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A case study of a principal's transformation of a high poverty urban school

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A case study of a principal's transformation of a high poverty urban school

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Content A CASE STUDY OF A
PRINCIPAL’S TRANSFORMATION OF A HIGH
POVERTY URBAN SCHOOL
by
Francisca O. Owoaje
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2006
Copyright 2006 Francisca Owoaje
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UMI Number: 3233801
Copyright 2006 by
Owoaje, Francisca O.
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Durojaiye Oduwole Owoaje and
my children Adebisi and Michael Owoaje for their support, encouragement and
patience throughout the entire doctorate program.
And to my mother, Mary Efua Abeke Odusanya for her love support,
encouragement and the many personal sacrifices she made to ensure a successful
outcome.
Also, to the memory of:
• My father, Anthony Tayo Odusanya, who was my first teacher.
• My uncle, Anthony Adeyemi Adeogun, who nurtured and encouraged my
love of learning and took pride in my academic success.
• My aunt, Henrietta Temilola Yesufu (nee Williams), who never gave up.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks and appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Amanda Datnow,
Dr. Gabriella Mafi and Dr. Joel Colbert for the generous use of their time and
expertise to make valuable contributions to better my work.
A special thank you and appreciation goes to Dr. Amanda Datnow, my
committee chair, for the countless hours she spent reading, advising, encouraging
me throughout the process and most of all, for her patience, understanding and
support. Her promptness in responding and providing feedback enabled me to
complete my work as scheduled.
I am especially grateful to my aunt, Dr. Patricia Ama Williams for her
encouragement, support, advice and the countless hours she spent reading and
providing valuable feedback on my work.
I must acknowledge late Dr. Arnold Plank for the tireless work he did to
remove all obstacles to my enrollment in the doctoral program. Without his
efforts, I would not be in the class of 2006.
I am thankful for the love and support of my late aunt, Henrietta Temilola
Yesufu (nee Williams). She worked tirelessly to complete her own dissertation
while battling terminal illness. Her example of determination and strong faith
kept me going when the going was tough.
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iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION............................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................ vii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE STU DY ....................................................... 1
Introduction....................................................................................................... 1
Context for the Study and Background of the Problem............................... 4
Statement of the Problem.................................................................................. 10
Purpose of the Study......................................................................................... 12
The Research Questions.................................................................................... 12
Significance of the Study.................................................................................. 13
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 14
Introduction......................................................................................................... 14
Change Agent.............................................................................................. 20
Flexibility.................................................................................................... 22
Ideals and Beliefs........................................................................................ 23
Intellectual Stimulation............................................................................. 24
Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment...................... 25
Monitoring and Evaluation....................................................................... 26
Optimizer..................................................................................................... 27
Other Leadership Responsibilities, Practices and Strategies...................... 28
Continuity of Leadership............................................................................ 28
Distribution of Leadership........................................................................ 29
Data-Driven Decision M aking................................................................. 30
Parental Involvement................................................................................. 32
High Expectations...................................................................................... 34
Discipline and O rder.................................................................................. 34
Belief System ...................................................................................................... 35
Internal and External Support......................................................................... 36
Summary of the Literature Review................................................................ 40
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY............................................................................ 43
Introduction......................................................................................................... 43
Sample and Population..................................................................................... 45
Overview of the District and School.............................................................. 46
School Site Leadership..................................................................................... 48
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Page
Teaching Staff................................................................................................... 49
Parents................................................................................................................ 50
Data Collection Procedures............................................................................. 51
Data Analysis Procedures................................................................................ 53
Ethical Considerations..................................................................................... 53
Limitations of the Study................................................................................... 54
Researcher’s Subjectivity................................................................................. 55
Summary............................................................................................................ 55
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS.................................................................. 56
The School......................................................................................................... 56
The District......................................................................................................... 57
The Staff............................................................................................................. 58
The Research Questions................................................................................... 60
Research Question One: What Did the Principal Do to Turn the
School Around and Achieve Improvement of Student
Achievement?.................................................................................... 62
Change Agent.............................................................................. 62
Intellectual Stimulation of Others............................................ 66
Knowledge of School’s Curriculum, Instruction &
Assessment................................ 69
Data Driven Decision M aking................................................. 71
Ability to Monitor and Evaluate People and Program s 76
Being an Optimizer of Innovation............................................ 77
Parental Involvement................................................................ 79
High Expectations...................................................................... 83
Discipline and O rder................................................................. 84
Research Question Two: What Strategies and Practices Were
Used to Improve and Sustain Improvement in Student
Achievement?.............................................................................. 88
Continuity of Leadership........................................................... 90
Distribution of Leadership........................................................ 93
Flexibility.................................................................................... 96
Research Question Three: What Is the Belief System That Is
the Best for the Strategies and Practices Used to Improve
and Sustain Improvement in Student Achievement?.................... 99
Ideals and Beliefs....................................................................... 99
Research Question Four: What Kinds of Internal and External
Support Facilitated or Impeded the Improvement and
Sustaining of Student Achievement?...............................................103
Internal Support............................................................................ 103
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Page
Certificated Staff...................................................................103
Classified Staff...................................................................... 105
Parents.................................................................................... 106
External Support...........................................................................107
District.................................................................................... 107
Family, Friends and F aith....................................................113
Professional Colleagues and Organizations...................... 114
Conclusion ........................................................................................................117
CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
AND CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................. 119
Summary of Findings.........................................................................................119
Findings for Research Question O n e.............................................................121
Findings for Research Question Two.............................................................122
Findings for Research Question Three...........................................................124
Findings for Research Question F o u r............................................................125
Connection to Prior Research............................................................................127
Implications for Policy and Practice................................................................131
Recommendations for Future Research.......................................................... 138
Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 139
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 141
Appendix A: Administrator/Resource Teacher Interview Protocol......................149
Appendix B: Teacher Interview Protocol.................................................................153
Appendix C: Parent Interview Protocol....................................................................157
Appendix D: District Administrator Interview Protocol........................................160
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LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1: Fairview Elementary School - Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP): Percentage Proficient and Above............................................... 9
Table 2: Fairview Elementary School - Progress on Academic Performance
Index (API).................................................................................................. 9
Table 3: Fairview Elementary School - Enrollment by Ethnicity (2004-2005). 48
Table 4: Fairview Elementary School - Special Programs (2003-2004)............. 48
Table 5: Fairview Elementary School: Teacher Credential and Experience 59
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ABSTRACT
State and federal mandates to improve student achievement for all students
necessitate change in the way schools are run. In particular, the way teaching and
learning occur in schools. The use of high stakes tests as a measure of schools
effectiveness requires that principals learn and be able to use new leadership skills,
strategies and responsibilities to promote continuous improvement in student
achievement. In urban school settings, the work of principals is made even more
complex by the challenges that are unique to those settings. This study focused on
the impact of school leadership on the improvement of student achievement
particularly, those leadership practices that have been effectively used to improve
and sustain the improvement of student achievement in an urban school.
The study focused on an elementary principal in a kindergarten through fifth
grade (K-5) school in a unified school district. The school has shown continuous
improvement in student achievement for five years. Qualitative, descriptive-analytic
case study methods were used to develop an in-depth study of the case. Data
collection were done through semi-structured interviews of representatives of key
stakeholders with a view to finding out their perception of the leadership practices
that have been used to improve and sustain the improvement of student achievement.
An analysis of documents such as the Single Plan for Student Achievement, minutes
of School Site Council meetings, state test results for multiple years and other
pertinent documents were done. An observation of the principal’s leadership
practices could not be done because the principal is currently on maternity leave.
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The study found that the leadership practices, roles and responsibilities that
were used to improve the school’s academic achievement are in consonance with
current research on effective leadership practices. However, the study found that
effective school leadership in urban settings not only require technical know-how but
requires a belief in students’ ability to achieve at high levels of performance, a
passion for the job, the courage to stand up for what one believes and the
commitment to work tirelessly to ensure that the focus stays on student achievement.
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CHAPTER I
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Introduction
The quest to narrow the achievement gap has driven education reform for
decades (EdSource, 2003). To date there have been several attempts by policy
makers to use educational reform to revamp the educational system and ensure that
quality teaching and learning go on in classrooms all across American schools.
These attempts to narrow the achievement gap have necessitated reform at both the
national and state levels. Some of these attempts include: Goals, 2000, Standards-
based Reform, and the latest attempt, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001
which is part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary School
Education Act (ESEA). In particular, the mandates of Standards-based Reform, the
State of California’s Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) and NCLB have
necessitated change in the way schools and school districts across the state are run
(Blankstein, 2004). Furthermore, these legislations make the work of principals
more complex by increasing school leaders’ responsibility and accountability for
student achievement among other responsibilities (National Association of
Elementary School Principals, Educational Research [NAESP], 2003).
NCLB requires that all students, regardless of ability, English language
proficiency or background, meet the same performance standards as all other
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students on annual achievement tests. It holds schools accountable for ensuring that
all students make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) by requiring attainment of
stipulated levels of proficiency. The level of proficiency increases progressively
until 2014 when all students must be proficient. Given the diversity of the student
population in American schools, and particularly in urban schools, educators are
under pressure to ensure that all students attain required levels of performance on
standardized tests (Roller, 2005; Price & Burton, 2005). Some argue that NCLB’s
one size fits all approach to accountability for student outcomes puts pressure on
schools to emphasize teaching to the test and undue focus on test preparation in most
schools (Blankstein, 2004). As a result, teaching that deepens student learning has
been put aside (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003). At the same time, NCLB has also caused
educators to take a close look at student achievement for all subgroups. Many
schools have been designated as underperforming under NCLB and PSAA for
failure to reach the required levels of achievement for all groups of students (Price et
al., 2005).
The challenges and pressures faced by schools due to NCLB accountability
requirements have led many schools and school districts to adopt reforms that would
maximize student achievement (Blankstein, 2004) and develop a culture of
continuous improvement (Lambert, 2003). The goal is to develop and institutionalize
new practices that deepen teaching and learning (Hargreaves et ah, 2003). However,
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in an attempt to meet the challenges posed by legislation, many schools adopt reform
that prolong the achievement of success for all children and sometimes, such reform
efforts actually exacerbate the challenges faced by such schools (Balnkstein, 2004).
