievement. Moreover, much has
been studied and shared about the impact of teacher communication with families (Eberly, Joshi,
& Konzal, 2007; Sirvani, 2007). It has been found that when teachers communicate regularly
with families, students achieve.
Little has been studied or shared, however, about how school leader communication with
families about math impacts student achievement in math. It would not be a leap to suggest that
the ways in which school leaders communicate with families about math has an impact on
student math achievement. The projection of phobias through statements such as, “Well, I have
always hated math, but…” or “Math isn’t my thing but…” is seemingly common and may be
avoided by a conscious awareness and use of such language (Cazden, 2001). If the authorities
and models suggest to students that it is difficult, or even impossible, to be successful at
something as “difficult” as math, then surely those students are less likely to achieve in the area
of math. If those same authorities project those same messages onto students’ families, who are
the primary belief-shapers of students, then the damaging effects are sure to be exponential.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 5

Imagine, then, the power that must lie in sending positive messages about math to
families who are the primary belief-shapers of students. The positive effects are also sure to be
exponential.
The Purpose of this Study
The purpose of this study was to highlight the communication practices of the leaders of
one high-achieving, large, urban high school in order to begin to understand the degree to which
school leader communication with Latino families about math impacts Latino student math
achievement. What messages are these school leaders sending to families, both overtly and
subliminally, and how do these messages work their way to the students and ultimately to student
achievement? Further, how purposeful and consistent with one another are these school leaders
and how cognizant are they of their shared approach?
It is this researcher’s hope that illuminating the communication practices of the leaders of
one high-achieving, large, urban high school will have positive ramifications, including shedding
light on communication in general, generating theory, inspiring future studies, and ultimately
closing the persistent achievement gap in math among Latinos.
Research Questions
This study is an instrumental case study highlighting the communication practices of the
leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school in order to uncover truths, establish
theory, and inspire future studies about the relationship between school leader communication
with families about math and student math achievement. To fulfill this study’s purpose, the
researcher set out to answer the following four research questions:
1. How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate
with Latino families about math?
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 6

2. Is communication with families about math purposeful?
3. Is there consistency in message?
4. Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays
in student math achievement?
The Importance of this Study
In order to close the achievement gap in math among California Latinos, it is important to
look closely at all the various aspects of school leadership so that each aspect may be more
precisely honed. If school leaders maintain the status quo, which includes behaving in traditional
ways and avoiding deep and meaningful reflection and making consequential attempts at
significant change, they will never fully realize all the change that is required to close the math
achievement gap. The adage “If you always do what you did, you’ll always get what you got” is
central here, in that it reminds all stakeholders that if they seek improvement, they need to
behave differently. But first they need to understand more precisely how they are behaving now.
A greater understanding of how the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high
school communicate with Latino families about math has the potential to illuminate the larger
issue at hand, which in this case is school leader communication, and to enable researchers to
generate theory on how school leader communication with families impacts student achievement.
As well, it may inspire future studies about the links between school leader communication and
student achievement, about family dynamics and student achievement, and about other topics
that emerge from these and other related studies.
The lens through which the researcher conducted this study is that of Critical
Sociocultural Theory (Kellner, 1989; Kozulin, 1999) in that her aim was to: (1) recognize our
collective patriotic duty to seek equality and justice for all not just for some; (2) uncover the
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 7

ways that powerbrokers marginalize and oppress, consciously and unconsciously, certain
subgroups; and (3) discover ways to change so as to empower and bridge any and all
achievement gaps.
In addition to the theoretical lens, the conceptual framework for this study is one that
takes Professor John Hattie’s (2009; 2012) list of educational influences and their effect size and
weaves them together into fabrics of compounded influence. While Professor Hattie used
quantitative analysis to parcel out the effect size of 138 educational influences each in isolation,
this researcher looks forward to studies on collections of influences as they are woven together
into a fabric that supports student achievement. This investigator holds that research is rife with
paradox. While it is important to isolate certain contributors to see them in a clearer light, as this
study highlights communication with Latino families about math, it is also important to
recognize that those contributors likely behave as they do for the exact reason that they are in
combination with other contributors.
Definitions
For the purpose of this study, “high-achieving” was defined using student math
proficiency rates on the 2013 California Standards Test (CST). Initially, the researcher looked
across the state for large, urban. middle and high schools at which 30% or more of the Latino
students earned scores of Proficient or Advanced in Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Integrated
Math, and Summative Math among students in grade 7 or higher.
The CST is a standardized test in several subjects used to measure student achievement
across California through the year 2013, and afterward only in the area of science. As with the
transition to the Common Core State Standards, the state has begun to implement the CAASPP,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 8

or California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, in place of the CST in order to
systematically measure student achievement.
Large was defined as enrolling at least 2,000 students.
Urban was defined as being located within a 30-mile radius of a city of 500,000 residents
or more, where at least 67% of the students are non-white, and at least 67% are
socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) as determined by their being eligible for free and
reduced lunch.
Middle School included public and charter schools serving any quantity of students in
grades 6 and above, including public and charter span schools serving students in grades 6-12.
High School included public and charter schools serving any quantity of students in
grades 9-12, including public and charter span schools serving students in grades 6-12.
Span school was defined as a school that serves students in grades 6-12.
Traditional was defined as a non-charter public school.
Charter was defined as a public school with a charter authorized to function as a quasi-
autonomous entity under the quasi-jurisdiction of a public school district.
The high-achieving high school selected for this case study was traditional, non-charter,
urban, and large.
Assumptions
Underlying this instrumental case study are certain assumptions, which include:
 All school leaders interviewed were honest in their responses.
 All documents analyzed were actual documents originating from within the
subject school and were utilized in the reported ways.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 9

 All documents that were translated by the participant school from English into
Spanish (and vice versa) were translated with precision.
 All audiovisual materials analyzed were actual materials in the possession of
administrators within the subject school and were used in the reported ways.
 Parent and guardian (and sibling) knowledge and belief is regularly, both directly
and indirectly, imparted to their children (and siblings).
 The families of Latino students are also Latino, and they engage in the world
using some combination of both English and Spanish and formal and informal register.
Limitations
Because this was a qualitative, instrumental case study of the leaders of one high-
achieving, large, urban high school, its findings are not meant to be generalizable to all school
leaders in all settings. Moreover, because this study focused on the practices and perceptions of
school leaders, and not on the practices and perceptions of families, this study illuminates only
part of the picture. In order to understand, in greater depth, the entire picture of how school-
leader communication with families impacts student achievement, scholars must conduct future
studies on family receipt and application of school leader communication, or rather, conduct
studies that follow an entire particular chain of communication rather than just a few short links.
Delimitations
This study was limited to the leaders of a high school because:
 It is during high school that the math achievement gap is the greatest (California
Department of Education, 2013).
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 10

 It is at the Algebra I stage where the significant gap in student achievement begins
(2013); and while Algebra I is taught in both middle and high school, it is in high school where
its successful study might be hindered by a decrease in parent involvement.
 It is the parents of high school students who seem to most lament their inability to
effectively engage in math study with their children and to help with homework, as their own
math capacity is increasingly limited.
 This study was limited to the leaders of a “large” high school, because it is in large
high schools where students have a tendency to feel anonymous (Blyth, Simmons, & Carlton-
Ford, 1983) and school leader communication with families has the potential to mitigate the
negative effects of such anonymity (Sirvani, 2007).
 This study was limited to the leaders of an “urban” school, as it is urban schools
which the majority of California students attend (California Department of Education, 2013).
This study was limited to the leaders of a “high-achieving” school because studying a
low-achieving school would be rife with problems. The leaders of such a school would likely be
reticent to participate, and findings from such a study would probably accomplish little. The goal
of such a study is not to shame, but to illuminate.
This study was bounded by sample size, as not all school leaders were interviewed and
not all school documents were analyzed, and this study was bounded by scope. This study
included only interviews, documents, and audiovisual materials. This study did not include
formal observations. While this researcher certainly noticed interactions between and among
staff and students, and the researcher found these observations to be revealing, the researcher did
not systematically observe interactions between and among school leaders and parents at parent
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 11