Many of such reform efforts have died without achieving the desired goal of
improving student achievement. Giles & Hargreaves (2004) cite change in
leadership, loss or replacement of key faculty members and change in student
demographics or student size as some of reasons why some schools decline.
Conversely, some schools, in spite of social, economic, and geographic
limitations as well as impeding state and district demands, have achieved the desired
student outcomes and have been able to sustain improvement in student achievement
over time. (Giles et al., 2004). Such schools have been found to be more likely to
achieve the desired student outcome when they are able to provide stability during
change efforts by developing a culture that facilitates lasting change (Blankstein,
2004) and ensures coherence of programs (Fullan, 1999). However, many successful
reform efforts have been short lived.
This case study will examine successful practices in an urban school setting
with a diverse student population that has resulted in improved and sustained student
achievement thereby successfully narrowing the achievement gap for the students in
the school. Leadership roles, responsibilities, strategies and practices that support
improvement of student achievement, belief systems that underlie the identified
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practices and support systems, both internal and external, that facilitate or impede
leadership efforts will be examined.
Context for the Study and Background of the Problem
Fairview Elementary School is one of 24 elementary schools in the
Richmond Unified School District (RUSD). RUSD is located in Southern California.
The district has 24 elementary schools, 8 middle schools and 3 high schools. The
district also contains one continuation high school, one pregnant minors program,
one independent study program, two community day schools, an adult school and a
Regional Occupation Program (ROP) (School Accountability Report Card [SARC],
2004). The student population is high poverty urban minority. The poverty level as
measured by the number of students who qualify for Free/Reduced Price Lunch is
95.2 % (Ed-data, 2004-2005).
Although many ethnic groups are represented in the district, Latinos and
African Americans comprise the majority of the student population. Clashes
between the two dominant cultures have resulted in racial tensions in schools as well
as at board meetings (Bushweller, 1998). The district has gone through several shifts
in student demographics. The district was initially a predominantly white school
district, it then shifted to a predominantly African American population and is
currently a predominantly Latino population. Some of the district’s problems stem
from the shift in student demographics (Murphy, 2000).
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RUSD has a long history of turmoil and bad press. A settlement agreement
between the State of California and Comite’ de Padres (Comite’) in 1985 requires
the California Department of Education (CDE) to monitor district programs and
ensure that English Learners (EL) are served appropriately (S. Chou, personal
communication, June 9,2004). The process by which the state monitors district’s EL
programs and ensures compliance is the Coordinate Compliance Review (CCR). The
Education Code (EC) provides for appropriate services to English Learners in
California. Under the Comite’ agreement, 10 school districts are reviewed every
year. RUSD was picked for program review in 1989 and was found to be out of
compliance regarding provision of appropriate services to English learners (Chou,
personal communication, June, 2004). A lawsuit by American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) resulted in the district being monitored by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
to ensure that English learners are being served.
In 1993, the district was taken over by the state for a variety of reasons.
These included a $20 million deficit, facilities in disrepair and very low and
declining test scores on standardized tests. In 1993, the state appropriated $20
million in emergency loan funds to the district contingent on the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction assuming all the legal rights, duties, and powers
of the district’s governing board. A State Administrator was appointed to act on
behalf of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and run the school district.
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At the California K-16 Partnerships and Student Success Conference in 2002, the
last state administrator described the district thus:
When I arrived at the district, it had California’s lowest test scores,
attendance, college enrollment and graduation rates. There were corruption,
mismanagement, nepotism and cronyism. The district had $20 million in
debt and was in fiscal shambles. There was high staff absenteeism and a high
turnover rate. Crime was a big problem at campuses, and gangs moved freely
into school facilities on the weekends because the fire and burglar alarm
systems were not functional. School buildings and classrooms were
neglected, dilapidated and unsanitary. The district had the highest worker
compensation claims rate in the state, at almost $ 11 million every year. There
was low community support. Even though the district had been in state
receivership for several years, no one knew how many people worked for the
district or how much money was owed. Maintenance requisitions were
backlogged. A video that was made at the time shows how very neglected
many of the facilities were: damaged walls, trashed bathrooms,
nonfunctional heating systems, unsafe floors, and graffiti everywhere. (Ward,
2002)
In 1997, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) filed a complaint alleging racial
harassment and discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to meet the educational
needs of English learners and unfair funding practices in the running of the district
(Murphy, 2000). In the same year, the ACLU and others filed a class action lawsuit
against the State Department of Education. The lawsuit claimed that the children
attending public schools in the RUSD were “deprived of basic educational
opportunities, which are available to children elsewhere in the state of California”
(FCMAT, 2002). A consent decree requiring continuous improvement in school
facilities and classroom environment was entered in the year 2000. Fiscal and Crisis
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Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), an independent state agency that provides
technical assistance to troubled school districts, was appointed to oversee RUSD’s
compliance with the terms of the consent decree (Arasim, 1999). FCMAT monitors
the progress of RUSD’s implementation of recovery plans in five areas: pupil
achievement, financial management, personnel management, facilities management
and community relations (FCMAT, 2002). It conducts monitoring visits that are
comprehensive assessments of the district’s compliance efforts and prepares 6 month
progress reports.
In July, 2001, after a series of State Administrators, local control was
returned to the district (California Department of Education, 2003). The last State
Administrator succeeded in repaying the $20 million debt, improved school facilities
and increased student achievement (Murphy, 2000). However, in the 2004-2005
academic year, the district was one of 183 school districts designated as Program
Improvement districts (CDE News Release, 2004).
Meanwhile, in the year 2000, the fifth and last State administrator appointed
to run the district appointed a young female, Michaela Samson, as principal of
Fairview Elementary School (Fairview) in RUSD. Prior to her appointment as
principal, Ms. Samson was a teacher for 6 years (School Accountability Report
Card, 2003). Ms Samson came to work in the district through the Teach for America
(TFA) program.
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Fairview is a kindergarten through fifth grade school. It has a current
enrollment of 417 students. Fifty percent of the student population is Hispanic, 49%
is African American and 1% makes up other ethnicities. Approximately, one out of
five students is living in foster homes and over half of the students speak a language
other than English at home. About 60% of the students are bused in from various
parts of city. At the time of Ms. Samson’s appointment as principal, the school had
very low test scores. Under the leadership of Ms. Samson, Fairview elementary
school improved academically and has continued to grow steadily each year. The
school has met all Academic Performance Index (API) targets since 2001 and all
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets since 2002. Fairview’s 2004 (API) rank
compared to all schools is seven out of ten. The previous year, its rank was five out
of ten. The school’s 2004 Similar School Rank (SSR) is ten out of ten (Great
Schools, 2005). During the 2004-2005 academic year, the school was 1 of 248
schools (out of a total of 5,840 Title I schools in California) that were honored as
Title I Academic Achieving Schools for “demonstrating success in ensuring that all
students are making significant progress toward proficiency on California’s
academic content standards” (CDE News Release, 2005). Again in the 2005-06
school year, the school honored again as a Title I Academic Achieving school. Most
recently, the school was granted California Distinguished School status (CDE News
Release, 2006). This extraordinary achievement, within a setting characterized by
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turmoil and instability, makes the school and its leader a unique case to study.
Tables 1 shows the school’s AYP from 2002 to 2005. Table 2 shows the school’s
API growth from 2000 -2005.
Table 1
Fairview Elementary School-Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Percentage
Proficient and Above
2002 2003 2004 2005 3-year AYP Growth
English Language Arts
(ELA)
17.2 35.4 47.6 52.3 35.1
Mathematics 20.4 39.0 64.4 82.0 61.6
Source: Retrieved from http://ayp.cde.ca.gov
Table 2
Fairview Elementary School - Progress on the Academic Performance Index (API)
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 5-year API
Growth
Schoolwide API 506 N/A 608 720 781 838 332
African American
Subgroup API
508 N/A 588 711 777 842 334
Hispanic/Latino
subgroup API
512 N/A 646 729 783 834 322
Socioeconomic status
API
509 N/A 608 720 781 838 329
Source: Retrieved from http://api.cde.ca.gov
Data for the year 2001 are not available because the school does not have a
valid API for 2001 due to an adult irregularity in testing procedure during the Spring
2001 STAR testing.
Closing the achievement gap is an uphill task for underperforming schools
like Fairview because of the unique challenges they face (Chrisman, 2005). Fairview
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was being led by a young and inexperienced principal in an environment of political
turmoil and instability. The young new principal had to deal with a local context in
which the teacher turnover rate was high, facilities were in a state of dilapidation,
more than half the student population were English learners, the African American
students needed instruction in mainstream English, many students were at risk of
failing or were already designated as special needs students in a school district that
had been taken over by the state for financial bankruptcy and declining test scores on
standardized tests. Given that research has shown that improved student
achievement depends on the quality of leadership and the effectiveness of the
school’s instructional programs and practices (Chrisman, 2005), the achievement
and sustaining of improved student achievement in such a context is worth studying.
Statement of the Problem
In response to NCLB’s high-stakes testing requirements, many school
leaders resort to leadership practices that are sometimes effective in deepening the
learning for students, sometimes ineffective in improving student achievement, and
sometimes worsening the problem. Chard, and Baker, (2002) posit that effective and
sustainable leadership practices develop from an understanding of the factors that
deepen teaching and learning. It would be informative for educational practitioners
to find out what the principal at Fairview has done to transform the school. What did
she do to turn the school around and sustain improvement in student achievement
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over time? Specifically, what leadership practices, organizational structures,
personnel policies and parental involvement activities did she use to increase and
sustain student achievement? What beliefs and practices motivate her leadership
practices and strategies? What kinds of support system, both internal and external
does she rely on to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement in spite
of the challenges of the environment within which she works?
This case study intends to examine the challenges that accompany efforts to
sustain improvement of student achievement with a view to discovering how those
challenges were overcome. Information on how leadership practices, professional
beliefs and district action support or impede improvement of student achievement
would be very informative for practitioners. Does the district have systems and
processes that support school sites in their quest to improve student achievement?