conferences, parent events or the like. This study was bounded by time in that the data were all
collected in November and December of 2015.
Finally, this study was approached using the tenets of Critical Sociocultural Theory
(Kellner, 1989; Kozulin, 1999), which hold that students learn within a rich sociocultural context
that is interdependent and ever changing, and that the goal of all learning should be to effect
positive social change. The conceptual framework at play suggests that while individual
educational influences may be studied in isolation, they should also be considered in
combination as they act in combination in the everyday world.
A summative review of the literature follows in Chapter 2.
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Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
The purpose of this study was to illuminate the ways in which the leaders of one high-
achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math. In order to
fully understand the role that school leader communication plays in Latino math achievement,
one must take complete stock of that which has so far been gleaned. There must be a broad
understanding of the research to date on this and related subjects. Because no studies have been
conducted in answer to the precise question “How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large,
urban high school communicate with Latino families about math?” research that has been
conducted in answer to related questions is presented and is presented in accordance with the
following themes in their respective order.
With regard to the flow and impact of school leader communication:
 The effects of school leaders on student achievement
 The effects of parents on student achievement
 The effects of home-school connection on student achievement
 The effects of authority-figure communication on student (and subordinate) self-
efficacy and/or achievement; and
 The effects of student self-efficacy on student achievement
With regard to the nature and quality of school leader communication:
 Medium
 Language
 Frequency
 Tone
 Purposefulness
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 Consistency
 Shared Belief
After analyzing the results of these studies and the methodologies therein, one can see
more clearly the gaps and the need for a precise peek into how highly effective urban high school
leaders heed the calls to reach families in order to positively impact student achievement,
specifically in math.
The Flow and Impact of School Leader Communication
Communication impacts more than just those with whom one communicates directly.
Communication, like water, has a cascading effect. A principal communicates with a collection
of stakeholders at large and also with individuals who pass the messages along. Viewed another
way, a principal communicates with parents, teachers, and a student’s friends who communicate
with one another and with the student—all of whom are subject to and reside within the same
society—and the messages that most impact student achievement are those that are common and
repeated. These effects can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Where stakeholder communication meets student achievement.
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The Effects of School Leaders on Student Achievement
The role that school leaders play in student achievement is both proven (Nettles &
Herrington, 2007) and assumed. If it weren’t understood that school leaders impacted student
achievement, there would be no persistent call for school leaders or for their need to
communicate and to communicate well. But the exact nature of a school leader’s role in fostering
student growth hasn’t always been so clear. Precisely which aspects of leadership most impact
student achievement? Which traits or behaviors directly foster student growth, and which
function as hurdles that students must strive to overcome?
An aspect of school leadership that has garnered increased attention is a leader’s capacity
to create a positive school climate and the degree to which that capacity positively impacts
student achievement (O’Donnell & White, 2005). In their quantitative, correlational study of
middle school principals in Pennsylvania, O’Donnell and White examined the impact on school
climate and student achievement of continually restating the school’s mission. They found that a
principal’s persistent restatement of the school’s mission, the overt solicitation of teacher buy-in
so that teachers also persistently repeat the school’s mission, and the staff behaving in
accordance with the school’s mission positively impacted both school climate and student
achievement. Upon examination of surveys through which principals self-reported and teachers
reported on principals, the researchers found that school leader behaviors and related teacher and
staff behaviors led to improved student outcomes in both reading and math. The O’Donnell and
White study (2005) explored the role that school-leader communication plays in student
achievement in general, which relates to this study on how communication specifically about
math affects student achievement specifically in math.
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Another means through which school leaders impact student achievement is through
distribution of school leadership (Heck & Hallinger, 2009), providing more stakeholders with
more of a stake, so that positive change is sustainable, and for additional reasons that ultimately,
positively impact student academic achievement. In their quantitative longitudinal study, using
Latent Change Analysis (LTA), which is an application of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM),
the researchers measured, whilst in purposeful constant flux, the cause and effect and reciprocal
nature of principal behavior, school climate, and student achievement. The researchers
supplemented the qualitative, descriptive studies that preceded theirs, hoping to truly prove that,
and not just describe instances where distributed leadership positively impacted student
achievement, specifically in math. They showed that shared leadership raised student
achievement in math, however, not just on one exam administered yearly, but in multiple ways,
using multiple measures, over the course of multiple years.
Not only do Heck and Hallinger’s findings make scientific sense, they make common
sense. The more distributed overall perspective and arsenal of strategies, the more likely there is
to be someone every child can relate to and learn from. To employ an analogy, it is the difference
between having one general on the field or an entire battalion.
Having said that, as long as there is a single principal whose position of ultimate authority
carries significant weight, that principal must take ownership over the messages she sends about
everything, including math. She cannot delegate to others and then sit back. Distributed
leadership is not the same as delegated leadership. As long as anyone is looking to the general for
guidance, that general should be adept at providing sound and consistent guidance. She should be
cognizant of the degree to which she serves as a persistent model for the others.
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Emanating from the principal is not just the mission statement and leadership style, but
policy. Where written policies on various aspects of school business are clearly laid out and
widely enforced, they lead directly to student achievement (Evans-Whipp, Bond, Toumbourou,
& Catalano, 2007). In their quantitative study involving nearly 4,000 students at over 200
schools in both the United States and Australia, researchers found that when schools design,
disseminate and enforce a strict drug policy, students adhere to that policy. Even more
specifically, they found that absolutist abstinence messages were more effective than minimize-
the-harm moderation messages. When adults unequivocally say no, teens are more likely to heed
their call. What happens, then, if a school leader clearly lays out an equally absolutist message
about math, such as "You can and will achieve in math. Failure is not an option. Math is all
around us. It is essential, and is easier than you think.” Students on the receiving end of those
messages would likely thrive.
Not only do principals create the climate, establish the tone, and divine, or at least
steward the policies that ultimately impact student achievement, they also build interpersonal
relationships with parents that positively impact student achievement. For instance, the ways in
which principals view and relate to particular parents affects those parents’ particular
involvement, which impacts student performance (Goldring, 1990). In a quantitative study
involving stratified samples of high-, middle-, and low-socioeconomic-status schools,
researchers looked at the ways in which principals engaged the parents and found that principals
of homogeneous schools that served mostly families of low socio-economic means minimally
involved parents, and when they did, the principals acted as buffers, more than as collaborators,
keeping the parents abreast but at bay, so as to protect what the principals alone aimed to do. In
those schools, where the parents were kept at bay, student achievement was low. This could lead
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to certain conclusions, one of which is that condescension has the potential to negatively impact
student achievement. If a parent is told, either directly or indirectly, that he is a nuisance to the
school, and he is simultaneously told that the school is set up for student success, then that parent
has no choice but to logically conclude that he must be (or is being told that he is) a threat to
student success. In order to truly conclude that it is the parent’s lack of self-efficacy that is at
play in student underachievement and not the more general lack of parent involvement in aspects
of the school, such as field trips, committee meetings, or assemblies, or perhaps interplay of all
the aforementioned, additional studies need to be conducted.
It is not just the principals’ actions that impact student performance, it is also the
perception of the principal’s actions by the students whom the principals are trying to affect.
Researchers Gentilucci and Muto (2007) analyzed the impact of student perception of principal
behavior and found that students who perceived their principals to be visible, approachable,
participatory, and caring fared better on state achievement tests.
While student perceptions do ultimately impact student self-efficacy—and this notion
factored into this researcher’s desire to explore this particular dissertation topic on principal
communication with Latino families about math—student perception of communication was not
the focus of this study. As was stated at the outset, the goal of this study was not to follow a
particular chain of communication as it was delivered and received like a game of telephone
(because any one piece of communication devoid of its entire context might not yield fruitful
information), but rather to follow several principals’ consistent practices to arrive at a theory of
scope and flow and/or a theory of nature and quality that would offer a foundation for future
studies and ultimately function as a path for future leaders as they aim to positively impact
student achievement.
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The Effects of Parents on Student Achievement
While the principal of a school plays a key role in student achievement, the role of a
parent cannot be overstated. In their study on the long-term effects of parents’ education on
children’s educational and occupational success, which was a longitudinal examination of 856
students beginning when the students were in third grade and continuing when the students were
19, 30, and 48, and controlling for variables such as family dynamics, IQ, childhood behavior,
and teenage aspirations, Dubow, Boxer, and Huesmann (2009) concluded that the level of
education a parent has attained by the time their child is eight is a powerful determinant of the
success that child experiences later when the child is 48. In fact, the level of a parent’s education
when their child is eight is second in power only to the child’s IQ and even then only slightly.
This relates to the present study on communication with Latino families about math in that a
parent’s level of education sends a strong message about what is and is not possible for people of
the same ilk. Because the aforementioned longitudinal study also showed that a parent’s level of
education matters most when the child is eight, insofar as it has a strong effect forever afterward
and not as much when the child is 19 (in other words, the “damage” has already been done), it is
seemingly crucial that positive messages about math be sent early, during elementary and middle
school, and not just when a child is in high school. Waiting until high school is probably too late
in the vast majority of cases, although that is one question this study, when combined with
others, might help to answer more definitively. Perhaps under the “right” circumstances, the
“right” communication is never too late.
In their study on the influence of informal language learning environment on vocabulary
learning strategies, which involved extensive interviews with 10 English students, Asgari and
Ghazali (2011) discovered that a parent’s belief in the importance of English language
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acquisition coupled with their own level of education had a significant impact on their child’s
acquisition of English. If a parent believed in the importance of English language acquisition, if
that parent had an education himself, and if that parent used formal language and employed
vocabulary acquisition strategies at home, then the degree of and rate at which her child acquired
English was higher and faster. One would wonder, then, what the results would be if this same
study were conducted with math.
In their quantitative analysis on the degree to which family processes affect students’
motivation and science and math achievement, Campbell and Koutsoulis (2001) used a stratified
sampling of 737 students from the same school district and found that the best predictors of
student achievement were, in their respective order: prior math and science achievement, self-
efficacy, parental psychological support, and home-school communication. Further, they found,
perhaps paradoxically, that parental pressure to achieve had negative effects, especially for girls.
One question that remains, then, involves the interplay of the respective predictors.
Would they together form a pyramid or a chain and, if they formed a pyramid, would “prior
achievement” be at the top or the bottom? Is the first predictor the most necessary, or is it the
aggregate result of the others? In order to further tease out the complex components of student
achievement, each must be analyzed on its own, which leads to this study on the communication
practices of highly effective middle and high school principals. The more that is gleaned on the
many and various ingredients of school leader strategy, as they relate to student achievement, the
more effective future school leaders will be.
Germane to this notion of aggregates is a particular study of educational investment and
children’s math and reading growth from kindergarten through third grade (Cheadle, 2008). In a
longitudinal investigation, researchers sought to uncover the degree to which “concerted
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cultivation” played a role in the pre-kinder and after-kinder achievement of students in both
reading and math. The researchers concluded that while it is clear that concerted cultivation is
likely a contributor to student success at all ages, and especially if begun before kindergarten, it
is difficult to parse the various aspects of a family’s educational investment. All aspects seem to
interconnect and compound. A parent who reads aloud to a child and takes that child to dance or
music class and on the way discusses news stories they hear on the car radio or makes up songs
using license plates and math terms will surely cultivate a child who is more academically
successful than a parent who does none of those things. But until each individual element is
controlled for in studies that isolate various types of parents, families, children and activities—or
until these elements are studied in mindful clusters—it will have to be enough to say that more
investment is generally better than less.
How all this investment on behalf of parents and families affects students and their
achievement predictably comes down to self-efficacy and self-concept clarity, which are
positively affected when parents and their children communicate openly (Van Dijk et al., 2014).
Researchers in the Netherlands performed a longitudinal examination of 323 Dutch adolescents
over four years and found a direct correlation between open communication with parents and
teen self-concept clarity. When parents and their adolescents communicated openly, adolescent
anxiety diminished, problems were less internalized and teens were more apt to have a strong
sense of self, leading them to be “more courageous in their explorations of the world” (2014).
According to the researchers, this factors into increased academic achievement in the form of
trusting one’s point of view, being brave enough to offer ideas, posing challenging questions,
and seeking significant and sophisticated (not merely basal or remedial) assistance. This study
adds to the body of research on student self-efficacy and self-regulation and supports the notion
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that when students believe they can achieve, and when they believe that their achievement
matters, and when they believe that they matter, they are likely to fare well.
The Effects of Home-School Connection on Student Achievement
Indeed, school leaders and parents each respectively impact student achievement, but
when school leaders and parents work together in concert to foster student growth, the rewards
are even greater.
Sirvani (2007) conducted a study in Texas of four Algebra I classes comprised of similar
groupings of African American and Latino students. In the two experimental classes, the teacher
sent home monitoring sheets twice a week with homework and test scores (in addition to the
usual progress reports and report cards), and in the two control groups (the same teacher taught
all four classes) the teacher did not send home such monitoring sheets. All four classes received
from the school the regular progress reports and report cards. The researchers set out to see if the
addition of the monitoring sheets would positively impact student achievement, and also if that
impact would differ according to gender. What the researchers discovered is that the two
experimental groups did significantly better in class than the two control groups, and that the
gender of the students in each group did not play a role. The students whose parents checked
their homework and class test scores twice per week via the signed monitoring sheets fared far
better than those students whose parents did not. Because this Texas study was sanctioned by the
school and was combined with the school progress reports and report cards, the distinction
between school leader communication and teacher communication was not clearly delineated. In
order to determine the degree to which the school leaders had a hand in this increased student
achievement as distinct from the role played by teachers, future studies would have to be
conducted to distinguish school leader communication with parents from teacher communication
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with parents. One goal would be to see if the added level of school leader authority yielded
greater student achievement than teacher communication without it. Nonetheless, the first lesson
to be learned is that parent involvement in high school, and particularly with regard to math,
whether via the school itself or the teacher himself, or a combination of the two, makes a
significant difference in student achievement. The second lesson is that additional research
should be conducted on the degree to which the results are attributable to the principal,
attributable to the teacher, or attributable to a concerted effort on behalf of the two.
In their book, What Successful Schools Do to Involve Families: 55 Partnership Strategies
(Glasgow & Whitney, 2009), the authors, both longtime educators, share 55 research-based
strategies proven to improve both the home-school connection and student achievement. From
teacher strategies such as using phone calls foremost (as opposed to notes home) and calling
home at the outset to establish a positive rapport, to school leader strategies such as organizing
family interactive homework sessions where parents and their children learn math concepts side
by side, to parent strategies such as asking to see what is in their child’s backpack (perhaps there
are important fliers or homework that is due), the authors share strategies—some obvious and
some less so—that have been proven through empirical research to positively impact student
achievement. This case study may work to elucidate some of their findings.
The Effects of Authority-Figure Communication on Subordinates
Central to any analysis of communication should be a discussion on the power dynamics
that exist between those giving and receiving messages (see Figure 2). Basically, anyone outside
a student who sends messages has the potential to impact self-efficacy and ultimately student
achievement. But the messages of those whom the student most respects, and/or are subject to,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 23

are the messages that carry the most power to set in motion student achievement (Sparks &
Areni, 2008; Vaara, Tienari, Piekkari, & Säntti, 2005).

Figure 2: Gearing up for subordinate achievement.
The power of bosses. Researchers in India questioned 150 university undergraduates
about hypothetical scenarios in order to ascertain their likelihood of compliance with a superior’s
directives (Sharma & Gupta, 2000). What the researchers discovered is that the most impactful
exertions of authority—those that yielded the greatest degree of compliance—included a leader’s
use of coercion, a leader’s apparent expert status and perceived importance, and a leader’s
confidence. The degree to which the leader actually had expert abilities was not as strong a
factor. What this means for school principals aiming to effect change and positively impact
student achievement is the degree to which they need to understand how much power they
automatically wield. Even before they speak, just due to the nature of their positions, their words
carry weight, so their words should be mindfully chosen.
To highlight this power differential even more, David Morand (2000) performed a
quantitative examination of the role of politeness in subordinate-superordinate communication
Subordinate
Acheivement
Subordinate
Self-Efficacy
Superordinate
Messages
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and found that subordinates use and repeat certain polite phrases in order to ensure that their
bosses “save face” likely resulting in harmonious work relationships. Also, importantly, Morand
proved that communication and language, which are usually saved for qualitative inquiry, lend
themselves well to quantitative inquiry. Because language is repetitive and follows certain rules,
as do culture and economic class and hierarchical structures within organizations, it is possible to
line up all these systems and structures and evaluate them using quantitative methods to draw
conclusions about the ways in which humans use language to communicate concepts such as
power. In his organizational study, Morand followed specific chains of communication from
actor to recipient (through roleplaying) so as to control for already-established power dynamics,
and found that certain demonstrations of politeness consistently yielded certain consequential
responses. Such communication might one day form the basis for a similar organizational study
of school leader communication with Latino families about math. One might be able to use
strictly quantitative methodology to arrive at conclusions on specific aspects of principal
communication and their related degrees of student achievement. For example, perhaps specific
phrases yield specific student achievement results. What Morand’s study does, which this study
on school leader communication cannot, is extract and abstract the communication so that its
various aspects may be considered in a way that does not involve value judgments on behalf of
the participants. Said another way, if one plans to uncover something unsavory, one does not
perform a small-scale qualitative study involving authentic participants who risk appearing in an
unflattering light. One instead involves large groups of respondents who are at all times
completely anonymous.
Therefore, a goal might be to one day combine the aspects of these two studies, wherein
the findings of this case study on the ways that school leaders communicate with Latino families
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about math leads to a quantitative look at school leader communication across a larger swath to
come up with some guidelines and perhaps even a template or script for how to communicate
with families in order to boost student achievement.
The power of teachers. While the role of the teacher in the academic success of students
has long been examined—and since No Child Left Behind (No Child Left Behind [NCLB],
2003), teachers have been under increased scrutiny, as though their role were the only role that
had impact—there is still much to be fathomed about the intricate ways that teachers impact
student achievement. Which specific behaviors lead to which specific outcomes?
Lewis et al. (2012) conducted a correlational/comparative analysis of 1,456 Latino fifth-
and sixth-grade math students in California and found that those students taught by math teachers
who were “caring,” as determined by students and identified via student questionnaires, scored
significantly higher on state math achievement tests than those taught by teachers who were not.
Caring in the context of this study may be seen as a form of communication. While studies such
as that conducted by Lewis et al. (2012), which relied solely on student questionnaires, might
suggest that other factors besides what was mentioned in the questionnaire could also be at
play—student self-efficacy, for example, and not just teacher caring—when combined with other
studies, the findings are more compelling.
Hyland and Lo (2006) studied interactions between student teachers of English as a
Second Language and their university tutors and shed light on the ways that communication is
affected by true and perceived power imbalances. Students were more likely to heed messages
by certain types of teachers, depending on culture, gender, and perceived position, not just
personality, and this could ultimately impact the effectiveness of the student teachers. If they
were intimidated or if their tutors were too critical, this could have a chilling effect on their
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learning. This relates to this present case study in that it brings forth questions about the ways
that school leaders do or do not mindfully communicate with Latino families. Similar issues of
culture and perceived position might play a role.
The power of society. After studying 579 ethnically diverse girls ranging in age from
13–18 on their beliefs, interests, and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) subjects and non-STEM subjects, Leaper, Farkas, and Brown (2011) concluded that
personal and social factors, including the messages sent about gender capacity in STEM subjects,
impacted student motivation (and, presumably, student achievement) in math and science more
so than parental encouragement. When girls’ peers valued STEM fields, the girls themselves
valued STEM fields as well and believed them to be more relevant to their lives and thought of
them as possible career options. Further, when girls learned about feminism at a previous point
in their lives, they were more likely to be motivated to study STEM subjects. The results of this
study showed that both peer value and introduction to feminism involved a stronger correlation
to female motivation to study math and science than either parental encouragement or parent
modeling. This finding strengthens the notion that society plays an important role in shaping
peoples’ lives. Therefore, it is logical that society’s messages about the capacity for Latinos to
excel in math would impact Latino math achievement. The question is, how much? Also, whose
messages about math are the most impactful to Latinos? While this case study aimed to explore
school leader messages, future studies would need to be undertaken to explore peer messages
and societal messages.
To further elaborate on the degree to which society impacts self-efficacy and presumably,
ultimately academic achievement, French researchers Bonnot and Croizet (2007) questioned 74
female and 100 male university students in France in order to discover the degree to which the
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 27

students had internalized stereotypes about gender and math achievement. Through the process
of questioning both men and women in stereotype and counter-stereotype fields (for example,
math for men and the humanities for women; math for women and the humanities for men), the
researchers discovered that men and women in all fields had internalized gender stereotypes, and
that women working in counter-stereotype fields (such as math) proved to be even more affected
by those stereotypes because they faced them daily at work. While this French study showed a
strong correlation between stereotype internalization and self-efficacy, it did not show a causal
relationship between stereotype internalization and lower performance. In order to connect
stereotype internalization to lower performance, more studies would have to be conducted. But
what this study on stereotypes does display is the prevalence and persistence of the stereotype
that women are not as competent in math as men. While gender stereotypes are not the same as
ethnic stereotypes, they are arguably analogous and worth mentioning. The more we know about
how messages impact the myriad aspects of student psychology, the more we will be able to
impact student psychology and ultimately student achievement.
The Effects of Student Self-Efficacy on Student Achievement
One’s belief in one’s ability is determinant of one’s achievement (Høigaard, Kovač,
Øverby, & Haugen, 2015). This has been proven in a variety of ways across a multitude of fields,
including studies that show how the mind can trick the nervous system into believing that a
placebo is a high-end designer drug (Kam-Hansen et al., 2014). In a placebo trial involving 66
patients, each experiencing a sequence of seven migraine headaches and given no medicine for
the first headache, patients were given a combination of placebos and active medicines for the
subsequent six migraines. In some cases, the participants were given drugs that were labeled with
a brand name (either mock or authentic) or the word “placebo.” In the end, Kam-Hansen et al.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 28

(2014) found that the placebos worked 50% of the time. One’s belief is therefore just as powerful
as reality.
In a study on the impact of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and instrumentality, researchers
Vick and Packard (2008) recruited 66 urban Latino teens in New England to discover the degree
to which belief in one’s ability to achieve alongside the expectation that such achievement would
amount to something positive down the line, and the utilization of self-regulating tools along the
way, positively impacted academic achievement. In their quantitative, predictive modeling
analysis they found that, indeed, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and instrumentality mattered and
were interrelated. This study showed something new in that it proved that it is not enough to
simply see how one singular achievement, for example the passage of a single class, might lead
to a relatively immediate consequential gain, for example high school graduation, but that
students must also see how the subsequent high school graduation will lead to an even greater
gain in the form of college graduation, high-paid employment, and lifelong fulfillment. This need
for a connection between task and payoff makes sense because Latino youths who come from
first- and second-generation immigrant families that might not have an education level beyond
high school may not see the need for a college education. If these youths live with family
members who seem personally and professionally fulfilled despite not having attained a high
level of education, there is no obvious need to deviate from their example. However, as the job
market changes and certain jobs become obsolete, they will need to.
Medium
Written. Previously, it was discussed that the statement of a school’s mission and written
policies on matters such as drugs are key when they are clear and enforced. Moreover, the
written communication that emanates from the administrator’s office is powerful when it is
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 29

written with the audience in mind, when it values rigor and achievement, and when it is error
free (Kreiner, Schnakenberg, Green, Costello, & McClin, 2002). But the degree to which
messages about math are hidden in these documents and whether or not these hidden messages
have any bearing on subsequent math achievement have yet to be investigated. Such was one aim
of this study—to shed light on the notion that all written communication sends messages, both
intended and unintended, and all have the power to either raise or lower student achievement.
In addition to formal and longstanding messages such as the mission statement and the
“principal’s message,” school leaders often write slightly less formal and ephemeral messages
using social media which likely also impact student achievement. In a qualitative study involving
three principals, the parents at their schools, and a selection of social media messages,
researchers discovered that social media tools do in fact help to solidify the home-school
connection. The researchers also discovered, however, that social media is most potent when part
of a home-school relationship that is already in place. While social media technically offers an
additional opportunity for parents to form new connections, social media definitely offers yet one
more opportunity for a family that is already connected to become all the more connected. The
ramifications of this discovery include the increasing reach that principals have and the
consequential increased responsibility. Just as social media offers another forum to reach out, it
offers another opportunity to make mistakes. More than ever, school leaders have to be mindful
of all the ways they communicate their many messages.
Spoken. When discussing principal communication on a macro level (school climate,
distributed leadership, attitude toward parents in general) principal communication should also
be explored on a micro level in terms of the words and phrases principals use when speaking
directly and personally with parents in a variety of situations and settings.
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In The Power of Talk: How Words Change Our Lives (Briscoe, Arriaza, & Henze, 2009),
the authors explore the role of language in effecting equality in schools and other public arenas.
They discuss the ways in which language frames thought and discourse and ultimately the worlds
we inhabit. Their book, in conjunction with this and other studies, offers scholars and
practitioners opportunities to reflect on their own use of language as it may or may not help or
hinder student achievement and ultimately social equality. While their book examines linguistics,
and this study does not, what both offer is a heightened awareness of mindful communication
and all that it entails.
Unspoken. While written and spoken communication wield a certain amount of power in
relation to student achievement, unspoken communication does as well, and this unspoken
language comes in many forms from silent body language to masterful use of connotations.
In her paper “Harnessing the Power of Interpretive Language” (Shawver, 1983), the
author argues that while Freud downplayed the power of connotations in his practice of
psychotherapy and claimed that effective therapy involved a certain cold and distant directness,
Freud himself was a master of connotation. Freud was artful in his ability to repackage a
patient’s perspective and to affect their interpretation in such a way as to lead to revelations.
Shawver argues that this paradox proves that the manner in which we say something is even
more powerful than the content of our message. Connotation trumps denotation, or at least it
paves the way for denotation, allowing the recipient to more readily welcome its weight. An
example the author uses involves a female psychotherapy patient in the 1950’s who had decided
that her husband who took the home phone with him to work was treating her like a child. The
therapist reframed the situation, using not just a kinder interpretation but choice language. He
applauded the patient’s extensive phone usage (which caused the husband to take the phone),
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 31

since her inability to reach out to friends had been her longstanding problem, and he used
sophisticated words that had certain “adult” connotations, leading her to feel that she was being
treated like an adult. By shifting the focus from the husband to the wife, and looking at the
situation from a different perspective, and by couching the message in kinder, more flattering
terms, the therapist allowed for the recipient to be open to hear that she had spent too much on
phone calls, so much so that while her husband was away, he just couldn’t afford to leave the
phone with her at home. This relates to principals in terms of the degree to which school leaders
artfully navigate the sea of connotations—how they turn perspective, interpretation, and diction
to their advantage. This in turn relates to the present study on communication about math as it
highlights the ways in which school leaders use (or do not use) a mastery of language to impact
student achievement.
In addition to connotations, there are other ways we send indirect messages, including in
the value we place on things, such as how we spend our time and money, how we design the
world around us for the sake of others in our lives, and the sense of urgency we employ.
Language
Heritage language. Regarding the language of school leader communication, when
principals choose to communicate in two languages, and not just one, even if that one language is
the primary language of the majority, student achievement rises, and further, when school leaders
appear to go out of their way to communicate in the home language of the parents, there are
positive effects (Coady, Cruz-Davis, & Flores, 2008; Mutch & Collins, 2012). Finally, when
school leaders strive to meet the needs of Latinos, specifically, with mindful use of verbal and
nonverbal language, in order to increase their interest in science and math, school leaders—and
hence their students—succeed (Rakow & Bermudez, 1993).
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Moreover, society has shown interest in reaching out to families in their home language
as is evidenced by the ruling in Lau v. Nichols (1974) and Title VII that require schools to
translate documents so as to make education accessible to all.
Formal vs. informal register. In addition to using a student’s home language in mindful
and eager ways, it is also important to be adept at employing an array of registers, such as formal
and informal. While the term “code-switching” may apply when using world languages, such as
Spanish and English, it also applies to registers, such as formal and informal. A principal who
can communicate effectively in both formal and informal registers, has a greater chance of
building trusting relationships with parents which in turns benefits students (Mutch & Collins,
2012).
Frequency
Communicating in a variety of media and languages helps to penetrate even the most
resistant recipients. So, too, does frequency, though frequency must not take the place of quality
(Otten, Harakeh, Vermulst, Van, & Engels, 2007). Frequency comes in different forms and can
be both positive and negative. Frequency can be tautological, or rather a mindless repetition
found in propaganda, or it can be anaphoric and powerful, as in “I have a dream” in Martin
Luther King’s famous speech. What principals should consider when communicating about
math, then, are the degree to which their repetition is either one or the other and the degree to
which their audience is responding positively.
Tone
Adopting a certain tone while communicating also impacts success. Hine, Murphy,
Weber, and Kersten (2009) performed a quantitative analysis of 800 e-negotiations and
discovered that those negotiations including positive communication, i.e., words with positive
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 33

connotations, and resulting positive emotion, were much more likely to be successful than those
consisting of negative language and emotion. It would be fruitful to uncover such truths about
school interactions and interactions between school leaders and families to see the correlation
between tone and parent involvement and potential resulting student achievement.
Purposefulness
Akin to purposefulness is awareness of impact which requires both self-efficacy
(awareness of one’s abilities) and self-regulation (ability to monitor one’s behaviors). Just as
students benefit from both self-efficacy and self-regulation, so, too, do adults. This instrumental
case study aimed to illuminate the communication strategies of high school leaders, as they
potentially relate to Latino student achievement in math, and part of the puzzle is the degree to
which the participant leaders are cognizant of their impact, and cognizant of their approach and
the degree to which that cognizance either helps or hinders. In their study involving the leaders
of 33 organizations where the self-awareness of the leaders was questioned, Higgs and Rowland
(2010) discovered that many of the leaders were blind to the degree to which they did and did not
impact the various changes that were in motion within their organizations. The researchers
determined that the leaders who were blind to their effects incurred the most blatant failures, and
that while they aimed to be agents of change, they were instead agents of their own egos and to
resulting organizational stagnancy (Higgs & Rowland, 2010). Further, in a study of 134 high-
performing and 470 average-performing managers, Church (1997) found that the high-
performing managers were significantly more self-aware. Therefore, in this study on school
leaders and the ways in which they communicate with Latino families about math, special
attention was afforded to the degree to which the participants were aware of their own behaviors,
as such awareness may contribute to their students’ academic success.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 34

Consistency and Shared Belief
Consistency of message makes collaboration easier and hence more likely (Nemec,
Gould, Seibold, & Rice, 2012). If people know clearly what they are to do and or say, they are
likely to do and or say that which is desired; and cognizance of shared impact also makes success
more likely. Shared impact comes about through shared vision (Carton, Murphy, & Clark, 2014),
and the way to bring about a shared vision is through the mindful use of image-based words (as
opposed to laden concepts) and a clear espousal and repetition of no more than four values. So,
consistency, shared consistency, and simplicity are all key, according to scholars. It was this
researcher’s desire to uncover truths about the participants of this case study to see if their
communication with Latino families about math is in line with this research.
Gaps in the Research
As previously noted, no studies have been carried out on how highly effective urban
school leaders communicate with Latino families about math, nor has an instrumental case study
been conducted outlining just how the leaders of one particular high-achieving, large, urban high
school communicate with Latino families about math. Studies have been conducted on various
related aspects of school, classroom, and societal leadership and of course on communication;
but rather than merely stringing together those studies in an attempt to draw definitive
conclusions on this particular topic in this setting, it has proven beneficial to address this topic
head-on. Certainly, the findings support this claim.
Conclusion
It has been deemed that school-leader communication with families positively impacts
student achievement, insofar as school leader interactions with all stakeholders set in motion the
school culture, distribution of power, quality of relationships, and expectations of what is
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 35

possible, which ultimately reaches students. The research further reveals that parents and
teachers also affect student self-efficacy with their diction, tone, and more, and that student self-
efficacy directly leads to higher achievement. Thus, it was highly probable that the ways in
which school leaders communicate with families specifically about math would positively
impact student achievement in math. Therefore, this study’s exposé on the nature of the
communication of one high-achieving, large, urban high school’s leaders with Latino families
about math should complement the current research, inspire future studies, and henceforth help
to bridge the Latino math achievement gap.
A description of the methodology follows in Chapter 3.

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 36

Chapter 3: Methodology
This instrumental case study sought to understand how the leaders of one high-achieving,
large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math. In so doing, this study
aimed to answer the following four research questions:
1. How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with
Latino families about math?
2. Is communication with families about math purposeful?
3. Is there consistency in message?
4. Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays in
student math achievement?
The purpose of this study was to add to the literature an increased awareness about the nature
of school-leader communication with families, as it might both directly and indirectly impact
student achievement, and to generate theory and inspire future studies, with the ultimate goal of
bridging the Latino math achievement gap.
The lens through which this study was conducted was that of Critical Sociocultural
Theory, in that it balances Marxist Critical Theory (Kellner, 1989), aimed at understanding
oppression so that we may strive to eliminate it, with Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (Kozulin,
1999), which holds that people do not learn in isolation but within a sociocultural context, and,
as such, a cognizance of said context is key.
Further, this study constructs a conceptual framework by stitching together, or weaving
together, prevailing interpretations of John Hattie’s (2009; 2012) work on effect size, which
consider the effects of 138 educational influences in isolation—and ranks them in a list—
disregarding their original contexts or interplay. This researcher aims to show that while school
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 37

leader communication should be considered in isolation as a particular contributor to student
success for the sake of highlighting its existence, it should ultimately be considered in concert
with other contributors, as part of an entire fabric. It is systems that impact student achievement,
not singular aspects of systems.
This study seeks to bring to the fore new information about the ways that Latinos are
stationed in society, and, in particular, in education, and even more particularly in the area of
math. A critical approach characterizes both the urgency of the matter and the bias of the
researcher. There is no mistaking the researcher’s desire to notice every subtle encounter as it
might one day lead to poor (or atypically high) student performance in math. The goal is to effect
change and to empower the marginalized.
Further, while critical theorists are concerned with the station and movement of the
oppressed, sociocultural theorists know that people do not reside in isolation. All are part of a
larger social context through which culture is both shared and learned, and it is through a deep
understanding of the role that all people play in perpetuating certain messages that true and
lasting change may emerge.
To reiterate, the conceptual framework may be said to be a riff off of John Hattie’s (2009;
2012) work in that it seeks to consider Hattie’s list of educational influences and their effect size
in woven combination, rather than in linear isolation; it seeks to consider school leader
communication as part of a grand woven fabric that effects and upholds student achievement.
While there are factors that contribute to underachievement in math among Latinos
outside of school-leader communication (for example, poverty and teacher training), much has
been studied on the impact of poverty on student achievement and of classroom teachers on
student achievement, so neither was the primary focus of this study. Further, while language
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 38