What kinds of resources and support does the district have to support site
leadership? Without a doubt, Ms. Samson works in a challenging environment. In
spite of the political turmoil, instability, state takeover (receivership) and competing
district, state and federal accountability demands, she has led effectively. Ms.
Samson exemplifies the ideal of NCLB because of her success at narrowing the
achievement gap for students in her school.
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Purpose of the Study
This is a qualitative study of a high poverty urban school leader who has
successfully increased student achievement and has sustained the improvement over
an extended period of time. Critical leadership roles, responsibilities and strategies
that support improvement and sustaining of student achievement will be examined.
The belief and support systems that facilitate the successful implementation of those
leadership practices and strategies will be studied and examined.
The Research Questions
The following questions will guide the study:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve
improvement of student achievement over time?
2. What strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain
improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the strategies and practices
used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
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Significance of the Study
Many schools in urban settings are experiencing a decline in test scores.
Others make improvement in student achievement but are unable to support
continuous growth in student achievement. This study will explore some of the
strategies that have been used effectively to close the achievement gap for diverse
learners in urban settings. Additionally, leadership skills that support continuous
improvement of student achievement will be explored. The challenge of ensuring
provision of quality education for all students and accountability pressures posed by
NCLB necessitates that schools do things differently. This study will be an
important contribution to what is currently known about school reform and will
contribute to studies and discussions about transferability of practices that facilitate
school reform to other school settings. Moreover, our knowledge of the instructional
practices, leadership roles, belief and support systems that support the development
of effective organizational culture will be enhanced. More importantly, this study
will be beneficial to other principals in similar settings or with similar demographic
population to learn what actions, practices, activities and functions are important for
school improvement.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Principals’ responsibility and accountability for student achievement are
substantially increased under NCLB (NAESP, 2003). Under this legislation, the
work of the principal is made even more complex by the legislation’s increase of
principals’ responsibilities and accountability for ensuring improvement in student
achievement, staff quality, quality of school’s curriculum and instruction, parental
involvement, etc.
No Child Left Behind is now asking the principal to weave together the needs
and demands of all the stakeholders. These needs and demands create an
environment where principals are accountable to these stakeholders in ways
they may never have been before. For No Child Left Behind not only spells
out that the school is accountable for children’s academic progress, it also
specifies the areas of schooling to which the principal must attend to ensure
this progress; the manner in which the progress will be measured; and how
indicator data such as test scores will be analyzed, disaggregated and
publicized. (NAESP, 2003, p. 3).
NCLB and the State of California’s PSAA necessitate that schools improve
continuously thereby placing tremendous challenges on schools to maximize student
outcomes. The negative consequences (ultimately, threat of reconstitution) attached
to school’s failure to show AYP necessitates that principals find more effective ways
to carry out their new responsibilities.
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In the face of these mandated responsibilities, it is beneficial for educational
practitioners to find out how successful principals are able to effectively increase
and sustain improvement in student achievement under challenging high poverty
urban contexts. The challenge for principals at this time is to be able to maintain the
organizational focus in the face of competing demands by clarifying and protecting
the school’s values, norms and goals and making innovations meaningful by
integrating them into the school’s vision and goals and prioritizing only those tasks
that further the school’s goals. In this way, the principal ensures coherence of
programs (Waters, Marzano & McNulty, 2003).
This chapter reviews extant literature on the leadership practices and
strategies, ideals and beliefs, and critical internal and external support systems that
positively impact successful school improvement efforts. Extant literature describes
a leader as a visionary, a person of strong personal and professional beliefs who is
able to articulate his or her vision to others and inspire them to embark on the
change process (Guskin, 1996). A leader is a person of integrity who is able to keep
the organization’s focus on progress toward organizational goals (Julius, Baldridge
& Pfeffer, 1999) and understands the context in which he or she leads and is able to
discern what needs to be done, knows when to do it, how to do it and why get it
done (Waters et ah, 2003). He or she is flexible enough to use different leadership
frames as each situation dictates (Bensimon, 1989; Bolman & Deal, 1997).
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Bolman & Deal, (2002) posit that leadership qualities are essentially founded
on faith and soul. “Soul is a deep-seated sense about who you are, what you value
and what you are here to do” (p. 4). They set forth five characteristics of
extraordinary leadership. They are: (a) Focus, that is, the possession of a vision and
the ability to keep the focus on the organization’s essential goals. Effective leaders
do not get lost or confused even in the midst of problems, complexities, chaos or
other pressures be they internal or external, (b) Passion, effective leaders care deeply
about their work and work to make a difference, (c) Wisdom, effective leaders learn
from their successes, mistakes and failures. From these experiences, they derive the
wisdom with which to handle other problems and complexities and avoid confusion,
(d) Courage, effective leaders act on their courage and belief even when the outcome
is not certain and mistakes sometimes result, (e) Integrity, “Integrity is at the heart of
qualities like honesty, depth and a moral compass that inspire trust and loyalty.”
(Bolman et al., 2002, p.4). In essence, the actions of effective leaders are consistent
with their beliefs.
Extant literature further shows that the answer to the question of what makes
successful school leadership is still a debatable subject (Day, 2005). While many
researchers have found that effective leadership at the school level impacts student
achievement (Blankstein, 2004; Fullan, 1999; Waters et al. 2003), others have found
little impact of school leadership on student achievement (Witziers, Bosker, &
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17
Kruger (2003). They found that even though principals are held accountable for
students’ academic performance, other variables can factor into student achievement
as well. This makes it difficult to determine the impact of a principal’s leadership
role. They suggest that future research take contextual and intermediate factors into
consideration. Likewise, Murphy, (in Heck, 1992) acknowledges that measuring the
impact of school leadership on student achievement is problematic because of the
difficulties of ruling out other factors that affect student achievement. Many
leadership theories have been posited to explain why some leaders are successful
and others are not. However, there is no conclusive answer yet. Nevertheless, this
study will focus on leadership practices and responsibilities that have been found to
support the improvement of academic achievement.
The beliefs and values that a principal holds are very important indicators of
the culture and norms of the school because principals are the ones who articulate
the philosophical principles on which the school operates (Deal & Peterson, 1999).
Assumptions, values, beliefs and norms are expressions of what a school stands for,
they hold the school together and shape the culture of the school (Deal et al., 1999).
“Values define a standard of goodness, quality, or excellence that under girds
behavior and decision making and what people care about” (Ott as cited in Deal et
al., 1999, p.26). Beliefs, on the other hand, are “consciously held, cognitive views
about truth and reality” (Ott as cited in Deal et al, 1999, p. 36). The belief systems
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that a principal operates from are powerful reflections of the principal’s
understanding about such educational issues as student capacity, teacher
responsibility for learning, sources of teacher knowledge and educational success
(Deal et al., 1999). Leaders have to be clear about their own core values and beliefs
before they can inspire and build capacity in others (Bolman et al. (2002). Lambert
(2003) posits that a leader’s faith and personal philosophy provide clarity about a
person’s beliefs and core values. Clarity about core values and beliefs is especially
important when there is conflict between stakeholders’ values and political
ideologies. This study will examine the values and beliefs that shape the culture of
academic achievement for Fairview.
Studies of effective leadership in high poverty urban schools have found that
the following attributes are effective in improving student achievement: effective
leadership, high expectations for student achievement, quality of instructional
programs and practices, discipline, monitoring of student progress and strong
parental involvement (Chrisman, 2005; Towns, Cole-Henderson & Serpell, 2001;
Waters et al. (2003). Even though there have been many studies on practices and
strategies of effective leadership, that of Waters et al. (2003) is among the most
exhaustive. Effective practices, responsibilities, knowledge, strategies, tools and
resources for effective school leadership are set forth in their balanced leadership
framework. They based their work on a quantitative analysis of 30 years of research
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material on leadership, relying only on those studies that met their criteria for
experimental design, controls and rigor. A total of 70 studies were used involving
2,894 schools, 1.1 million students and 14,000 teachers. Additionally, they relied on
theoretical insights from an exhaustive literature review and the professional wisdom
of the esteemed team of researchers. They found that there is a substantial
relationship between leadership and student achievement. Of significant importance
to educational practitioners is their finding that it is not enough that a leader knows
what to do, an effective leader must know when, why, and how to do what is
necessary to effect change and improve the school. Waters et al. (2003) found that
21 key leadership responsibilities directly impact student achievement. They suggest
that principals focus only on responsibilities that impact student achievement so that
clarity on what is essential is achieved. In essence, the focus must be on school and
classroom practices that result in improved student achievement.
The Waters et al. (2003) study found that of the 21 leadership responsibilities
that are essential to improving student achievement only 7of them were found to be
positively correlated to leading second order changes. Second order changes are
those in which the status quo changes, stakeholders must master new knowledge,
practices or approaches to implement the change, or in which stakeholders may be
required to change their personal values and organizational norms. The seven
leadership responsibilities that positively correlate to leading innovative change are:
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(a) being a change agent, (b)using flexibility, (c)operating from strong ideals and
beliefs, (d)intellectual stimulation of others, (e) knowledge of the school’s
curriculum, instruction and assessment, (f) ability to monitor and evaluate people
and programs, and (g) being an optimizer of innovation. These seven leadership
responsibilities are reviewed to discuss the innovations at Fairview as a departure
from the status quo and therefore constitute a second order change. Additionally,
internal and external support systems that have been effective in helping principals
meet the challenges of their responsibilities as well as strategies that have been
successfully used to overcome the challenges will be discussed.
Change Agent
Waters et al. (2003) posit that change agency is the willingness to actively
challenge the status quo. They explain that the practices related to this responsibility
are the ability to systematically consider new and better ways of doing things, being
comfortable leading change initiatives with uncertain outcomes and consciously
challenging the status quo. The change agent has the responsibility of examining
current practices and challenging stakeholders to change ineffective practices
(Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2005). Therefore, change agency in schools requires
the ability to facilitate change in existing pedagogy in order to sustain improvement
in student achievement (Fullan, 2005).