development has been known to play a role in student success, because math achievement is also
low among Latinos who have been reclassified and are no longer English Learners (EL’s)
(California Department of Education, 2013), English Language Development (ELD) was not the
primary focus of this study either. The aspect of language that was key in this study is the
language of school leaders as they communicate with Latino families, specifically about math,
with the hope that new revelations might be made about the nature of school-leader
communication that have the probability of impacting student achievement. The aspects of
language in addition to medium and frequency that were studied included mother tongue, such as
English vs. Spanish; register, such as formal vs. informal; and the connotations and hidden
messages within both spoken and unspoken communication. Other than that, language, per se,
was not the primary focus.
For the purpose of this study, the focus was neither on the families’ communication, nor
the families’ perceptions of the school leaders’ communication, but rather on the school leaders’
communication, alone, and on their own cognizance of said communication. Much can be
learned from the ways that school leaders communicate with families purposefully, the degree of
consistency with which multiple leaders at one school communicate collectively, and the degree
to which their beliefs about the role of communication is shared with fellow leaders. Whether or
not target families receive the communication as it was intended, or agree with the school
leaders’ characterizations of said communication as they perceived it to be, or responded to
communication in ways that strictly enhance student achievement, provides fertile ground for
future studies.
Moreover, such a dual focus on both communicator and recipient would likely suggest
that there is a certain structuralist truth (Maxwell, 2013) that is to be surmised about
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 39

communication—that there is some objective and absolute reality about what is and is not
communicated, rather than the more postmodern (Public Broadcasting Service, 2016), and
perhaps logical view that there is only the subjective perception of communication—and it is the
job of people who deliver, receive, and/or witness communication to simply report on their
subjective perceptions.
Finally, while this was the study of a small sampling of a few individuals’ behavior,
rather than a longitudinal look at a particular chain of communication—this study follows the
leaders, not the speech—it would be beneficial to one day follow the speech.
Study Design
This study was an instrumental case study highlighting the communication of eight
school leaders, all from the same school, and a complementary collection of school documents
and audiovisual materials. The objective was to shed light on the larger notion of school leader
communication as it relates to student achievement. This study was comprised of eight in-person
interviews ranging in duration from 38-58 minutes with an average duration of 48 minutes, and
the collection and analysis of documents and audiovisual materials. Data collection was
conducted, mostly over the course of one week in the fall of 2015, with six of the interviews
taking place on one day and two follow-up interviews taking place on two different days shortly
thereafter, and most of the documents being collected at the same time. A few documents and
audiovisuals were collected a month later during the early data analysis phase.
The documents were comprised almost entirely of public documents available on the
school’s website, with a few additional documents provided by two of the participants upon
inquiry. The audiovisual materials included 38 photographs and the school’s very active Twitter
feed of more than 1,800 Tweets which was downloaded once upon completion of the interviews.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 40

Sample and Population
The school that was selected for this case study was a large, urban high school whose
demographics at the time of selection were as follows:
 Number of students Proficient or Advanced in Algebra I or higher math > 50%
 Number of Latinos > 90%
 Number of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged (SED) students > 75%
 Number of students tested in General Math (remedial, not grade level math) < 5%
 Large school with an enrollment of > 2,000 students
 Urban school within a metropolis and within 20 miles of a city of > 500,000 residents
 Traditional, non-charter, public school with open enrollment
 Recent, significant spike in math performance
This school was selected from among 80 schools that were initially identified as “high
achieving” and “urban.”
At the outset, the researcher set out to identify > 70 California middle and high schools
that fit the following criteria:
o Number of students Proficient or Advanced in Algebra I or higher math > 31%
o Number of non-White students > 67%
o Number of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged (SED) students > 67%
o Within 30 miles of a large urban center of > 500,000 residents
The researcher had originally planned to survey all 70 principals and perform a mixed-
methods analysis following an explanatory sequential structure, culminating in interviews with
five “highly-effective” principals; due to an extremely low survey response rate, however,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 41

precluding validity, the researcher shifted her focus to one select school which will be referred to
in this study by the pseudonym Brighton High School (BHS) to protect anonymity.
The researcher selected a school from the list of approximately 80 schools with certain
salient features previously mentioned.
The researcher then contacted the school, met with the principal in person and proposed
the school’s participation in the study. The principal accepted and promptly invited all those on
the researcher’s list of desired participants, based on job title, to participate. In the principal’s
email invitation to staff, the principal stated that participation was voluntary.
The eight school leaders interviewed included the principal, two assistant principals, a
counselor, a program director, two teacher leaders and one 18-year-old student mentor.
These eight school leaders ranged somewhat in gender, age, ethnicity, bilingualism, and
experience, though most had significant experience in education and longevity at BHS and none
of the Anglos were bilingual (see Table 1).
Table 1.
Characteristics of Participants
Participant Number,
Gender, Age, and Ethnicity
Language
Ability
Years in
education
Years at
BHS
Years in
Current Post
P1 F > 50 Anglo monolingual > 20 > 20 > 7
P2 F < 50 Latina bilingual < 20 > 15 > 8
P3 F < 50 Latina bilingual < 20 > 10 > 3
P4 F < 50 Latina bilingual < 20 > 15 > 8
P5 F < 50 Latina bilingual < 20 > 15 > 15
P6 F > 50 Anglo monolingual > 20 < 15 > 6
P7 M < 50 Anglo monolingual < 20 > 10 > 3
P8 M < 50 Latino bilingual > 2 > 3 > 2

Not all school leaders were interviewed. While the school employs three assistant
principals, only two were interviewed. While the school employs six counselors, only one was
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 42

interviewed. Further, of the school’s 90+ teachers, only two were interviewed and they were
those who deal most directly in a leadership capacity with the issues at hand. One is an
Advanced Placement Spanish teacher who is also the Academic Mentor teacher and English
Language Advisory Council (ELAC) coordinator, and the other is a math department co-chair.
The first participant, the principal, was selected by the researcher along with a list of desired
others based on job title. The principal invited those others to attend on a voluntary basis. The
principal set up six interviews in one location, the parent center, all on one day. Based on
information that emerged during those interviews, the researcher invited two additional
participants on two additional days.
The researcher did not know, either personally or professionally, any of the staff,
including the principal, nor had the researcher visited the school before the first meeting with the
principal. The initial letter of invitation to the original mixed-methods study and the subsequent
invitation to participate in the case study are included in the Appendices.
The goal of this case study was to glean as much information as possible about the
behavior of eight school leaders of one high-achieving high school, and to uncover the nature of
their communication with Latino families about math, keeping in mind that there is likely a
correlation between school leader communication with families about math and subsequent
student math achievement. Underlying that hope is that certain aspects of these school-leader
behaviors will bring to the fore the notion of communication with families in order to generate
theory and inspire future studies which might ultimately positively impact Latino student math
achievement.
The first six participants were selected because of their positions, or rather job titles. The
additional two were selected based on information that emerged during the first six interviews.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 43

The documents selected were chosen because of their purpose and scope and potential for
exposing pertinent information about school leader communication with families about math.
The audiovisual materials, consisting of photographs of bulletin boards around campus, and the
Tweets chosen from the school’s Twitter feed also were selected for their potency and likely
impact and the degree to which they seemed representative of the entire feed.
Instrumentation
For the interviews, which were semi-structured (Creswell, 2013), the researcher used an
interview protocol (Appendix D) which functioned largely as a springboard. While all
respondents were asked several of the same questions, with the hope of uncovering differences
and similarities, all were asked additional unique questions that emerged based on the
conversation.
The interviews, which averaged 48 minutes in duration, were recorded on an iPhone 6S
with the permission of the respondents and transcribed using a transcription service.
Additionally, during the interviews, the researcher took notes which were used primarily to drive
future investigation. These notes were not themselves analyzed.
The documents, most of which were public, were selected based on their potential for
offering pertinent information and were collected from the school and district websites. To
ensure their integrity, the documents were downloaded. Additional documents were asked for
and collected in person during and after the interviews.
Photographs were taken on two separate occasions during interviews and document
collection.
The Twitter feed was accessed and downloaded after the interviews were completed.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 44

Because the goal was to garner information about specific aspects of school-leader
communication, such as medium, frequency, language (mother tongue, code switching) and tone,
there were questions devoted precisely to these topics.
While formal observations were not part of this instrumental case study, the researcher
did take notes on what she observed while visiting the school. Her perceptions of these de facto
observations are mentioned and qualified in the findings.
Data Collection
Interviews
The interviews were all conducted at the school site. Six were conducted on the same
day, one in the principal’s office and five in the parent center, an area which the principal had set
aside for the duration of the school day for the purpose of conducting the interviews.
The additional two interviews were each conducted on separate days—one with a second
assistant principal and another with a guidance counselor whom the assistant principal referred to
during his/her interview. The researcher, not the principal, coordinated those two interviews,
which took place, one of which took place in the parent center and the other in the participant’s
office.
The interview protocols included universal questions and individualized follow-up
questions added for clarification and insight.
In addition to interviews, the researcher collected documents and audiovisuals. The
documents numbered over 40, and included the principal’s message, student handbook, School
Accountability Report Card, mission statement, et al., of which the researcher selected a
representative 11. The audiovisuals included 38 photographs of bulletin boards around campus,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 45

of which the researcher selected 20, and 1,826 Tweets, of which the researcher selected 20, all
posted within a brief timespan and all thought to be representative of the whole.
Data Analysis
Interview transcripts, documents, and photographs were coded in respective order via
open coding (Creswell, 2013). The researcher first listened to and read each transcript, looking
for accuracy in transcription and annotating with memos. Then the researcher read each
transcript a second time and completed a coding table.
After coding transcripts in this way, the researcher did the same with documents and
audiovisuals before looking for commonalities and distinctions and placing the more striking
data onto a summative table organized around the research questions.
The researcher chose to begin her analysis with interview transcripts, rather than
documents, as the researcher wanted the process to flow directly from the school leaders
themselves and be driven by their perceptions and articulations of said perceptions. It seemed
only fitting that a study about school leader communication should begin with school leader
communication. Further, it seemed logical to place greater emphasis on face-to-face interviews
rather than on documents, as interviews involve individuals who are in a position to speak to
their process, while documents are created by teams, and often not the exact, current teams. Also,
explanations on the documents’ development would be difficult to obtain and perhaps
convoluted.
The researcher chose not to ask the participants follow-up questions pertaining to the
documents or audiovisual materials, as the answers would likely be tainted with the participants’
desire to “say the right thing,” having become more deeply apprised of the aspects of the study.
Instead, the researcher chose to take the synchronous interviews, asynchronous documents, and
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 46

photos and live audiovisuals to piece together a holistic impression of how the school leaders
communicate.
Reliability and Validity
To ensure reliability of the data, the researcher was systematic in her approach to sample
selection, development of the interview protocol, creation of code tables, and quest for themes
and answers.
To ensure validity, the researcher triangulated with interviews, documents and audio-
visuals. The interviews were in-person in the participants’ natural settings, the photos were taken
on the same days as the interviews were conducted and hard-copy documents were collected, and
the Twitter feed was downloaded immediately upon completion of all the other data collection.
Limitations to reliability and validity will be discussed in Chapter Four.
Confidentiality
For the purpose of maintaining confidentiality, the school and the participants have been
given pseudonyms, and, as well, certain potentially identifying features have been generalized,
(for example, >75% in lieu of the actual percentage). While most, if not all, documents are
public, and the photographs and Twitter feed are public as well, the transcripts of the interviews,
which were confidential, have been stored securely and not shared.
Ethics
The researcher obtained approval from and followed protocols established by the
Institutional Review Board (IRB). The researcher first invited the principal to participate. The
principal then invited six of the participants to participate based on the list of desired participants
provided by the researcher (based on job title, not specific person). The researcher, not the
principal, invited two additional participants to be interviewed. The researcher and principal both
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 47

made sure that the student participant was over the age of 18 and that he/she, as well as all
participants, participated voluntarily.
All participants were told the purpose and scope of the study, were reminded that their
participation was voluntary and were asked if it was okay to record their interviews. Further, the
recorder was in plain view in the middle of the table. All participants were told that while the
researcher would use pseudonyms in her final write-up, the participants were free to use
whatever names they felt comfortable with.
Conclusion
The purposes of case studies vary, as do their compositions (Creswell, 2013; Stake,
1995). Some case studies are intrinsic case studies intended to delve deeply into the inner
workings of a unique subject; others are collective or multiple-case studies intended to compare
and contrast multiple subjects; and still others, like this instrumental case study, are focused on a
single case which functions as an instrument to more greatly understand a larger issue or
practice. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to shed light on the ways in which the
leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about
math, with the hope that the conclusions will illuminate the larger issue of communication in all
its sundry forms and generate theory and inspire future studies on the nature of school leader
communication.
A more detailed description of the methodology and the findings appear in Chapter 4.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 48

Chapter 4: Summary of Findings
Focus of the Study
The focus of this instrumental case study was on the leadership of one high-achieving,
large, urban high school and the ways in which the leaders communicate with Latino families
about math, believing school leader communication to play a role in the school’s higher-than-
average Latino math achievement. Because this was an instrumental case study, the goal was to
bring to the fore the larger issue of communication in general and school leader communication
with Latino families about math in particular, as it likely impacts Latino math achievement. As
this was a qualitative study, additional goals were to generate theory and inspire future studies.
Research Questions
This study aimed to answer the following four research questions:
1. How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate
with Latino families about math?
2. Is communication with families about math purposeful?
3. Is there consistency in message?
4. Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays
in student math achievement?
Setting
The high school, which this researcher has chosen to call Brighton High School (BHS), is
located within a sprawling metropolis and boasts a student enrollment of more than 2,000
students, including a large Latino population of greater than 90%, and a large Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged (SED) population of over 75%. While the chosen school is located within a
sprawling metropolis, the school lies within a discrete charter city of more than 50,000 residents
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 49

that shares a proud and particular history and which is home to many first-, second-, third-, and
fourth-generation Latinos. The city’s residents are approximately 60% White, half of whom are
non-Hispanic White, and the other half of whom are Hispanic-White; 60% Hispanic; 20%
Pacific Islander; with the remaining population made up of various other ethnicities.
The school was built at the turn of the 20
th
Century and has seen numerous changes in
demographics over the years. It is the alma mater of at least one United States president as well
as generations of proud orchard workers and, in increasing measure over the years, business
owners and employees in manufacturing, retail sales, and education.
While the school is a high-achieving public high school, it is not the highest performing
public high school in its district. This school was selected in part because of a unique, recent, and
significant spike in academic performance. A companion study of other schools in the same or
similar district with a similar collection of high-achieving, large, urban high schools would likely
be beneficial in order to illuminate particular practices at the district level.
Participants
The eight participants interviewed include one principal, two assistant principals, a
guidance counselor, one math department chair, one English Language Advisory Council
(ELAC) coordinator, who is also the academic mentor teacher and Advanced Placement Spanish
teacher, one program director, and an 18-year-old student academic mentor. Their basic
demographic information appears in Table 1.
Data Collection
The data collected for this instrumental case study of the leaders of one high-achieving,
large, urban high school and the ways they communicate with Latino families about math
include eight interviews with an average duration of 48 minutes each. The interviews were
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 50

conducted over the course of one week, with six interviews conducted on one day. The school’s
principal, who was also a participant, and who was interviewed in the principal’s office, set up
the schedule of five additional interviews in the school’s parent center. Based on what emerged
during those six interviews, the researcher set up two additional interviews, one which took place
in the parent center, and the other which was held in the participant’s office.
The interviews were recorded using the iPhone 6S voice memo feature and were
afterward transcribed using a transcription service. To ensure accuracy of transcription, the
researcher maintained and listened to the original voice memos.
In addition to face-to-face interviews, the researcher collected more than 40 documents
(most were obtained via the school’s website and some were collected in person from two of the
participants) and audiovisual materials, which included 38 photographs and more than 1,800
Tweets, which were downloaded for integrity.
While the researcher collected numerous documents and audiovisuals, she sampled and
coded no more than 20 of each and chose documents and audiovisuals that represented the
whole.
Data Analysis
As this was an instrumental case study, qualitative in nature, the data were analyzed using
open coding (Creswell, 2013). First, the researcher listened to the voice recording of each
interview while reading the transcript to check for accuracy. While doing this, she wrote memos.
Next, the researcher read each transcript again, looking for themes and attaching additional
memos. Finally, the researcher placed codes, themes, and memos on a table for analysis.
After analyzing transcripts, the researcher analyzed the documents and audiovisuals in
the same manner then created a summative table organized around the research questions,
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 51

highlighting the most salient data and recording her findings. The flow of analysis employed by
the researcher is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Flow of analysis.