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Furthermore, each change situation is unique, it is difficult to predict what
each change situation will entail (Fullan, 1999). Therefore, the ability to discern the
order of change being led and to select and effectively use appropriate leadership
skills, strategies, and practices are the skills that set effective leaders apart (Waters et
al., 2003). It is therefore essential that when effecting change, leaders provide new
experiences in the context within which teachers and students are expected to learn
(Fullan, 2003).
Given the fact that anyone who tries to change the status quo is usually met
with opposition because they are being asked to face the unknown (Fullan, 1999),
“An effective political change agent, realizing that change is really difficult,
concentrates efforts on only the important issues” (Julius et al., 1999, p. 119).
Successful change agents do not indiscriminately take on every innovation that is
recommended or mandated, they work hard at making meaning of each innovation
in order to reduce confusion and ensure coherence of programs (Fullan, 1999).
Therefore, effective change agency must promote meaningful interaction among
staff in order to facilitate the production of better ideas for moving the organization
forward and to promote social cohesion. Moreover, high expectations, capacity
development, effective collaboration and a culture of reflection and inquiry promote
positive change in school culture. Effective leaders understand and change the
culture of a school so that student learning can be sustained (Fullan, 2005).
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It would be informative for practitioners to find out what changes the
principal made to the context in order to get people to change their practices and
behave differently. For instance, how did she get teachers to change their
instructional practices? What did she do to get the classified staff and parents
involved in the improvement of student achievement? What did the principal do to
ensure coherence of programs?
Flexibility
“Leaders fail when they take too narrow a view of the context in which they
are working. Unless they can think flexibly about organizations and see them from
multiple angles, they will be unable to deal with the full range of issues that they
will inevitably encounter” (Bolman et al., 1997, p. 379). Flexibility is the extent to
which a principal is able to adapt his or her leadership behavior to the needs of the
current situation and is able to entertain diverse perspectives. The leader is able to
adapt his or her leadership style to the needs of specific situations, is comfortable
with major changes in the way things are done; and is able to encourage people to
express opinions contrary to those of the leader (Water et al., 2003). The ability to
adapt leadership behavior to the situational context is a departure from the traditional
view where leaders are boxed into one leadership style or the other. Bolman and
Deal (1997) put forth four leadership frames: structural, human resource, political
and symbolic that leaders must be able to use effectively. They suggest that even
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though leaders are naturally inclined to use one or two frames, they should learn to
apply all four frames in order to be able to lead successfully and to develop a deeper
understanding for the organizations they lead.
Other researchers agree that flexibility is an important leadership attribute.
“Leaders who incorporate elements of several frames are likely to have more
flexible responses to different administrative tasks because they have different
images of the organization and can interpret events in a variety of ways” (Bensimon,
1989, p. 111). In order to remain flexible, leaders must be able to tolerate
ambiguities, recover quickly from set backs and be willing to find ways to
incorporate diverse perspectives while working toward the achievement of the
organizational goals (Paterson, 2001). Essentially, effective leaders must know what
to do, when to do it, how to do it and why do it in every situation (Waters et al.,
2003). This study examines how effectively Ms. Samson is able to use multiple
leadership frames and is able to adapt her leadership style to different situations.
Ideals and Beliefs
Ideals and beliefs refer to those leadership responsibilities in which the
principal is able to communicate and operate from strong ideals and beliefs about
schooling. In practice, an effective principal is able to hold and share strong
professional beliefs about schools, teaching, and learning with staff and parents, and
is able to demonstrate behaviors that are consistent with the beliefs. (Bolman et al.
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(2002; Waters et al., 2003) assert that effective leaders lead with the soul and have a
faith that sustains their core values and beliefs and gives them the courage to forge
ahead even when the going gets tough.
Sustainable leadership keeps the school focused on its vision, mission and
goals in spite of competing district and state demands. Furthermore, sustainable
leadership implements initiatives that are socially just by recognizing and promoting
actions that build positive support for the school while minimizing activities that
could have a negative impact on the school (Hargreaves & Fink, 2004).
Intellectual Stimulation
“There is no chance that large-scale reform will happen, let alone stick unless
capacity-building is a central component of the strategy for improvement” (Fullan,
2005). This responsibility refers to the principal’s ability to ensure that faculty and
staff are aware of the most current theories and practices and makes the discussion
of these a regular aspect of the school’s culture. A principal is deemed able to meet
this responsibility when he or she keeps abreast o f current research and theory
regarding effective schooling, involves staff in reading articles and books about
effective practices, exposes staff to cutting edge ideas about effective practices, and
provides opportunities for staff to engage in discussions about current research and
theory in the field of education (Waters et al., 2003). In effect, school leaders must
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not only make student learning the primary focus but must ensure that all other
stakeholders’ learning support student learning (Hargreaves et al., 2003).
Leadership must create conditions that value learning as both an individual
and collective good. Leaders must create environments in which individuals
expect to have their personal ideas and practices subjected to the scrutiny of
their colleagues, and in which groups expect to have their shared conceptions
of practice subjected to the scrutiny of individuals. (Elmore, 2000, p. 20).
Moreover, leaders must be willing and able to model the values and behaviors
they expect from others. “Leaders should be doing, and should be seen to be doing,
that which they expect or require others to do. Likewise, leaders should expect to
have their own practice subjected to the same scrutiny as they exercise toward
others” (Elmore, 2000, p. 21). Administrators who prioritized building their own
personal knowledge have been found to create the same environment in their own
schools (King, 2002). More importantly, schools in which principals provide
opportunities for teachers to participate meaningfully in instructional decisions have
been found to demonstrate strong gains in student achievement (DeMoss, 2002).
Knowledge o f Curriculum Instruction and Assessment
In view of the fact that the state standards identity more content than teachers
can teach within available instructional time, knowledge of curriculum, instruction
and assessment is an essential skill for effective principals to have. Being
knowledgeable about current curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
means that in practice, the principal is not only knowledgeable about such practices,
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but also models effective classroom practices for teachers (Waters et al., 2003). In
effect, principals must be instructional leaders.
Since both NCLB and PSAA use test scores to determine the effectiveness of
a school, an effective principal must not only be knowledgeable about curriculum,
instruction and assessment but must be able to align curriculum instruction and
assessment. “Aligning curriculum, instructional practices and assessment strategies
is a critical step toward accurate identification of learning and instructional deficits,
identifying promising practices and promoting student learning” (Johnson &
Lawrence, 2005, p. 29). Principals must be able to set clear expectations for
instruction (Elmore, 2000).
Furthermore, knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment is
important because principals must be able to develop pacing guides so that essential
content standards can be addressed within the available instructional time and
monitor to ensure that teachers address the essential content standards. Instructional
time must also be protected by working to reduce the number of disruptions to
classroom instruction during available instructional time (Marzano et al., 2005).
Monitoring and Evaluation
The role of school leaders is to monitor implementation and progress of
instruction and programs, and to keep faculty attention focused on progress goals
(Cambum, Rowan, & Taylor, 2003). The responsibility to monitor and evaluate tells
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how well the principal is able to monitor the effectiveness of school programs and
instructional practices and their impact on student learning. The practice that
evidences this responsibility is the ability to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness
of curriculum, instruction and assessment. Principals must monitor instruction and
programs to ensure that teachers address essential content standards (Marzano et al..
2005). Carter (2001) studied 21 high performing high poverty schools and found that
the principals take personal responsibility for student achievement by personally
monitoring each student’s assessment on a regular basis. Principals in high achieving
schools have been found to spend considerably more time in classrooms than other
teachers. In this way, the principals are able to observe student work which is an
important indication of student performance (Suppovitz & Poglinco, 2001) The
impact of Ms. Samson’s ability to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of school
programs and instructional practices as well as her ability to provide quality
feedback to teachers regarding teaching and learning are examined in this study.
Optimizer
A leader who is an optimizer is able to inspire and lead new and challenging
innovations. The principal inspires teachers to accomplish things that would
normally seem to be beyond their reach. He or she demonstrates a positive attitude
about the ability o f the staff to accomplish something substantial and is a driving
force behind major initiatives or innovations (Waters et al., 2003).
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Effective principals appreciate the diversity of their staff are able to model
the behavior they are requiring of others (Elmore, 2000). An optimizer is able to
focus on what is essential while delegating the important items to others (Waters et
al., 2004). This study examines how well Ms. Samson is able to inspire others and
challenge them to go above and beyond their personal expectations.
Other Important Leadership Responsibilities, Practices
and Strategies
Apart from Waters et al.’s study, the literature reveals that other factors have
been found to be important to the improvement of student achievement. Some of the
factors that have been found to be important are discussed below:
Continuity o f Leadership
Continuity of leadership is a key factor in sustaining reform (Datnow, 2005;
Hargreaves et al., 2003). Succession planning and selection of administrators who
are capable, respect school’s goals and work toward the school’s progress depict a
capable leader. The school leader’s role then is to develop others’ leadership
capacity so that staff turn-over does not affect the school’s ability to continue
innovative practices (Lambert, 2005). Macmillan (2000) studied five schools in two
school districts that have principal rotation policies as part of their administrative
strategy. He found that districts that adopt succession rotation policies in efforts to
stimulate and facilitate change often produced a contrary outcome. Instability results
when there is a revolving door of administrators each with his or her own idea of
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change initiatives. Besides, such administrative policies affect the principal’s role
and reduce the impact the principal is able to have on the school with the result that
change is difficult to achieve in such settings. Macmillan recommends that
principals take the time to know and understand the culture of the context in which
they lead and to collaborate with teachers when initiating change in a new setting. In
effect, school districts should ensure that principals are in a position long enough to
be able to know the culture and be able to produce results. Datnow (2005) also found
that instability and lack of teacher buy-in for reform efforts results when there is
frequent leadership change.
Distribution o f Leadership
Capable leaders work hard to promote policies that facilitate the development
of leadership capacity and reduce policies that encourage bureaucratization
(Lambert, 2003). An effective strategy that leaders use to achieve the fulfillment of
essential leadership responsibility is promotion and support of the development of
others’ leadership capacity (Waters & Grubb, 2004). Lambert (2003) found that
school improvement lasts when leaders build the capacity of other stakeholders by
involving them in the work of leadership. In this way, the organization is able to lead
itself and sustain improvement efforts when an individual leaves. Distribution of
leadership is an effective way to ensure that others share and help develop
leadership’s vision (Hargreaves et al., 2004).
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Lambert (2005) discusses leadership strategies for implementing distributed
leadership. She advocates three phases of school improvement: the instructive phase,
the traditional phase, and the high capacity phase. With each phase the principal is
less involved than in the preceding phase. The goal is for schools in the high
capacity phase to be able to function even when the principal is absent. In this way,
schools can sustain innovative practices. Copland (2003) found that school leaders
who are able to facilitate collective decision making and continual inquiry into
practice through distribution of leadership are able to use this as a means for
building capacity, coherence and ownership among all stakeholders. Consequently,
those leaders are able to sustain reform. Ms. Samson’s ability to involve other
stakeholders in the work of leadership is examined in this study.
Data-Driven Decision Making
An integral part of a principal’s knowledge of curriculum, instruction and
assessment is the ability to collect and analyze data effectively and to use data to
inform decision making. Two specific skills that have been identified as essential to
a leader’s ability to support instructional improvement and student learning are: (a)
the ability to collect and manage information about your student, staff, building and
community and (b) the ability to analyze and use these data to effectively assess
areas where students are not achieving to expected levels of proficiency (Price &
Burton, 2005). Data are an indispensable tool for the evaluation and monitoring of
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student outcomes (Schmoker, 1999). Consequently, principals must develop
effective ways of gathering data on how well or how poorly new programs and
practices are being implemented in classrooms and schoolwide (Fullan as cited in
Schmoker, 1999). Gathering and analyzing data is advantageous because they
expose weaknesses and strengths in programs and instructional practices that would
otherwise remain hidden. Additionally, data have been found to promote the
prescription of solutions that are precisely targeted at areas where improvement is
needed (Schmoker, 1999). More importantly, the use of data to guide decision
making increases our ability to transfer and replicate effective practices to other
settings within or outside the school (Schmoker, 1999).
While it is beneficial to analyze both formative and summative student test
scores in order to ensure that all students are learning and mastering the state
standards, continuous improvement can only happen when schools look beyond test
scores at other data to get accurate information about the students, staff and
community (Bemhadt, 2005; Price et al., 2005). It is important that data for decision
making in schools include demographic data, perception data, process data,
attendance and behavior data in addition to results data (Price et al., 2005).
Process data is used to determine what teachers are doing to produce the
results that they have. “School processes are the curriculum, instruction, and
assessment strategies used to teach the content that students are expected to learn”
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(Bemhadt, 2005, p. 18). Results data provide information about what students have
learned but must be examined in conjunction with other types of data in order to get
the complete picture about student performance (Bemhadt, 2005; Price et al., 2005;).
Furthermore, there must be purposeful interaction among the staff within and across
grade levels regarding the information gathered and analyzed about student
performance to inform next steps (Fullan, 2005). In essence, the use of data
promotes a culture of inquiry and reflection.
DeMoss (2002) found that schools where principals focused on curriculum
improvement rather than test scores, where tests were used primarily to target
teacher efforts, substantial improvement in student achievement was made.
Therefore, the skills and knowledge that leaders must have are those that would
facilitate the creation of settings for learning that are focused on clear expectations
for instruction (Elmore, 2000). Hargreaves and Fink (2003) found that school
leaders who are instructional leaders are able to sustain reform.
Parental Involvement
Fullan (2005) described parental involvement as an adaptive challenge. He explains
an adaptive challenge as a problem that requires more than technical know-how to
solve because it is complex and goes beyond what is currently known. He further
explains that even though there are no set solutions to adaptive problems,
nevertheless, they require sophisticated leadership and the involvement of the people
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with the problem. Noguera (2003, in Fullan, 2005) stated that change cannot be
sustained in schools unless schools respond to the needs of students and parents by
providing assistance that is relevant to their particular situations. Marzano et al.
(2005) found that school principals must be able to communicate effectively with
parents and the community through such means as newsletters, phone calls, home
visits and parent teacher conferences. They must also provide opportunities for
parents to be involved in the running of the school and to participate in school
governance.
Towns et al., (2001) studied successful urban schools and found that
teamwork, positive school climate and parental involvement were attributes of their
success. Parents felt welcomed in classrooms and on playgrounds. They participated
in decision-making process at the schools. Parents expressed great pride in the
schools. Carter (2001) found that effective principals in high performing high
poverty schools actively involve parents in student learning by entering into
contracts with parents to support their children’s efforts to learn and by teaching
parents how to support their students at home.
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Lambert (2003) suggests that efforts to truly involve parents in student
learning should include a shift from treating parents as customers and obstacles to
change to treating them as partners, collaborators, facilitators, coleamers, coteachers,
resource developers, decision makers and team members. The study will examine
the extent to which Ms. Samson has been able to actively involve parents in decision
making at the school.
High Expectations
High expectations and performance only become an integral part of the
organization’s culture when there is systemic change that changes the context within
which people work (Fullan, 2005). Towns et al. found that teachers in successful
urban schools had high expectations for themselves as well as their students.
Teachers worked as teams, believing that for one to succeed, all must succeed. They
were willing to try a variety of teaching strategies. Carter (2001) found that effective
principals set a high standard for themselves, their teachers and students. No
students are promoted or advanced without a clear demonstration of mastery of the
curriculum.
Discipline and Order
Attendance and behavior data provide information about the effectiveness of
discipline practices. Towns et al. (2001) found that in the successful urban schools
that they studied, students maintained excellent attendance records and there were
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few suspensions and no expulsions. To this end, Carter (2001) suggests that the
school itself must set the example for self reliance, self control and self esteem in
order to inspire confidence, order and discipline in students.
Belief System
At the initial stages of school improvement, an understanding of self, a
strong belief in equity and the democratic process and the ability to articulate beliefs
that drive or form the basis for the culture of learning in a school are essential
attributes of successful leadership in urban, high poverty schools (Lambert, 2003).
A new vision cannot be successfully implemented unless the leader who is
motivating others to change is perceived to have the highest of values; e.g., integrity,
sensitivity, selflessness, striving for the good of the organization in order to
successfully implement a new vision. Otherwise, if the perception exists that the
leader does not have integrity, wisdom, or selflessness, or if this issue is effectively
presented or manipulated in a negative way by an opposing constituency, the leader
loses the ability to influence others and the ability to manage change in the
organization. (Julius et al., 1999). Additionally, effective leaders use the political
leadership frame to build coalitions, reconcile conflicting political beliefs effective
leaders use the political leadership frame (Bolman et al., 1997) to effectively build
coalitions and form political bases for influencing decisions (Julius et al., (1999). In
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other words, a leader’s actions must be consistent with his or her expressed beliefs
and values.
Patterson (2001), found that if a leader’s actions are consistent with his or her
values, the constituents are more likely to develop confidence in the leader. Capable
leaders maintain a sustained sense of purpose by ensuring that the school’s and
district’s vision guide conversations about student learning.
Biases sometimes arise out of the values, beliefs or political ideals held by
different stakeholders thereby creating conflict (Marshall, 2005). Oakes, Wells,
Yonezawa, and Ray (2000) found that the principal’s ability to handle conflict as a
necessary part of change is an indicator of how well they know about and are able to
adapt to change. They suggest that principals remain clear ant true to the beliefs and
ideals they have expressed especially during conflict. This study will examine the
extent to which Ms. Samson’s actions were consistent with her beliefs and her
ability to maintain a climate of continuous academic achievement in the face of
conflict. More importantly, it would be informative to know how her beliefs and
ideals shape the school culture and impact students’ academic achievement.
Internal and External Support
Innovation is usually met with resistance. Julius et al. (1999) posit that the
key to being an effective leader is the ability to make an accurate assessment of the
organization in which a person works, an understanding of how decisions are made
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and knowledge of the people who implement the decisions. It is therefore important
that an effective leader is able to build a team that is loyal to the leader so that a
political base for influencing decisions can be in place (Julius et al., 1999). This
study will examine how well Ms. Samson has been able to build coalitions and form
a political base for the issues she is passionate about and how well she has used the
internal support system to further her vision and school goals.
By the same token, an effective leader must be able to use support from
external constituencies to influence the internal process. (Julius et al., 1999).
External allies include policy makers, school board members, the district office,
parents, alumni and local businesses. Julius et al., (1999) also posit that effective
leaders use the political leadership frame (Bolman et al., 1997) to effectively build
coalitions and form political bases for influencing decisions.
The existence or absence of a supportive reform infrastructure at the district
and state level may impede or facilitate reform efforts at the school level (Moffett,
2000). District endorsement or lack thereof determines the success or failure of
programs and educational reforms (Datnow, Hubbard & Mehan., 2002). By the same
token, state actions impact reform efforts. For example, the adoption of high stakes
testing has been found to adversely affect school level reform efforts because
teachers shifted instructional focus to test preparation and teaching to state tests
(Datnow et al., 2002). Such centralization efforts make the work of leaders who
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want to deepen learning and are trying to change the status quo even more
challenging.
School districts strongly influence the strategic choices that schools make
regarding the improvement of teaching and learning (Massell, 2000). Consequently,
changes in district policy, leadership or agenda affect school principals’ abilities to
sustain school improvement (Datnow, 2005). A support infrastructure needs to be in
place at the district level that redeploys district resources and applies its values,
policies and practices to the system as a whole (Moffett 2000). Individual school
reform does not add up to large scale reform (Fullan, 1999). If reform is applied to
schools as isolated units, then imbalance and disorder results (Lambert, 1998).
Moffett (2000) found that school districts that do not have such supportive
infrastructure in place are not successful at meeting the needs of students and
sustaining positive change.
School districts support school leadership when they ensure continuity by
reducing staff turnover (Moffett, 2000). Continuity ensures that programs and
improvements are more easily sustained because the school does not have to start
over when a new principal or other staff member comes on board. Continuity also
makes the institutionalization of new practices more likely. School districts support
principals when they provide external and internal facilitators to provide support,
technical assistance, and to clarify new change efforts (Moffett, 2000) in such areas
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as: (a) interpreting and using data; (b) building teacher knowledge and skills; (c)
aligning curriculum and instruction; and (d) targeting interventions on low-
performing students and/or schools (Massed, 2000).