Findings
Following protocol typical of qualitative research (Creswell, 2013; Maxwell, 2013;
Merriam, 2009) this researcher collected a variety of data including interviews, documents, and
audiovisuals, then analyzed the data using open coding in a quest to find themes and answer the
four research questions.
For the process of data analysis, the researcher listened to the recordings and read the
interview transcripts while writing initial thoughts in memo form, then reread the transcripts,
taking note of emergent themes and in vivo codes, and placing the codes, including constructed
and in vivo codes along with themes in a workspace on a table.
Next, the researcher selected from the arsenal of over 40 documents, 38 photographs, and
1,826 Tweets those that accurately characterized the whole and coded them in the same manner.
Finally, the researcher perused all four code tables looking for commonalities and
distinctions, taking note of prevailing themes, and drew conclusions in answer to the following
four research questions:
Memos
Recordings
and
Transcripts
Codes,
themes and
memos on
a table
Transcripts
Codes,
themes and
memos on
a table
Documents
Codes,
themes and
memos on a
table
Photos
and
Twitter
Commalities,
distinctions
and findings
Sum
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 52

1. How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate
with Latino families about math?
2. Is communication with families about math purposeful?
3. Is there consistency in message?
4. Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays
in student math achievement?
Following are the researcher’s findings.
Research Question 1
How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino
families about math?
In order to fully fathom the nature and quality of school leader communication and to
fully answer Research Question #1, the researcher broke down Research Question #1 into
subcategories: medium, language, frequency, and tone.
Further, the researcher analyzed a combination of interviews, documents, and
audiovisuals.
With regard to interviews, the researcher used a protocol for the semi-structured
interviews consisting of 30 questions, including questions seeking demographic and background
information; however, only questions related to medium, language, frequency, and/or tone are
discussed here. Those questions include:
 What media do you use to communicate your message?
 Which medium is your personal philosophical favorite?
 How do you reach families that might not speak the same language as you?
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 53

 When you personally communicate with Latino families about math, do you code-
switch, and are you aware of the degree to which you do or do not code switch, and by code
switch, I mean switching from formal to informal register (or vice versa), switching from
Spanish to English, or using certain types of Spanish or English, depending on your audience?
With regard to chosen media and favorite medium, one participant responded that her
most used and favorite medium is Teleparent, seemingly for the immediacy, the likelihood that
all families would receive it, and the ability to make sure that all messages are bilingual.
Another participant stated that his favorite medium was in-person discussion, so that his
intent would not get lost. He stated that he was “not good on the phone.”
The third participant reported sending notes home that the parent must not only sign, but
complete with an entire handwritten paragraph in thoughtful response.
Another reported using postcards because they are immediate and don’t require opening,
so they are more likely to be seen and even posted.
Another participant suggested that he does not successfully communicate with many
families because most of the families are “hands-off.” He relies on the parents to log into the
electronic grading program or to respond to notes that he sends home, although he reported a low
return rate on said notes.
All eight participants’ responses are summarized in Table 2.

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 54

Table 2
Participants’ Chosen Media and Favorite Medium of Communication
Participant Chosen/Used Media Favorite/Most-Used Medium
P1
Teleparent, Twitter, Instagram, fliers
with in-person pick-up
Teleparent
P2
Teleparent, parent-community center,
parent meetings (LCAP, ELAC,
beginning-of-the-year, Coffee with the
Principal, etc.,) with interpretation
headphones, Twitter, Aeries Parent
Portal and mass email, school and
teachers’ websites, Remind 101
Teleparent most used, but in-
person/face-to-face chosen as
philosophical favorite because “not
good on the phone”
P3
Aeries Parent Portal with email feature,
notes home with required parental one-
paragraph response, Google
Classroom, in-person: Back to School
Night and Open House
Notes home (inferred, not stated)
P4
Remind 101, intercom, marquee up
front, school website, email, telephone
calls, Teleparent, face-to-face
meetings, newsletter
Teleparent (most-used, but not
necessarily favorite)
P5
Postcards (not letters) via snail-mail,
Remind 101, in-person meetings
Postcards (inferred, not stated)
P6
Google Classroom, beginning-of the-
year parent meetings, Teleparent (with
prepared scripts), handbook, letters via
snail-mail
Teleparent most-used
P7
Aeries Parent Portal with email feature,
notes sent home to be signed, direct
email, phone calls
Unclear—families are “hands off”
P8
Facebook, Instagram, telephone
(texts, calls)
Telephone (texts and calls)

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 55

With regard to language, the participants reported the language needs of the families.
When asked what percentage of parents were Spanish-only, all participants thought out loud,
used varying methods of deduction, and changed their answer several times until settling upon an
answer. Interestingly, after thinking and adjusting, all but one arrived independently at a similar
answer, which is that approximately 30-40% of the students’ parents are Spanish-only, 40-50%
are functionally, though not perfectly bilingual, and 20-30% are English-only or heavily English-
dominant. The one outlier said that perhaps 8% were Spanish-only, 20% were English only, and
the rest were bilingual to varying degrees.
When asked how the participants reach Spanish-speaking parents, those participants who
are bilingual reported using a combination of English and Spanish, depending on their own
language limitations, those of the parent(s), and the situation. With regard to how they reach
Spanish-only parents, one bilingual participant mentioned her practice of using an interpreter
even though she is perfectly bilingual. It is easier for her to present in English and have a
professional interpreter translate into the headphones than it is to cross-translate. It is also a more
efficient use of time.
Another participant shared that she relishes the headphones and makes sure that Spanish-
only parents and all other parents be met with in the same room (she lamented that in the past, at
a different school, she witnessed the Spanish-only parents being segregated and placed in another
room) as she wants very much for all to be and feel a part of the same community.
A bilingual participant responsible for parent outreach as it relates to categorical
programs (federally funded specialty programs intended to meet the needs of certain subgroups,
including English Learners, homeless students, foster youth, and the socioeconomically
disadvantaged) reported that she hosts as many meetings as possible. She shared:
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 56

We try to provide as much communication to families as possible, as much parent
education as we can. We have our ELAC meetings once a month…we have our
compliance stuff that we have to get through…we always try to add something to it,
whether it is how to communicate with your counselor or giving them information on
communication with teachers—questions to ask during parent conferences.
All participants who are monolingual referred to colleagues who are bilingual. When
asked, each monolingual participant said that their monolingualism was not a problem in terms
of reaching parents. One particular participant stated that she purposefully memorizes and uses a
few phrases in Spanish in her speeches to send the message to parents that she respects them and
their culture, yet she has not herself become fully bilingual because when she has studied
Spanish at several junctures over the years, she has simply not learned it and has since taken a
pause. This pause, however, has not dampened her desire to reach families. This participant
recites the majority of her Teleparent messages in both English and Spanish, after someone else
composes the Spanish translation, so that it is her voice proffering the Spanish message. She said
this shows additional respect for parents and their culture.
I will have it translated, and I’ll say it in Spanish. I’ll have to record it six times until it
sounds okay to myself. Kids will laugh at me: “Oh, Miss, you called last night. My dad
didn’t understand” [but] I want parents, families to know I care about communicating
with them.
All monolingual participants referred to the plethora of bilingual staff, including
counselors, teachers, secretaries, and clerks on whom they frequently rely in order to
communicate with parents via Teleparent, snail-mail, telephone, or in-person at planned and
impromptu meetings.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 57

One monolingual participant stated that when he needs to communicate with a Spanish-
only parent, which is typically two or three times per month, there are “plenty of people to go to,
which is nice…of our six counselors, four speak Spanish. Of our six-person administrative team,
two speak Spanish [and] my secretary speaks Spanish, if needed.”
With regard to code-switching as a way to use language in order to reach parents, and
with code-switching being defined during the interview as “switching from formal to informal
language or switching from English to Spanish.” In other words, switching registers of
communication in mid-conversation and/or changing your message according to your audience,
all but three participants acknowledged code-switching, but not in the same way and not for the
same reasons. One participant reported, “Yeah, yeah, I don’t do that…” and explained that she is
“not a tremendously formal person” and that she scripts much of what she presents and has
others at certain meetings do the spontaneous code-switching in order to be understood. The
others in attendance at her informal weekly meetings translate for one another and speak in
whatever language and whatever register is required, while she listens and tries to understand.
A second participant shared that he will speak whatever the other person is speaking—if
they are speaking fluidly then he will “match their level.” When asked more directly and
specifically about code-switching as it was defined above, however, this same participant said,
“It’s more unified. We all work together. We know some of us are not in the best position, like
academically, but we all work together to get us where we are,” implying that he equates code-
switching with segregation, and he is a strong supporter of community.
A third participant reported being limited by the bounds of his own Spanish:
My Spanish is not 100% fluent, and so right off the bat, I apologize to parents and say
“I’m going to do this myself…I want it to be what I intend. I don’t want to go through an
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 58

interpreter.” That being said parents right away let me off the hook and ask me to tell
them what’s going on. My register stays the same: informal.
A fourth participant reported that she is also limited by the bounds of her own Spanish, so
that while she may wish to use a particular word for something in order to better reach a
particular parent, she will use the word she knows and experience the parent’s quizzical look.
But she says that she stays consistent and confident, and the parents eventually “catch on.”
A fifth participant offered a similar sentiment:
“My Spanish, I don’t even know how to describe my Spanish. It’s casual. I’m used to
being able to switch into English sometimes. If I switch, I’m not doing it because of the crowd,
it’s usually because I don’t know the word in Spanish,”
The sixth participant, who is English-only monolingual, responded:
My job is to make sure that parents feel comfortable when they are talking with me
because I’m a scary person. I could be telling a parent, “Your kid was arrested today” and
those kind of things, as well as, “what is your goal for college?” I need to make sure that
my language matches what makes them most comfortable. I don’t lapse into some sort of
vernacular that doesn’t make me look genuine.
The seventh, who is fully bilingual, shared that she speaks to parents in formal Spanish
and that she invites her Advanced Placement Spanish students to come to formal parent meetings
and present along with her so that they may also practice their high-level Spanish. But while this
same respondent sets out to speak formal Spanish, she proffered:
I speak to them in the language and at the level they feel most comfortable with. We have
a couple of parents that are educated in their country and they speak very formal Spanish.
I’m not going to undermine their ability by simplifying it or dumbing it down…I will
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 59

speak at their level. If I had others parents [who] don’t have formal education in
Spanish…then I will make those changes accordingly.
The eighth and final participant reported code-switching, as well, in order to meet his
audience where they are, but made clear that he does not do so for reasons of social class, which
the researcher interpreted to mean that he, like one of the previous respondents, perceives
switching for reasons of social class (or perceived academic level) to be disrespectful. While in a
classroom with students he might mix academic words with more common words with the intent
to have the students learn and use the academic words, he does not do that with parents.
Specifically, he uses education jargon with teachers but not with parents.
With regard to frequency, the researcher found overwhelmingly that Teleparent was the
most frequently used medium, and the school leaders made an adjustment because their previous
frequency of several Teleparent messages per day backfired and inspired parents to turn off or
block the feature. Now, the leaders meet weekly and plan out the most important messages to
send via Teleparent, and they either send just a few, or, if possible, they pool their
announcements and send one or two.
With regard to tone, the researcher found that not only do the leaders, both consciously
and unconsciously, use a mix of academic and social language and formal and informal
demeanor in order to model and share their expectation of high achievement but remain
accessible, they also exhibit and exude a positive tone, frequently using words with positive
connotations. This positivity is echoed in the school leaders’ use of audiovisuals, and with the
following participants’ remarks.
One participant offered of her approach: “I’m definitely, personally…very positive, very,
very positive.”
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 60

Another shared:
I am authentic and I am real and I understand their pain. I think that’s very important.
Parents are scared or they’re angry because they don’t know. The student comes home
with an issue and the communication hasn’t been right at all. It’s my job to calm them
down. I make sure that I never talk down to a parent. Ever…I don’t talk down to kids
either.
With regard to how these leaders communicate with families specifically about math,
they all generally reported that they do not consciously send overt messages about math in
particular, but that they do consciously send messages about achievement in general to both
parents and students. They all strive to primarily use academic language (though not necessarily
jargon) and to emphasize college, and to notify and remind students of the many interventions
and supports. They also, of course, have changed the bell schedule so that there is no choice but
for students to enjoy those interventions and supports.
In addition to analyzing interviews, the researcher examined key documents. In answer to
the question “How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate
with Latino families about math?” the researcher gleaned the following from analyzing
documents:
With regard to medium, Brighton High School uses many methods of communication,
and makes these messages readily accessible on the school website. The researcher easily
downloaded over 40 documents, including student handbook, principal’s message, vision,
mission, parent outreach homepages, and more, in just one sitting. With regard to language, BHS
leaders use mostly English and translate a few key documents into Spanish. The student
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 61

handbook is one document that was translated into Spanish. The English Language Advisory
Council (ELAC) PowerPoint, which is intended for parents, was not.
Regarding frequency, web documents are available 24 hours a day to those families who
have access. BHS documents appear to be updated and posted yearly. There are a handful of
newly revised documents that are not yet posted, including the new WASC report that would be
an informative accompaniment to the recent announcement of the coveted six-year accreditation,
along with those that will be added to the Parent-Resource page, which at the time of analysis
was under construction.
Regarding tone, the student handbook is rich, straightforward, and positive.
The student handbook, on its very first page (which is rife with text typical of BHS
documents in that it is verbose, achievement-oriented, proud, and positive) places in bold font
key phrases that seem to the researcher to deftly characterize Brighton High School. On the
inside cover, in the principal’s welcome message, there are 13 such phrases which include:
 “extremely dedicated, caring, and hard-working faculty”
 “a safe and secure campus”
 “amazing school spirit”
 “BHS celebrates students”
 “BHS keeps looking better and better”
These messages are echoed later in the handbook where 13 of the 37 pages include a
large graphic with branding or a positive message or image, and the other pages are simple,
straightforward, and firm rules written in large font. Also, the phrase, “looks like” is repeated
with descriptions and images of what various student attributes look like in the context of
Brighton High School. This notion of fitting in is further discussed during the discussion on
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 62

themes, as it brings to mind the theme of “assimilation.” One participant, who was both a school
leader and a student responded to a question about student behavior: “I want to say they’re pretty
well behaved—after freshman year—after they get a feel of what’s happening and everything.
Then they start getting that: ‘Okay, this is just what’s expected.’”
The school’s vision statement begins with “BHS is a caring community where…” which
reinforces the school’s emphasis on caring, then delves into a discussion on rigor, and ends with
branding as it lays out its acronym and assigns to each letter a positive student attribute. The
vision is more than 100 words in length and covers the range of Brighton values. It also includes
this statement about communication with families: “Families and community members are
essential partners in the education of our students.”
With regard to the vision statement’s length and all-encompassing and slightly
labyrinthine nature, it may have come about from an intense collaboration, which would
reinforce this researcher’s conclusion that Brighton High School is big on collaboration.
In contrast to its vision, however, the school’s mission statement is brief. The school’s
mission is a single sentence about preparing students for A-G college acceptance.
With regard to how these and the other documents reach families and communicate with
families messages about math, there may be a slight disconnect. During the interviews, when
asked how many and which families attend meetings, none of the participants had a clear answer.
While they collect data on who attends (they circulate sign-in sheets) they do not keep track of
who does not—and specifically which low-achieving or high-achieving students’ parents do or
do not. While there is a general net that is tossed out to families, there is not yet a clear
understanding of who makes it in.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 63

In addition to interviews and documents, the researcher examined audiovisuals, including
photographs of school bulletin boards and Twitter. Striking in vivo code from the 20
purposefully sampled bulletin boards include:
 “Life is your canvas”
 “Love”
 “Cuts hurt kids”
 “Do one thing a day that scares you”
 “Friends are more important than money”
 “Breathe deeply”
 “Do it now. Do it now. Do it now.”
 “Every child is special”
 “Let us tutor you…we can help you understand better…we are encouragers”
 “Good vibes only”
 “Live, laugh, love”
Sprinkled in between these inspirational messages are the mission and vision statements,
information on sports, evenly distributed between boys and girls, lists of colleges the students
have been accepted to, and holiday decorations. All bulletin boards, without exception, are in the
school colors, and this uniformity makes them highly visible and perhaps also adds to the
collective calm.
How do these bulletin boards function as communication with families about math?
While the bulletin boards reach students many times per day, they only reach parents and family
members who come to school. Therefore, instead of a trickle down, cascading effect of parent
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 64

communication flowing toward student, Brighton High School might espouse the more common
trickle up effect, where students share with their families all that they experience at school.
The bulletin boards seem to echo that which was reported by the eight school leaders, in
that they reinforce themes of community, positivity, and support, which is likely why this
researcher felt compelled to take photographs. They are neat, clean, aesthetically pleasing,
matching, and overwhelmingly positive.
After looking at bulletin boards, the researcher examined Tweets. Tweets may reach
students and their families via their Smart Phones. While only a few families have the internet at
home, according to one participant, many more have Smart Phones. The school leaders post two
to five Tweets per day once or twice per week, and the school’s Twitter page enjoys over 2,000
followers. Representative samples of Tweets include:
 “[Brighton] High School wins state award for excellence with Academic Mentors -
Hey [Bluewings!]
 “Bluewings explore the classics. Night of poetry and music at [Brighton High School]
Library. Hey [Bluewings!]
 "Honors Chemistry students presenting on elements of the periodic table in [Brighton
High School] Library. Hey [Bluewings!]”
 "Academic Mentors tops! 12 CA schools receive…award. 12 earn added…bonus
including BHS mentors!"
 "Come and audition for "Cinderella" Vocal auditions start tomorrow…after school.
All [Bluewings] welcome!"
 "Heartfelt thanks to ALL BLUEWINGS that came to tonight’s vigil…”
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 65

 Bluewings’ computer academy/FBLA represented @ Future Business Leaders of
America Leadership Conference! Hey [Bluewings!]”
How many of these Tweets involve messages about math? None of those sampled
involved math directly; however, several mentioned chemistry, the computer academy, a mock
trial, and the academic mentorship program, the latter of which specializes in math. Of the 20
sampled, only seven involved sports, both girls and boys, and the others involved a range of
activities from theater to music to academic clubs, demonstrating a desire, whether conscious or
unconscious, to include and reach all types of students and foster a strong sense of community.
What do these Tweets say about the school leaders’ desire to reach families? Aside from
the chosen medium which can be accessed via a SmartPhone, which families are more likely to
have than computers, the answer remains unclear. Just as the bulletin boards seem to espouse the
expectation or hope that students will communicate with families, the Twitter feed seems to
espouse the same. Among the Tweets sampled, none seemed to be written explicitly for parents
or families.
In addition to an examination of interviews, documents, and audiovisuals and taking heed
of how they function in answer to the question, “How do the leaders of one high-achieving,
large, urban high school communicate with Latinos about math?” the researcher must
acknowledge something significant that emerged, and that is branding. Brighton High School
brands so many of their programs and services, it is impossible not to notice or mention. Through
the course of interviewing eight school leaders and looking at documents and audiovisuals, the
researcher uncovered the school leaders’ widespread use of 18 brands, only one of which is an
actual corporate brand.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 66

In order to maintain confidentiality, the brands will not be shared here, but it is worth
remarking that there is the widespread use of alliteration and positive messaging. Seven of the
brands involve alliteration and 15 involve positive messaging. Only two of the brands use
phrases with mildly negative connotations, such as “reality check” and “sink or swim.”
Interestingly, and despite widespread pride, only two involve the school’s mascot.
Moreover, just as the researcher has chosen to delve into branding, she has chosen to
briefly explore significant forms of unspoken communication that likely have an impact on
parents, students, and student achievement. At BHS those include a distinctive bell schedule, the
physical environment, staff longevity, and the lack of gatekeepers. Table 3 summarizes these
unspoken forms and their apparent messages.
In summary and in answer to Research Question 1, “How do the leaders of one large,
urban, high school communicate with Latino families about math?” this researcher would
conclude, at least in general terms, before delving into Research Questions 2-4, that while the
school leaders of Brighton High School communicate profusely using a variety of media using
language that is rich, achievement-oriented, mostly informal, and always positive, they do not
yet communicate overtly with all Latino families, especially those most difficult to reach; and
outside of the academic mentorship program, they do not communicate systematically with
families or students overtly about math.

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 67

Table 3
Unspoken Communication: Media and Messaging
Medium Language Frequency Tone Message
Bell schedule with
blocks and 20-
minutes tacked
onto each for
“embedded
support”
N/A Revised yearly
Formal but
friendly
Achievement matters; no
one can slip through the
cracks
Surrounding gates
and IDs necessary
N/A New Serious
You are safe; you might
not be otherwise
Concrete N/A Ubiquitous Cold, urban
We don’t have the
resources for grass; we
prioritize other things, like
what goes on inside the
building, which is clean,
well-maintained, and
decorated profusely
Mature trees N/A
Everybody deserves some
green; we are a
longstanding community
Bulletin boards
and decorations
N/A
Throughout the
school in all
hallways,
offices, and
rooms
Positive,
supportive,
motivational,
celebratory,
informational
Consistency, uniformity,
and aesthetics are valued;
people and their feelings
are valued; clear
communication is
important; words and
images matter
Staff longevity N/A
Daily, weekly,
yearly,
biannually,
decennially…
Warm
We care about one
another; we love what we
do; community matters
No academic
gatekeepers
N/A
Ongoing, per
the
participant’s
declaration of
no gatekeepers

Everyone is welcome;
everyone can achieve
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 68

What could be keeping the students involved and achieving in math are perhaps other
BHS attributes of community, positivity, and systems of support; however, this notion would
need to be explored in future studies.
Table 4 presents a summary of the findings regarding Research Question 1.
Table 4
Research Question 1: Findings
Source On Medium On Language On Frequency On Tone
Interviews
Primarily
Teleparent
English and Spanish,
academic yet informal
A few times per
week
Formal, but friendly
and accessible
Documents
Numerous and
varied
Academic, formal,
positive; mostly
English, only a few
translated into Spanish
Many, including
robust website
which houses
nearly all the
others
Formal, academic,
positive, celebratory,
proud, culturally
respectful yet geared
toward assimilation
Photographs
Bulletin
boards,
decorations
Inspirational
Many per
hallway, office
and classroom
Kind, supportive,
clear, clean,
aesthetically pleasing
Twitter Online Positive, celebratory 4-10 per week
Clear, positive,
celebratory

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 69

Research Question 2
Is communication with families about math purposeful?
 Are you mindful of the ways you communicate with students and families about
math?
 Are you mindful of the ways you communicate with Latino students and families
about math?
 When you personally communicate with Latino families about math, are you aware of
the degree to which you do or do not code switch, and by code switch, I mean switching from
formal to informal register (or vice versa), switching from Spanish to English, or using certain
types of Spanish or English, depending on your audience?
In answer to this cluster of questions and the companion questions, “Are you personally
good at math?” and “Do you ever catch yourself saying anything negative about math?” all eight
participants had similar answers. All said that while they communicate mindfully with students
in general about achievement in general, they do not parcel out Latinos nor do they parcel out
math.
One participant shared: “I don’t know that we ever think about how we specifically
communicate…” but then after reflection, she shared how she communicates about the
importance of hard work. She also shared information about all the systems that are in place to
make sure that all students achieve. She explained that the teachers rotate taking the low-
achieving students so that no one teacher has all low-achievers all day or every year. They have a
system in place that places students in heterogeneous groups in the fall but then adjusts and
levels at the midpoint and assigns academic mentors so there won’t be a large group of low-
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 70

performing students in one class without tutors. For parent meetings like ELAC meetings there
are interpreters. For announcements there is Teleparent in both English and Spanish.
So, while this participant’s spoken communication about math might not be purposefully
overt, upon reflection, her communication and the systems she uses may have an equivalent effect.
All but two participants shared that they are not good at math but that they do not let that
affect their messaging to students. One recently sat in math class and did the assignment
alongside the students and remarked to the students how much she enjoyed it. That same
participant also shared with students how hard she has had to work at math; it did and does not
come easily.
Another participant said that as the math teacher he is excellent at math and when a
student shares with him that he or she does not enjoy math, he responds, “I love it enough for the
both of us!” and he trusts that his passion helps the students for whom math does not come easily
stay motivated.
A third participant commented that he is excellent at math because he is a former physics
teacher and that he is purposeful with regard to his communication about math and science when
it comes to communicating with girls, but not as purposeful when it comes to communicating
with either Latino students or Latino families. He says this is mostly due to the fact that nearly
all the students and families are Latino so he doesn’t think much about it.
With regard to his purposeful communication with girls, he reported the following:
I would definitely not be one of those people who would talk about math being hard. Not
that I didn’t struggle at times in college, but with the really advanced stuff. The only
thing I think where I have a little bit of awareness is with some of the gender issues that
come up.
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 71

He went on to share an anecdote about his credential program in which he was criticized
for the ways he did not successfully reach girl students. He has since made that a priority.
Code-switching was discussed under Research Question 1 as it pertains to the use of
language, so what will be explored here is the notion of the mindful use of code-switching, or,
more pointedly, purposefulness. To what degree are the school leaders purposeful in their
approach to communicating with Latino families about math? What is a choice and what is
accidental?
As was stated previously, all but three participants code-switch but do so differently and
for different reasons. Table 5 presents the participants’ responses to the question regarding the
purposeful use of code-switching when speaking to Latino families.
Table 5
Use of Code Switching
Participant
Do You
Code Switch?
Do You Do So Purposefully?
P1 No No
P2 Yes/No Yes to match their level, but not if it means being exclusionary
P3 Yes No, only because of limitations
P4 Yes No, only because of limitations
P5 Yes No, only because of limitations
P6 Yes Yes, in order to match emotions
P7 Yes
Yes, high- and low-academic and formal and informal
mindfully
P8 Yes/No
Yes to match level and interests, but not if it means being
exclusionary

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With interviews it is a pretty straightforward process to explore notions of
purposefulness, as the investigator simply asks the respondents directly if they are purposeful in
their approach. With documents and audiovisuals, the investigator must instead infer or apply the
postmodern notion that everything that exists was intended to exist. This researcher will then
conclude that all aspects of all documents were and are purposeful. Table 6 presents results
regarding the degree to which communication about math was present and accessible to parents.
Table 6
Summary of School Documents

Document Access
Intended
Audience
Math
Mentioned?
Salient Code
Translated
into Spanish?
Principal’s
Message
Website Students,
parents,
community
No “... proud of our school
spirit and positive school
culture”
“Olympic sized pool”
“teachers diligently
working together”
No, but similar
messages are

Yes, in student
handbook
Student
Handbook
Website
and Sent
Home
Students,
parents
Only in
course
listings
13 phrases in bold,
including “love and
respect,” “proud of
[BHS] students and their
accomplishments”
“amazing school spirit,”
“dedicated, caring and
hard-working faculty”
Yes
School
Accountability
Report Card
(SARC)
Website Community Yes in
course
listings, test
results, and
the intro
“Our 10
th
grade
CAHSEE passing rate is
well above the State
average…93% passed
the Math portion.”
Yes
Parent
Resource Page
Website Parents No The page is under
construction, tells what
is to come and includes a
link to the parent portal
of the grading system
No
English
Language
Advisory
Council
(ELAC) Page
Website Parents No Is comprised of a link to
the PowerPoint which is
a 7-slide description of
the ELAC committee
No
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 73