Another way in which effective school districts support principals is by
providing meaningful staff development opportunities for principals, teachers and
other staff members who contribute to the improvement of student achievement.
Waters et al. (2005) suggest that professional development for principals should
focus on four knowledge types instead of two because all four knowledge types are
essential for the skills and practices necessary for improvement of student
achievement. These four knowledge types are contextual knowledge, necessary for
change agent responsibilities; experiential knowledge, necessary for optimizer and
monitoring and evaluation responsibilities; declarative knowledge is necessary for
knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment responsibilities; and
procedural knowledge, which helps leaders fulfill the responsibilities for intellectual
stimulation, flexibility and ideals and beliefs. Providing the knowledge that
principals need for performing their responsibilities effectively ensures their success
as leaders.
In addition, school districts support principals when they provide a stable
political environment and ensure that school improvement efforts benefit all children
(Goertz, Flodden, & O ’Day, 1996). This study examines how well the district has
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succeeded or failed to minimize the effect of the district’s political turmoil, financial
woes and academic bankruptcy from negatively impacting improvement efforts at
school sites. It also reviews the extent to which the district has been able to mitigate
competing state and district demands on principals’ abilities to move forward on
improvement efforts at school sites.
Summary of Literature Review
The main purpose of this chapter is to review extant literature on the seven
leadership practices, strategies and responsibilities that have been found to be
positively correlated to leading innovation and improving student achievement. The
literature submits that there is positive correlation between leadership
responsibilities and practices, leading innovation and improvement of student
achievement. They are strategies that have been used by successful principals to
effectively meet the complex demands of their position. The main responsibilities
include: (a) change agent, (b) flexibility, (c) ideals and beliefs, (d) intellectual
stimulation, (e) knowledge of curriculum, instruction and assessment, (f) monitor
and evaluate, and (g) optimizer. These seven do not exhaust the list of effective
responsibilities and practices that principals have used to successfully improve
student achievement. However, they have been found to be most effective in
improving student achievement in innovative change situations (Waters et al., 2003).
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The Waters et al. (2003) study gives us leadership responsibilities and
practices that impact student achievement on a broad scale and might not meet the
challenges of principals in all settings. This case study will provide a more in-depth
look at the day-to-day activities of a principal in a high poverty urban school setting
and provide valuable insights into how a principal is able to take a school from low
performing status to distinguished school status in spite of serious academic,
economic and political challenges.
In sum, an effective leader of change must be a visionary with strong
personal and professional beliefs and is able to articulate the vision to others and
inspire them to embark on the change process (Guskin, 1996). Such leader is a
person of integrity who is able to keep the organization’s focus on progress toward
organizational goals (Julius et al., 1999). Furthermore, an effective leader
understands the context in which he or she leads and is able to discern what needs to
be done, knows when to do it, how to do it and why get it done (Waters et al., 2003).
A leader must be flexible enough to use different leadership frames as each situation
dictates (Bolman et al., 1997). Above all, a successful leader of change must be able
to develop a culture of learning by stimulating the professional development of
others and providing opportunities for teachers to contribute meaningfully to
conversations about improvement of instructional practices and improvement of
student achievement (Lambert, 2003). Therefore, principals need a support system,
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both internally and externally that helps them overcome the challenges of their
position (Julius et al., 1997).
While research indicates that context determines the successful
implementation o f innovation (Blankstein, 2004) and the existence of research
documenting effective practices in various contexts, it is nevertheless important to
know what practices are effective in the context in which one leads. As stated
earlier, RUSD is a unique context in terms of shifting demographics, lack of political
stability, low socio-economic status, language barriers, high teacher turn over,
facilities in a state of disrepair, state receivership, non-compliance with several state
mandates and lately, program improvement status. All of these mean that the district
is closely scrutinized by several state agencies and the demands on the principal to
ensure compliance are tremendous. A review of extant literature helps us to
understand the factors, practices, strategies and responsibilities that contributed to
Ms. Samson’s success as a school leader in spite of the challenges in the context in
which she had to lead.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter describes the design, sample, instrumentation, data collection
and data analysis methods used in this study. The purpose of this study is to
determine the strategies and practices that a principal in a high poverty urban school
used to initiate the process of change through an examination of the new practices
that were put in place, the belief systems that drive and sustain the vision for change
and the kinds of support, internally and externally, that the principal relied on in the
process. One kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school in the Richmond
Unified School District in southern California was studied in order to find answers
to the previously established research questions:
1. What did the principal turn the school around and sustain improvement
of student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to improve and
sustain improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
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A qualitative, descriptive-analytic case study method was used to develop an
in-depth study of the case, multiple forms of data were collected. Interviews and
document reviews were used to collect data. An observation of the principal’s
leadership practices during classroom observations and in meetings could not be
done because the principal is currently on maternity leave. However, her notes and
feedback to grade levels on their ideas and plans of action were reviewed to gain an
insight into the kinds of feedback she provided to teachers and how she supported
teacher efforts to improve instructional practices. The case study method of inquiry
is suitable for this study because the study is an examination of a change process in
its real life context (Merriam, 1998).
Additionally, case studies are suitable for providing an in-depth description
of the context and process studied (Creswell, 1998). Therefore, this case study will
provide a rich description of what it takes to successfully lead an elementary school
in a high poverty urban setting in an age of increased accountability and numerous
urban school challenges. Moreover, Merriam (1998) noted that case studies are
suitable when the goal is to understand a phenomenon from the participants’
perspectives. The case study method was used because it provides valuable insights
from the perspectives of teachers, classified staff, parents, site administrators, and a
district administrator about effective leadership practices in the urban school studied.
Furthermore, case study method was used because it is suitable when researchers are
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interested in gaining insight, providing meaning and expanding readers’ knowledge,
about a situation or phenomenon through interpretation, rather than hypothesis
testing.
The study gained insight through discovery and interpretation of the school’s
journey from low performing to distinguished school status in the state of California.
The study examines the process of change through an examination of the leadership
practices, roles and responsibilities that a principal, faced with the challenges of
leadership in an age of accountability, complicated by the challenges of leadership in
a high poverty urban school setting, instability and political turmoil used to improve
students’ academic achievement. More importantly, the study examines how this
principal has been able to maintain growth for 5 consecutive school years in this
school.
Sample and Population
This study focused on an elementary school principal in a kindergarten
through fifth grade (K-5) school in a unified (kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-
12) school district. As explained in chapter one, the district is known for political
instability, bad press, state takeover (receivership) financial bankruptcy, low test
scores, inadequate facilities and currently, Program Improvement status. Using
purposeful sampling, the principal of Fairview elementary school was selected on
the basis of the school’s ability to sustain increasing test scores by meeting API
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targets since 2000 and AYP targets since 2002. This is a unique sample because this
is the only school principal in this unique district context who has been able to
increase and sustain the increase in student achievement over a significant period of
time. It is also significant that her school has been honored by the state as a Title I
Academic Achieving School for 2 consecutive years and was recently granted a
California Distinguished School status. Merriam (1998) describes unique samples as
those samples based on unique or atypical attributes or occurrences and such is the
case in this study.
Overview o f the District and School
The district selected for this study is Richmond Unified School District
(RUSD). RUSD was established in 1970 and currently has an enrolment of 29,717
students in 24 elementary schools (a new elementary school is scheduled to open in
February), 8 middle schools and 3 high schools. The district also contains one
continuation high school, one pregnant minors program, one independent study
program, two community day schools, an adult school and a Regional Occupation
Program (ROP) (SARC, 2004). At present, the superintendent is considering closing
the two community day schools for attendance and consequently, financial reasons.
The student population is predominantly Latino and African American. The district
has gone through several shifts in student demographics. RUSD has a long history of
turmoil and bad press for failure to provide quality education and provide adequate
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facilities. The district is currently monitored by the following organizations: Comite’
de Padres, Americans Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Coordinated Compliance
Review (CCR), Office of Civil Rights (OCR), FCMAT and the Los Angeles County
Office of Education for various compliance issues.
Fairview Elementary School is one of the 24 elementary schools in the
Richmond Unified School District (RUSD). Ms. Samson was appointed principal of
Fairview in the year 2000. Fairview is a K-5 school. Currently, the school has an
enrollment of 417 students. Fifty percent of the student population is Hispanic, 49%
is African American and 1% makes up other ethnicities. Sixty percent of the students
at this school are bussed in from other areas within the district. Tables 3 and 4 show
the school’s enrolment by ethnicity and special student populations respectively.
At the time of Ms. Samson’s appointment as principal, the school had low
test scores. Under the leadership of Ms. Samson, Fairview Elementary School
improved academically and has continued to grow steadily each year. The school
has been honored as Title I Academic Achieving School for “demonstrating success
in ensuring that all students are making significant progress toward proficiency on
California’s academic content standards” (CDE News Release, 2005). More
recently, the school’s application for California Distinguished school status was
approved by the state. This extraordinary achievement, within a setting characterized
by turmoil and instability, makes the school and its leader a unique case to study.
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Table 3
Fairview Elementary School - Enrollment by Ethnicity (2005-2006)
As % of Total
Enrollment
Ethnicity Enrollment School District
American Indian 0 0.0 0.0
Asian 0 0.0 0.0
Pacific Islander 0 0.9 1.0
Filipino 2 0.5 0.1
Hispanic/Latino 207 49.6 72.3
African American 199 47.7 25.9
White 3 0.7 0.2
Multiple/No Response 6 1.4 0.6
Total 432 100.0 100.0
Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Unit,
http ://data 1. cde. ca. go v/dataq uest
Table 4
Fairview Elementary School - Special Programs (2004-2005)
As % of Enrolment
Special Population________________________Count_______ School District
English Learners 166 38.4 55.6
Free/Reduced Price Meals 402 93.1 95.2
Compensatory Education 432 100.0 100.0
Yes,
Title I - School wide Program Schoolwide
Plan
Source: www.ed-data.kl2.ca.us
School Site Leadership
Fairview has one site administrator, a principal who has been at the school
since 2000 and a resource teacher who has been at the school since 2001. The
resource teacher worked very closely with the principal in the day to day running of
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the school. The resource teacher became the interim principal when Ms. Samson
went on maternity leave. The principal and interim principal will be interviewed to
gather insights into how the site leadership initiated the process of instructional
change and sustained academic improvement.