Local Control
Accountability
Plan (LCAP)
Page
Website
via
search,
not via
index
page
Parents No Because through a
search, the text is
jumbled and is repeat of
meeting times from
categorical programs
page
No
Parent
Teacher
Student
Association
(PTSA)
Homepage
Website Parents No “Open to anyone who is
concerned with the
education, health, and
welfare of children and
youth”
No
Categorical
Program
Office
Homepage
Website Students,
Parents and
Community
No “ --------- is a program,
which offers a variety of
academic, precollege
and enrichment student
services.”
No, except for
LCAP
announcement
Parent Liaison
Job Flier
Website
and In-
Person
Parents Yes as a
qualification
Must be a parent of a
current [BHS] Student.
Demonstrate effective
oral and written
communication skills.
Holds a valid driver’s
license. Relates well to
people of all ethnic
groups. Demonstrates
strong organizational
skills Is trustworthy and
dependable…bilingual
skills…desireable.”
No
Letter
Regarding
Failing Grades
Sent
Home
Parents No “Your student earned 2
Ds or Fs…we have
developed a two-part
intervention strategy”
Yes
Academic
Mentor
Contract
Sent
Home
Students “to foster productive
members of society by
developing potential
student leaders to
provide hope to at-risk
peers through service…
share tips…connect
school to mentee’s
interests… report
dangerous information…
ask for assistance…great
sense of satisfaction
when you see the impact
of your efforts…”
No
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 74

The researcher noticed that none of the bulletin boards depicted in the photographs
showed content that pertained to math in particular, though the one academic mentorship board
which catered mostly to math, did contain salient language. It boasted photos and biographies of
the mentors along with mock quotes such as “We are patient…,” “We are encouragers,” and “Let
us tutor you,” which is more likely to have a positive rather than a negative impact on student
achievement in math.
There were no bulletin boards advertising how math relates to everyday life, nor were
there any notices for programs that highlight the use of math in other subjects, such as bringing
math word problems into classes like English and History. What the researcher concluded, then,
is that while achievement is strived for, and community, positivity and support systems, are all
emphasized, outside of the academic mentorship program, math in particular is not.
What all this says to the researcher is that while the school leaders of Brighton High
School are mindful of their approach to communication in several key ways: they strive to use
academic language, yet remain accessible, to include everyone, and to be positive and
supportive. At the same time, however, they are also unaware of their approach in other ways:
only a few of the participants think about the ways they do or do not code-switch, only a few
think about the ways they do or do not reach hard-to-reach parents, and only a few think about
the messages they might be sending about math.
Hence, it seems to this researcher that while many aspects of the school leaders’
communication with families is unconscious and not purposeful, these school leaders still get
results. It is this researcher’s belief that this lack of purposefulness is in part due to automaticity
(Logan, 1992). Because so many of the staff have enjoyed longevity in one another’s presence,
they have learned to behave unconsciously yet in sync, much like a flock of birds, or more aptly,
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Bluewings. Just as the freshmen assimilate and learn to follow the established cultural norms, so,
too, do the staff and school leaders. They pay attention to data and employ a growth-mindset,
and they communicate with one another with an overwhelming positivity. They move silently
together in chevron to effect positive change.
Research Question 3
Is there consistency in message?
 Is there a concerted effort across the school to send certain messages about academic
achievement in general?
 Is there a concerted effort across the school to send certain messages about math in
particular?
With regard to academic achievement in general, there is a clear and concerted effort to
send messages about academic achievement.
One participant pointed out: “We have high expectations for students, and we want
students to be successful here. We want to prepare them for whatever choice they make after
high school.”
A second participant expressed the prevailing mantra: “Everybody’s onboard. There’s no
getting lost in the system. We try to explain this to parents as well and to the students.”
A third participant shared that 40% of the students take AP and honors courses.
The same respondent reported, “Every parent meeting we have, we show data. We
always show the narrowing of the achievement gap and our goal of working toward that goal.”
Another claimed:
I really feel like embedded support has given us a huge tool to help students who maybe
don’t care as much as we do about their grade. We force them to do what we need them
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to do. We really encourage them. We’re consistent. I really feel like the policies that
every teacher holds. We always have teacher individuality, but the idea that we’re all
doing the same thing. I really feel like that speaks volumes to kids, especially that idea,
‘You didn’t do well on the test? You’re going to have a re-test.’
Another stated: A lot of our master schedule is directed, it is not invited, like ‘you should
be in geometry…No, you’re going to be in geometry. Then you’re going to be in Algebra II.’”
Collectively, all respondents echoed one another in their descriptions of school systems
and programs, which was in turn echoed by their enthusiasm, which underscores the fact that
there is no question the school leaders strive to effect achievement and that they do so
consistently.
With regard to the second question, which pertains to math in particular, the answer
would be “no,” due to the largely unconscious nature of school leader communication when it
comes to communicating specifically with Latino families specifically about math; however, to
showcase the consistency of school leader communication in general, the researcher finds it
fruitful to acknowledge the consistency with which the school leaders communicate with one
another, with students, and with the community at large in the aforementioned ways about math
and in general about all topics. Due to the automaticity that comes with longevity, as was
previously described, the school leaders of this high-achieving, large, urban high school are
consistent with their messages about the importance of high achievement and with prevailing
themes of community, positivity, and support systems, as they all seem to lead to high
achievement. Table 7 shows the degree of consistency with regard to interviews, documents,
photographs, and Tweets and the degree to which each type of data aligns with the emergent
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themes of community (and its subset assimilation), achievement, positivity, and support systems,
as well as findings on the overt desire to reach families.
Table 7
Data and Emergent Themes
Data Type Community
Assimilation/
Acculturation
Achieve
ment
Positivity
Support
Systems
Clear
Attempt to
Reach All
Families
Interviews Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No—Some
staff bilingual;
some want to
honor the
culture; all
respect and
honor the
culture despite
not saying so
directly; but
no Anglo
leaders are
bilingual, and
no systematic
documentation
of the parents
and families
they are not
reaching
Documents Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No—Several
intended for
parents not
posted and
only one of
those posted
translated
Photographs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No—
Addressed to
students and
requires
parents to visit
school
Tweets Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No—
Addressed to
students and
not translated
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Research Question 4
Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays in student
math achievement?
 What role does school leader communication about math play in student achievement
in math?
 What methods of communication do you wish the school was using more and/or was
better at?
 What changes would you make with regard to communication about math at your
school?
In answer to the first question on the role that communication about math plays in student
achievement, one participant who is a current guidance counselor shared:
[Communication] is very important. As a counselor we are constantly advocating and
especially because our mission as a school is to prepare students to be A-G ready
…[we] always emphasize four years of math…when we go into classrooms we do the
guidance activities, we promote it then…when we have parent meetings, we advocate
to the parents what we are hearing [from the colleges]. It’s very important.
Another participant who was once a guidance counselor shared: “You need to convince them that
this is what’s best for them. Most of the time we get them. [I tell them about] placement
exams…regardless of where they go.” She continued, “As a counselor…I didn’t have students
that had an easy senior schedule. You have a handful that fight back and their parents are going
to stick by them no matter what out of blind support.”
Rather than list each participant’s response to this question (which would likely result in
forcing affirmative responses), it must be noted that many of their responses demonstrated a
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clear shared belief in the role that communication plays. Because the participants share a lack of
conscious awareness of a few key aspects of communication with Latino families about math—
namely, they do not know for certain how many of their parents are Spanish-only, how many are
fully bilingual, how many are partially bilingual and how many are English-only, nor do they
know for certain which parents are not attending meetings—they do proudly boast a robust
website, accessible documents that are rich and aligned with one another, a plethora of bulletin
boards that match and are beautiful, so they do seemingly share the belief that while school
leader communication with Latino families about math plays little role in student math
achievement, school leader communication with students plays a huge role.
In response to the question, “What changes would you make?” one participant offered:
I would like to see electronic communication school-wide. Like kids could stop and look
at a monitor and know what’s going on….It’s just the daily bulletin, but it’s electronic
and it would be visible in any building inside, or outside where kids could stop and go,
“Okay, I want to go there,” or “Oh yeah, I forgot this,” or “Next week is this….”
Another quickly remarked: “I would leave it alone. Not just because I’m a slave to
tradition, but really because I feel like what we’re doing is working.”
Another added that he would change the way the principal communicates with the staff,
not because the current principal is not effective—in fact, he stated that “she is marvelous,”—but
simply because he is a different person with a different skill-set, and thus has a different style.
So, more than a desired change, it would be a de facto change, which is in line with the theme of
de facto or unconscious tactics. We do not only do what we set out to do consciously, but we do
what is in our nature to do. This idea supports the flock-of-birds notion mentioned earlier.
Another participant mentioned some of the evolving forms of communication:
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I think many teachers have gotten away from making personal parent phone calls. I
would like to see more of that. That’s maybe less of a school-wide and maybe more of an
individual teacher issue….[and] I think we could probably do more with Twitter instead
of having a single page where your high school Twitter kind of covers everything, if we
had several different Twitter feeds…I think we could probably evolve our Twitter, [also]
use a Facebook presence.
When asked a final question, “Is there anything else you would like to share?” the
participants offered a range of responses, which are summarized in Table 8.
Table 8
Participants’ Additional Thoughts
Participant Anything Else to Share?
P1
“We do [INSERT BRAND] which is a schoolwide instructional practice…it is a very
expensive professional development…it’s about creating a social contract with the kids
for every classroom of what’s expected…you don’t punish; you teach the expected
behavior…” “I have a passion about capturing kids’ hearts because I do believe that if
you get kids to love you, they’ll do anything. They’ll work hard for you…if you truly
love them, you make them feel smart in your subject matter.”
P2
“We have no gatekeepers…” “We do make an effort to get the parents involved but we
find that a lot of our parents are not involved as much as we want to see for whatever
reason, so who do we need to get and be informed is the students…” “Oh, you’re going
to talk to ________. She inspires me!”
P3 “Just keep working hard because we’re all trying to work through this together.”
P4
“Obviously, we’re very cohesive here at [Brighton High School. That’s one of the
things we take great pride in.”
P5
“It’s sometimes a struggle to keep kids in a course but over the last few year’s it’s an
expectation…they might come and ask for a course to be dropped [but] they know that
is just not something that’s going to be done. …we put up hurdles for them to get out.”
P6
“I’ve always felt supported…it is ‘What do you need? Let me see if I can get it for you.’
Some people have that as their mantra more easily because they were indoctrinated that
way…our principal was made that way because she’s a graduate of BHS.”
P7
“No. I’m trying to think…Let’s go to my office and get you some evidence. Does that
sound good?”
P8 “I’m glad I could help.”
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Additional Findings
With qualitative research the goal is not simply to count and report the numbers, it is
likely not enough to provide direct answers to specific research questions and call it a day.
Because the objective of qualitative research is to generate theory and inspire future studies, it is
also important to delve a bit into emergent themes. Themes that emerged throughout the analysis
of interview transcripts, documents, and audiovisuals include: community, positivity, and
systems of support.
Throughout all the interviews and the analysis of documents and audiovisuals it became
apparent to this researcher that nothing is more important to the participants than a strong sense
of community. Some of the participants grew up in the community where the school resides, and
others were drawn to the community by happenstance but then stayed. Part and parcel of
community is the notion of assimilation. In order to belong to a community, new members
typically assimilate. While the term assimilation might espouse certain negative connotations,
insofar as it connotes subverting one person’s culture and superimposing another, as long as the
intent is support and not exclusion, and so long as folks are invited to join and not forced and the
experience is positive, then it might not be such a terrible word. This could be explored in future
studies, perhaps as it relates to math achievement among various subgroups.
While this study did not include lengthy formal observations, the researcher did take note
of what she saw and experienced while at Brighton High School. She did witness several
interactions between school leaders and students, and between students and one another, and
these interactions are worth mentioning.
When the researcher arrived at 7 A.M. on two occasions, the principal was there greeting
students at the gate. She would politely ask them for their identification and students would
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 82

swiftly and politely comply. She would kindly remind students to take off their non-BHS hats,
and the students would humbly and kindly comply. When one student in a formal gown stormed
past looking tense, the principal stopped her, asked if she was presenting her senior project that
morning, asked if she needed anything, then offered her some inspiring words and wished her
good luck, which immediately put the senior at ease. Later that morning, while walking down the
hall, when one student was headed in the wrong direction, the principal called the student’s
name. He turned around, startled and defensive. Instead of reprimanding the student for being in
the wrong place at the wrong time or asking him where he was headed, the principal asked him
simply, “Are you okay?” to which he responded by dropping his defensive attitude, smiling, and
saying, “Yes, I am. Thank you.”
In their interactions with one another, the students were calm, friendly, and seemingly in
diverse groupings. This sense of community was echoed by one of the participants during her
interview. She reported on their recent WASC visit:
[Visitors] were going to look at what we had done with our LCAP money to prepare for
the Common Core. That’s what they were going to see. They just went out on the front
lawn and said to a group of kids (or rather a group of kids decided to go up and introduce
themselves and say hi) and the visitors said, “We’re looking around your school. It
doesn’t look like there’s a lot of cliques. Why do you think that is?” One of our boys said,
“Oh, because of the Common Core.” The visitors laughed. “Oh, really? How so…?” The
student replied, “Because we’ve been doing so much cooperative learning and so much
learning in groups, problem-solving, that I used to sit in class and maybe not know the
name of the person next to me. Now we know everybody.”
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Conclusion
It seems clear that Brighton High School, with its strong support systems and only a few
easy-to-mend holes, is a strong and safe community where students and staff feel highly valued,
which is why the staff stays and the students achieve. With regard to how the leaders
communicate with families about math, that communication is largely trickle-up and also
somewhat unconscious, so if that were to change, who knows how far the Bluewings could fly?