Teaching Staff
There are 22 teachers on staff at Fairview. The district’s Human Resource
Tracking System, as of April 28, 2006 shows that 14 teachers are fully credentialed,
3 are university interns, 3 are district interns, 1 is on emergency credential and 1 is
on a credential waiver. Six teachers were invited to participate in interviews. The
teachers interviewed represent a diversity of grades and levels of involvement in
school site leadership or other decision making team or committee. Participation in
the study was voluntary, only those teachers who were willing to participate were
interviewed. In addition to interviews, documents were reviewed and analyzed in
order to gain insights into the direction in which leadership has taken the school.
Informal observations of discussions, either in formal settings such as staff meetings,
Leadership Team meetings or School Site Council (SSC) meetings or informal
“round table” settings could not be conducted because the principal is still out on
maternity leave.
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Parents
The intention was to interview parents in focus groups in order to get a
variety of perspectives and to enhance data quality (Patton, 2002). The initial
intention was that approximately eight parents would participate in two focus group
interviews. One focus group of four English speaking parents and a second focus
group of four Spanish speaking parents were expected to participate in the study.
However, only three total responses were received even though fliers were sent out
to all parents on two occasions. The first response declined the invitation.
Thereafter, some teachers volunteered to bring the recruitment fliers to the attention
of parents in their classrooms to see if they would be willing to participate. Weeks
later, two favorable responses were received, one English speaking parent and a
bilingual parent. Both agreed to have telephone interviews. Another parent agreed to
participate after she learned of her sister’s participation. Documents including The
Single Plan for Student Achievement, School Site Council Minutes, CBEDS for
2005, and various test data and demographic information from various California
Department of Education websites were reviewed and analyzed to gain insight into
the direction in which the principal has taken the school since the year 2000.
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Data Collection Procedures
The data collection process began with semi-structured interviews of the site
administrator and the interim principal, conducted individually. The main thrust of
the interviews was on how school-wide change was effected, how practices that
impact student achievement were established and how those practices have been
sustained to date. Each interview lasted approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The
interviews were tape recorded. The interviews were fully transcribed. Individual
teacher interviews were also approximately 30 to 45 minutes in length, tape
recorded, and transcribed except for one teacher who did not wish to be tape
recorded, her interview was hand written by the principal investigator. The teacher
interviews centered on their perception of change in leadership practices and the
impact the change had on their instructional practices and ultimately on student
achievement.
In addition, a 30 to 45 minute interview of the district administrator in charge
of the cluster that the school belongs to was conducted. The interview centered
primarily on the role the district has played in supporting the principal to become an
effective site administrator. Three parents were interviewed individually via
telephone. The interviews were handwritten by the principal investigator. Their
interview centered on the leadership practices and strategies they perceived to
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impact student achievement positively. The protocols for all interviews are included
in Appendices A, B, C and D.
Observations of formal and informal meetings could not be conducted
because the principal is currently on maternity leave. However, School Site Council
Minutes, feedback to grade levels from the principal were reviewed to gain an
insight into how the principal interacts with other stakeholders, the types of
leadership roles and responsibilities that the principal favors and how decisions are
made and by whom.
Document analysis provided a third type of data. The documents analyzed
included those documents that provide information or insights that are relevant to the
research questions (Merriam, 1998). In other words, documents containing
information about the school, the school’s vision, mission and goals, its programs,
and student achievement were reviewed for the purposes of this study. The
documents include the Single Plan for Student Achievement, School Accountability
Report Cards (SARC), state assessment reports, district or school generated reports,
test and demographic data from the California Department of Education website and
any other formal and informal documents that provide information about the
school’s leadership and how far the school has come. Whenever possible,
photocopies of documents were taken in order to catalog and code them at a later
date. In all cases, a content analysis was conducted. Merriam (1998) describes
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content analysis as a systematic procedure for describing the content of
communications.
Data Analysis Procedures
Data were analyzed by coding transcribed interviews, field notes, and
document content analysis, looking for themes and crosschecking findings. The data
generated during this study were coded according to the general research questions
and conceptual framework guiding this research. More detailed codes were then
developed in order to help themes to emerge and code data accordingly. Data were
also organized into tables to aid in the analysis process. The variety of data
facilitated triangulation of the findings.
Ethical Considerations
Informed consent, confidentiality, and protection of participants’ anonymity
were some of the ethical considerations in this study. Informed consents were
obtained from participants prior to conducting any interviews to ensure their
voluntarily participation in the study. Care was taken to ensure that the participants
understood that they may withdraw from the study at any time, and that they
understood the nature of the study.
Anonymity may be compromised due to the fact that the study was
conducted in one school. The risk to anonymity was minimized by guarding the
names of each of the participants from other participants. Data gathered during the
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research, such as taped interviews, interview transcripts, field notes, and other
documents, are being kept confidential. Information included in the final dissertation
is presented in ways that protect the individuals’ identities.
At all times during the data collection, analysis, and reporting process, the
University of Southern California’s procedures as well as the procedures from
Richmond Unified School District were followed. In particular, their guidelines for
ethical conduct in research were strictly followed.
Limitations of the Study
The case study was conducted at a selected school in a select district over a
relatively short period of time (2 months). Factors in the district and/or at the school
may affect the applicability and transferability of this study to other sites. The
current study gathered qualitative data, including semi structured interviews and
document analysis in one Southern California unified school district that has been
identified as a Title I academic achieving school by the State of California for 2
consecutive years and was recently granted California Distinguished School status.
The school was identified through internal (district) and external (improving test
scores) factors. While the sample may not allow for generalization to other
dissimilar schools and districts, the selection was purposefully made with the hope
that the data gathered would be relevant to other urban school settings.
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Researcher’s Subjectivity
Even though this case study intends to uncover the experience and
perceptions of the participants in this study, the researcher’s own subjectivity may
affect the way information gathered is perceived. During the study, efforts were
made to be mindful of potential bias that may stem from the researcher’s own
background. Being a new principal in a small urban school in the same school
district, there was an eagerness to find out what it takes to improve and sustain
student achievement, this background could be the source of potential bias.
However, the intent in choosing this topic was to gain a broader understanding of the
leadership practices, strategies and responsibilities that positively impact student
achievement. Hopefully, the information uncovered and reported in this study may
lead to better leadership practices and improved student achievement at other
schools. On the other hand, the researcher’s background as an educator may
facilitate access and insight into the practices, strategies, resources and support
systems that are used to improve and sustain student achievement at the studied
school.
Summary
This chapter describes the methods of data collection and data analysis that
were used to conduct the case study. The research findings and accompanying
analyses will be presented in future chapters.
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CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS
This chapter discusses the findings of the qualitative case study o f successful
leadership practices of a principal in a high poverty urban school setting. Data
collected from the school are presented and analyzed in this chapter in order to
determine what leadership practices have been successfully used to improve student
achievement. The findings are discussed in the following order. First, is a brief
discussion of the school, the district and the staff. This is followed by a discussion
and analysis of the findings in relation to the research questions that guide this study:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve
improvement of student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to sustain
improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
The School
Fairview Elementary is a kindergarten through fifth grade school located in
an urban area in Southern California. The Single Plan for Student Achievement
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indicates that approximately, one out of five students is living in foster homes and
approximately half of the students speak a language other than English at home.
About 60% of the students are bused in from various parts of city.
The school has experienced continuous academic growth since 2001, the first
year of Ms. Samson’s principal ship. Tables 1 and 2 provide information about the
school’s AYP and API growths respectively. Schoolwide, the school has grown
from an API score of 506 in 2000 to 838 in 2005, a growth of 332 points. Equally
impressive is the AYP growth from 17.2% in 2002 to 52.3% (proficient and
advanced) in 2005, a 3 year growth of 35.1% in English language arts and a growth
from 20.4% to 82% (proficient and advanced), a 3 year growth of 61.6% in
mathematics.
The District
The district in which Fairview is located is made up of 24 elementary
schools, 8 middle schools and 3 high schools. The district also contains one
continuation high school, one pregnant minors program, one independent study
program, two community day schools, an adult school and a Regional Occupation
Program (ROP) (School Accountability Report Card (SARC), 2004). The student
population is high poverty urban minority. Although many ethnic groups are
represented in the district, Latinos and African Americans comprise the majority of
the student population. Clashes between the two dominant cultures have resulted in
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racial tensions in schools, in the community as well as at school board meetings
(Bushweller, 1998). The poverty level, as measured by the number of students who
qualify for Free/Reduced Price Meals is 95% (Ed-data, 2004-2005). At the time of
Ms. Samson’s appointment as principal, the district had high staff turn over rate,
staff absenteeism, crime rate and gang activity.
The Staff
Currently, there are 22 teachers on the staff at Fairview. Approximately half
of the teachers are fully credentialed. Many of the teachers at the school are
relatively new to the school. Of the six teachers interviewed only one has taught for
10 years. The number of fully credentialed teachers is the highest it has been since
the 2000-2001 school year. There has been a significant reduction in the number of
emergency credentialed teachers. The average years of teaching experience has
declined and the average number of years in the district has declined as well. These
tend to be younger teachers who are bringing in fresh ideas either from college or
from other districts. The following table (Table 5) shows the teacher credential and
experience history at Fairview.
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Table 5: Fairview Elementary School: Teacher Credential and Experience
Year 2000-01 2001-02 2002-
03
2003-04 2004-05 Change
Number of
Teachers
25 29 27 24 24 -1
Full Credential 9 6 9 9 13 +4
University Intern 1 0 4 6 6 +5
District Intern 1 2 2 3 2 +1
Pre-Intern 0 0 5 3 0 0
Emergency
Credential
14 20 9 3 2 -12
Waiver 2 1 0 0 1 -1
Average Years of
Teaching
10.5 8.2 10.7 9.5 8.4 -2.1
Average Years in
District
9.3 7.1 9.7 8.0 6.6 -2.7
Number of First
Year Teachers
5 10 2 5 2 -3
Number of
Second Year
Teachers
6 5 5 2 5 -1
Source: http://data 1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest
The table also shows that only recently has the school been able to avoid a
high rate of teacher turn over. In the 2005-2006 school year, the school has five
teachers who are new to Fairview. O f that number, two are new to teaching. The
school has had an average teacher turn over rate of 4.8 each school year since Ms.
Samson became principal.
The principal, Ms. Michaela Samson, has been at the school since 2000. Ms.
Samson’s previous educational experience includes classroom teaching for 6 years.
The principal is currently on maternity leave, in her position is the former Resource
Teacher who is now serving as the interim principal. The leadership is supported by
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staff members and parents who participate on the Leadership Team, School Site
Council, School Advisory Council (SAC), Safety Committee, English Language
Advisory Committee (ELAC), Student Support Services Committee (SSSC), and
various committees that make decisions regarding the priorities and direction of the
educational plan. The increases in student achievement are attributed to the
leadership of the principal, Ms. Samson. All participants in this study attributed the
gains in student achievement to the passion, focus, high expectations and structure
provided by the principal. As the Associate Superintendent stated in her interview,
It’s the school where everybody wants their children to go because of their
academic accomplishments at that site... it’s a school that’s on the move.
And I believe that it has a lot to do with the leadership, with the
administrative leadership that exists with the previous principal and the
interim principal, with the level of enthusiasm that they have. So that, in and
of itself, has a lot to do with the mobility that the school is making
academically.
The sections that follow address the research questions that guide the study,
the discussion is based on a framework derived from the literature presented in
chapter two.
The Research Questions
The Balanced Leadership Framework o/W aters et al. (2003) identify seven
leadership responsibilities that are effective in leading innovative change such as the
one under study. These seven leadership practices and responsibilities, (a) being a
change agent, (b) using flexibility, (c) operating from strong ideals and beliefs, (d)
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intellectual stimulation of others, (e) knowledge of the school’s curriculum,
instruction and assessment, (f) the ability to monitor and evaluate people and
programs, and (g) being an optimizer of innovation, are used to organize the
discussion and to determine the leadership practices and responsibilities that have
been used to effectively increase student achievement at this school site. As
discussed in chapter two, a review of extant literature (Hargreaves & Fink, 2004;
Julius et al. 1999;Lambert, 2003; Price & Burton, 2005; Towns et al., 2001; Waters
& Grubb, 2004) revealed that there are seven other factors that have been found to
be important to the improvement of student achievement. These seven factors will
also be used to discuss and analyze the findings. These seven factors are: (a)
Continuity of leadership, (b) distribution of leadership, (c) data-driven decision
making, (d) parental involvement, (e) high expectations, (f) discipline and order, and
(g) belief system. Each leadership practice is discussed as they pertain to each
research question.
All of the leadership practices referred to above were evident in the study but
some practices were found to be more evident than others. The principal was found
to be very strong in some areas and admittedly needs growth in some other areas.
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Research Question One: What did the principal do to turn the school
around and achieve improvement o f student achievement?
The following is a discussion of those leadership practices and
responsibilities that were used to effect innovative change. These are the practices
that the principal used to change the status quo and to help stakeholders master new
knowledge and learn new approaches to teaching and learning (Waters et al. 2003).
Change Agent
Turning a school around requires innovative change. The key to
improvement of student achievement has been found to require change in the context
in which teachers and students learn. The context needs to be one in which discipline
and informed professional inquiry guide actions and lead to the closing of the
achievement gap for all students (Fullan, 2003). The principal changed the culture of
the school to achieve improvement of student achievement.
In the year 2000, Michaela Samson, a 27 year old woman was appointed
principal of Fairview. She was a graduate of a prestigious Teachers College with a
Master’s degree in Educational Policy and Bilingual Education. She was young,
enthusiastic and eager to put into practice everything she had learned about schools
teaching and learning. She was not daunted by the fact that she had to work in a
school and district widely known for low socio-economic status, high student
transience rate, gang activity, low test scores, state takeover and political turmoil.
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When the principal took over the school 6 years ago, the school’s API was
506. She recalled that when she became principal, “ 13% (of the students) were
reading at proficient and advanced levels. And math was the same, about 13%.” She
realized that turning the school around would involve changes in several areas. The
young principal felt she was up to the challenge, after all, she has a solid educational
background, great mentors, a strong belief that all children can learn, passion, energy
and the courage it takes to make a difference in children’s lives.
The principal decided on what her priorities would be; high expectations,
discipline, effective instructional practices and accountability. She adopted a no
excuses policy. The principal stated,
I just have no tolerance for sentences like, “Well they can’t do it” meaning
the students. Or, “The parents are the reason why”, you know, the excuses
had to go out the door. I’d listen to them for sure, because it’s a real
obstacle. I mean we definitely are in the situation for a reason, right? So you
have to look at why that’s happening, but that can’t be the reason why we
don’t do well.
With this mindset, she decided to establish a culture of learning and an
expectation that all students will go not just to college, but to Ivy League colleges. In
an environment where student test scores were so low, this goal seemed to be
unachievable. The principal described people’s reaction to her expectations as
follows: “What? You know we’re kind of dealing with battleground issues and you
want to talk about them going to Harvard?” She refused to be deterred by such
attitudes. She ensured that high expectations for all students are communicated to all
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stakeholders including students and parents. The school’s vision, mission and goals
were revised to reflect the new expectations. According to a parent, the current
mission statement was developed 3 years ago by the leadership team. The goal is to
give students a good education and help them become responsible citizens. The
school’s mission statement states:
The mission of Fairview Elementary is to create a community of productive,
life long learners who critically think of ways to create a humane and just
society through excellence in thought and action both personally and
globally.
Consistent with this mission statement, the principal instituted a practice
whereby each morning, students begin the day by reaffirming the academic, social,
and emotional expectations of an empowering education. The school adopted the
motto: “Read! Read! Read!” The Spanish translation is “Leer! Leer! Leer!” Each
morning assembly concludes with a call and response affirming the mission of the
school, “Where do we go after high school?” “College!” “Where do we go after
college?” “Graduate school!” At this school, classrooms are named and decorated
after colleges. The Associate Superintendent for the cluster explained how the
college bound culture was established,
They have a program in place where every teacher has to identify a college
or university and they really emphasize with the students the importance of
going to college. And so if you walk into a classroom, over the door you see
information about Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCLA, USC, where they have
the school’s logo and the school’s color. ... Students understand that this is a
school that has a culture where everybody will go to college. And in the
mornings when they have their assemblies, the students recite their
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affirmations. And it’s a school that believes that every student can and will
achieve. And everything that’s done on that campus leads toward that kind
of thinking, toward that mission, toward that vision.
As the principal eventually found out, making the level of changes that she
embarked upon usually met with lots of resistance. She soon found out that
improvement of academic achievement involves much more than recitation of
affirmations or merely having a vision. Changes had to be made in the way things
were done. She decided to focus her efforts on identified weaknesses in student
achievement, teaching and learning. She decided to start with the basics first. The
principal talked about how she determined the sequence of priorities as follows:
Students’ test scores have been the main one. Student achievement in
reading and math, mainly the focus has been reading. You know six years
ago I had three fifth grade classrooms and one fifth grade class could not
read. . . . I knew that would be the focus ....
Today, this school is the pride and joy of the school district because it has
excelled academically. It is the best performing school in the district and the only
school in the district honored by the state of California as a Title I Academic
Achieving School for 2 consecutive years. The school was recently granted
California Distinguished School status. Fairview is the first and only school in the
district to have a distinguished school status. The Associate Superintendent
described the school in the following terms:
Now this school has the kind of momentum where they want to soar even
higher. And so as you talk to staff and as you move about the campus you
see a great deal of enthusiasm among the staff. And I don’t mean just
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teachers, I mean even with your classified staff, even with the clerical staff,
your plant workers. The level of enthusiasm is so high until that in itself
kind of drives. ... It’s the school where everybody wants their children to go
because of their academic accomplishments at that site... if s a school that’s
on the move.
Most of the teachers, classified staff and parents interviewed rated the
principal as either comfortable or very comfortable leading change. One parent
explained that it is easy for the principal to make changes particularly when she does
not observe the desired outcome. She always asks for other people’s opinions for
new ideas. However, one of the teachers also observed that making changes has
been really difficult for this principal. This statement is consistent with the opinion
of the majority of the participants who stated that the principal does not handle
opinions that conflict with hers very well.
Intellectual Stimulation o f Others
Realizing that she was asking teachers to do things they had never been
required or trained to do, the principal recognized the importance of providing
teachers with the knowledge they need in order to be successful in their new roles.
She decided to make the professional development of herself and the teachers an
important component of her plan to turn the school around. She described some of
the professional development activities embarked on at the school, “We’ve read
books; they’ve gone to look at other schools. That’s a big thing we do, ‘excellent
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school visits’, where we find excellent schools in the area that are either like
Fairview in terms of demographics, or not.”
The purpose of the “excellent school visits” was to find out why those
students are doing well academically and the students at Fairview are not. Most of
the teachers interviewed were excited about the opportunity to visit other
practitioners and observe how things are done rather than sit in a room and read
about it. Additionally, each teacher has been provided training in guided reading
because of the principal belief that guided reading improves fluency and
comprehension. Several teachers were sent to University of California Los Angeles
(UCLA) to be trained on a reading and writing project. Other in-house professional
development topics include workshop, vocabulary, as well as thinking and math
strategies.
The principal’s professional development activities did not stop with
teachers. Parents were included as well. She gave a copy of the No Excuses (Carter,
2001) book used for the professional development of teachers to the parents on the
leadership team. Additionally, all parents get a copy of the content standards in
English or Spanish so that they know the learning expectations for their children.
Moreover, the principal gave all parents Dictionary o f the Times in both English and
Spanish. One