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Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
Summary of Background and Purpose
Across the nation, Latinos trail behind Anglos in math achievement (Hemphill &
Vanneman, 2010). A 26-point gap between Latinos and Anglos has largely persisted, and across
the state of California, a 76% achievement gap among Latino middle and high school students
has persisted (California Department of Education, 2013) leaving educators concerned and
looking for solutions.
The purpose of this study was to highlight the communication practices of the leaders of
one high-achieving, large, urban high school which seems to be bridging the Latino math
achievement gap in order to begin to understand the degree to which school leader
communication with Latino families about math likely impacts Latino math achievement. What
messages are these school leaders sending to families, both overtly and subliminally, and how do
their messages work their way to the students and ultimately to student achievement? Further,
how purposeful and consistent with one another are these school leaders, and how cognizant are
they of their shared approach?
Through an examination of interview transcripts, documents, and audiovisuals, the
researcher aimed to bring to the fore notions of communication with Latino families about math
in order to generate theory and to inspire future studies so as to one day, ultimately, bridge the
Latino math achievement gap.
Lens and Conceptual Framework
The lens through which this study was conducted was that of Critical Sociocultural
Theory (Kellner, 1989; Kozulin, 1999) in that it considered student achievement and student
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 85

learning to reside within a sociocultural context and its ultimate aim was to help bridge the
achievement gap in order to effect social equality.
The conceptual framework was one that marries John Hattie’s (2009; 2012) work with
the work of scholars in the field of systems analysis, as this study purports that one should only
consider educational influencers in isolation in order to temporarily illuminate their existence
and possible impact, but that ultimately, in order to understand their true impact, educational
influencers should be studied in combination, as it is in combination that they actually occur, and
their sum influence is likely far greater than their individual influence.
The researcher applied the metaphor of a woven fabric and sees the various influencers of
education to reside within that fabric in interlocking measure and to mutual, exponential effect.
Research Questions
In order to understand salient aspects of the participant school, the researcher focused on
the following four research questions:
1. How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate
with Latino families about math?
2. Is communication with families about math purposeful?
3. Is there consistency in message?
4. Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays
in student math achievement?
Summary of Findings
Through qualitative analysis of eight interview transcripts, 11 documents, 20
photographs, and 20 representative Tweets, all collected during the Fall of 2015, and all analyzed
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 86

using open coding in order to discover themes and answers to four research questions, the
researcher found:
The school leaders of Brighton High School:
 Communicate richly using a variety of media and in a few cases use many words
 Infuse nearly all communication with positivity
 Employ a mix of English and Spanish, though mostly English
 Employ a mix of academic and social, formal and informal language to reach many
 Communicate purposefully with students, less so with families
 Communicate purposefully about achievement in general, less so about math in particular
 Communicate purposefully with all students, less so with particular subgroups
 Place a strong value on community
 Set up complex interlocking systems that support student achievement
 Function collectively and consistently and exude a set of shared beliefs, albeit
unconsciously, likely due to collective longevity
Conclusions
As a companion to the aforementioned summary, it is this researcher’s observation that
rather than a trickle down or cascading effect of parent communication to student, as was
outlined in Chapter 2, there is perhaps a reliance upon a trickle-up effect of student to parent.
While BHS does have a categorical program office with a director who hosts meetings with
parents, and while BHS is in the process of hiring a parent to function as a parent-liaison, and
they do translate telephone messages and a few key documents into Spanish and set out to show
parents respect for their culture, they do not systematically translate all documents or strive to
reach all hard-to-reach parents.
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The successes of BHS, which are many, are likely due to factors outside of direct
communication with families, namely exuding a sense of community and positivity, and building
many systems of student assistance. Through these, it is clear that Brighton High School has
created a tightly woven fabric of support, or more aptly a nest, through which few Bluewings
fall.
Tightly Woven Fabric, or Attribution Matrix
Central to any conversation on student achievement is the analysis of student
achievement data, such as scores on tests like the CST, which were used to find this high-
achieving high school; and central to any conversation on student achievement data is the notion
of attribution. To what might we attribute specific results? Scholars, especially those engaged in
quantitative quandary, typically parcel out and place weight on single contributors. For example,
John Hattie (2009; 2012) completed a meta-analysis of more than 800 studies and consequently
compiled a list of 138 individual contributors and their respective effect sizes. While his initial
intent was allegedly to inspire mindfulness and dialogue, he has taken to using his list of
contributors and their effect sizes as more of a dictum.
It would perhaps behoove scholars to next consider these contributors in combination. No
one element of educational practice exists in isolation. Toward that end, this researcher has
chosen to place school leader communication with families on an Attribution Matrix (Figure 4)
to illustrate how it might function in combination with other contributors to impact student
achievement. In an Attribution Matrix each contributor is comprised of sub-contributors (for
example, within “home life” might be whether or not a student has witnessed domestic violence,
whether or not the student’s parents divorced, the number of times a student has moved, etc.).
Each contributor and sub-contributor, along with its statistical effect size, resides in a tightly
COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 88

woven fabric alongside and perpendicular to the others, and when one is affected, the others are
affected and vice versa. The degree to which each is affected, however, is up for future study.
Moreover, school leader communication with families would likely not be listed as a
single contributor on the “School Offerings” list of contributors, despite the fact that it is
considered in isolation in this particular study, but would rather be the thread that stitches
together School Offerings and Student Offerings. Communication with families is a part of each
and every contributor on both lists and is necessary for the two to mesh. Moreover, as “parent
involvement” appears in both school and student offerings, so, too, does communication with
families. At the risk of employing a cliché, communication with families is the glue that binds.

Figure 4: Attribution Matrix.
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Implications for Practice
What the findings of this study mean for educational practice are that all school leaders,
those of low- and high-performing schools alike, might wish to give more consideration to (or
perhaps consider for the first time) the ways that they communicate with families, specifically
with the families of subgroups. The goal would be to see if enhanced attention to such
communication would yield greater achievement results and ultimately close the achievement
gap.
Further, the Attribution Matrix might help researchers take the work of John Hattie
(2009; 2012) and place it into a new context, one that considers the influencers as part of a
woven fabric of influencers.
Limitations Not Previously Discussed
In addition to the previously mentioned limitations, including that this researcher focused
solely on the dissemination of communication (and on the school leaders’ perceptions of said
dissemination) rather than on the families’ receipt of school leader communication, this study is
limited in a few additional ways. The researcher did not perform formal observations, looking for
unconscious use of body language, code-switching, and more, but instead took the school
leaders’ word for it.
The researcher did not interview all school leaders, analyze all documents, take
photographs of every aspect of the school or analyze all Tweets. The researcher did not
download or analyze any of the (newly instituted) Instagram messages. Nor did the researcher
collect data on the language and media preferences of the families. She again took the school
leaders’ word for it. Nor did the researcher measure all aspects of communication, including a
foray into linguistics.
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Despite these limitations, however, the researcher was able to glean rich information
regarding the communication practices of the leaders of the participating large, urban high school
as they strives to—in increasing measure, both consciously and unconsciously—bridge the
Latino math achievement gap.
Future Research
This study and others like it would benefit from complementary studies that further
illuminate best practices in the field of education. Potential studies that emerge from this study
might include:
 The degrees to which reaching hard-to-reach parents impacts student achievement
 The degrees to which cultural assimilation impacts student achievement
 The effects of inspirational messaging on student achievement
 The effects of teacher group-think (or “flock-think”) on parent involvement
 The effect sizes of various and particular combinations of contributors and how they
might impact the others as shown on an electronic version of the Attribution Matrix

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COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 104

Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in Mixed-Methods Study 1

Dear Participant,

My name is Andrea Kittelson, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of Education at the
University of Southern California. I am conducting research as part of my dissertation, which examines
"how highly effective urban middle and high school principals communicate with Latino families
about math."

Because you have been deemed to be highly effective, based on your students’ math achievement in the
spring of 2013, you are cordially invited to participate in this study. If you agree, you are invited to
answer a 20+ question survey which follows.

This electronic survey is intended to take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Depending on your
responses and your availability, you may be asked to answer an additional four open-ended questions at a
later date and ultimately to participate in the "final five" whereby five highly effective principals share
their public documents (website, principal’s message, student handbook, etc) and participate in one face-
to-face interview via Skype or in person. The interview is also voluntary and is expected to take no longer
than one hour and may be audio-recorded for the sole purpose of transcription and will take place in a
manner and location convenient to you.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain confidential
during and after the study.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email at kittelso@usc.edu or by cell at 323-
363-1934.

Thank you for your contribution to the field of educational research and of course to the field of
education.

Sincerely,

Andrea Kittelson
Doctoral Candidate
USC Rossier School of Education

If you did not already click on the survey above, please take the survey here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H89XWSR

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 105

Appendix B: Invitation to Participate in Mixed-Methods Study 5

Dear Highly Effective Principal,

If you have not yet completed my USC dissertation survey, you have one more chance through October
15. Here are the details:

I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. I
am conducting research as part of my dissertation, which examines "how highly effective urban middle
and high school principals communicate with Latino families about math."

Because you have been deemed to be highly effective, based on your Latino students’ math achievement
in the spring of 2013, you are cordially invited to participate in this study by competing a brief survey.

This electronic survey takes on average four minutes to complete.

Because this study is mixed-methods, explanatory sequential, depending on your availability and interest,
at a later date, you may be asked to answer an additional four open-ended questions and then participate
in a "final five" whereby five highly effective principals each participate in one face-to-face interview via
Skype or in person and share their principal’s message (if they have one) and any other pertinent public
docs.

But that is only for folks who volunteer at that later stage. For this initial survey, I would love for all of
the 50+ identified highly qualified principals across the state to respond so that the research is robust and
truly contributes to the field. The goal is to bridge the math achievement gap among Latino students.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain confidential
during and after the study.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email at kittelso@usc.edu or by cell at 323-
363-1934.

Thank you for your contribution to the field of educational research, and, of course, for bridging the math
achievement gap.

Sincerely,

Andrea Kittelson
Doctoral Candidate
USC Rossier School of Education

If you did not already click on the survey above, please take the survey here by October 15:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H89XWSR

Thank you, again!

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 106

Appendix C: Invitation to Participate in Case Study

Dear friends –

We have been asked to participate in a USC Doctoral student’s Dissertation Research Project. Andrea
Kittelson (USC Doctoral Student) would like to interview key leaders at __________. You do not need
to gather any information or data to prepare for the interview. The title of Andrea’s dissertation is “How
one High-Achieving High School’s Leaders Communicate with Latino Families about Math”. After
meeting with Andrea this morning the key focus is on how we communicate with students and families,
and the elements of that communication that may be instrumental in narrowing the math achievement gap
among Latinos, that we have experienced at __________ (she is looking at the 2013 CST data).

I hope you are willing to be interviewed next Monday, Nov. 2. I have made a tentative interview
schedule (see below). If you need to switch your time slot please let me know, ASAP! (Of course, if you
are unable to be interviewed that day, you can decline this invitation, no pressure.) We will reserve the
Parent Center for our interviews.

Proposed Schedule:

7:00 – 7:45 Principal
8:00 – 8:45 18 yr old Academic Mentor *thank you for already meeting with me
9:00 – 9:45 Intervention, ELAC, & Academic Mentor Coordinator
10:00 – 10:45 Guidance Counselor, & support for ASB, Academic Mentors & CCA
11:00 – 11:45 Assistant Principal on Instruction & Curriculum
12:00 – 12:45 Math Department Chair/Course Lead

[Principal’s email signature]

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 107

Appendix D: Interview Protocol
1. What is your role?
2. How long have you been in that role?
3. How long have you been involved with the school?
4. How long have you been involved with the district?
5. What attracted you to this district?
6. What do you appreciate about this school?
7. In 2013, over 50% of this school’s Latino students were proficient in Algebra I or higher while
the state has persistently boasted a > 70% achievement gap among Latinos in Algebra I or
higher. To what do you attribute your bridging of the math achievement gap?
8. Recently, your school’s API rose over 200 points. How much of this do you think is math
scores and how much is other subjects?
9. Have the students at your school always performed well in math?
10. What role does leader communication about math play in student achievement in math?
11. Are you mindful of the ways you communicate with students and families about math?
12. Are you mindful of the ways you communicate with Latino students and families about math?
13. Is there a concerted effort across the school to send certain messages about academic
achievement in general?
14. Is there a concerted effort across the school to send certain messages about math achievement
in particular?
15. When you personally communicate with Latino families about math, do you code-switch, and
are you aware of the degree to which you do or do not code switch, and by code switching I
mean switching from formal to informal register or vice versa, switching from Spanish to
English or using certain types of Spanish or English, depending on your audience?
16. Is code switching important? (Why or why not?)
17. How many of your families speak primarily Spanish?
18. How many of your families speak primarily English?
19. How many of your families are bilingual?
20. Are all of your students bilingual?
21. Are you bilingual?
22. How do you reach families that might not speak the same language as you?
23. Which media do you use to communicate your messages -- examples would be website,
newsletter, text message, email, snail mail, social media, for example Twitter?
24. What method of communication is your personal philosophical favorite?
25. What method are you personally best at?
26. What methods do you wish the school was using more and/or was better at?
27. What changes, if any, are you planning to make with regard to communication about math?
28. Are you personally good at math?
29. Do you ever catch yourself saying aloud negative things about math?
30. Is there anything else you would like to share?

COMMUNICATING WITH LATINO FAMILIES ABOUT MATH 108

Appendix E: Attribution Matrix

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this instrumental case study was to understand the ways in which the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math with the intent to shine a light on the issue of communication with families as it relates to student achievement and the persistent math achievement gap among Latinos. Specifically, the researcher set out to answer the following four research questions: (1) How do the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math? (2) Is communication with families about math purposeful? (3) Is there consistency in message? (4) Is there a shared belief in the role that communication with families about math plays in student math achievement? ❧ This study was a qualitative analysis involving the triangulation of interviews, documents, and audiovisuals. The findings show that while the leaders of this particular school do share beliefs and they do communicate consistently with students, they do not communicate as consistently with families, nor do they communicate consistently or purposefully with Latino families specifically about math. Despite these findings, however, the school boasts high achievement in math among Latinos, which, the researcher holds, is likely due to other factors, including the strong sense of community, the pervasive positivity, and the many systems of support

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Effective leadership practices of principals of low socioeconomic status high schools consisting of predominantly African-American and Latino students showing sustained academic improvement

Asset Metadata

Creator Kittelson, Andrea Kay (author)

Core Title How the leaders of one high-achieving, large, urban high school communicate with Latino families about math

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 03/31/2016

Defense Date 03/08/2016

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag attribution,Communication,High School,high-achieving,instrumental case study,Latinos,math,Mathematics,OAI-PMH Harvest,Urban

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Garcia, Pedro E. (committee chair), Avila, Cuauhtemoc (committee member), Castruita, Rudy (committee member)

Creator Email ak@webstaclecourse.com,kittelso@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-223430

Unique identifier UC11278100

Identifier etd-KittelsonA-4219.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-223430 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-KittelsonA-4219.pdf

Dmrecord 223430

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Kittelson, Andrea Kay

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA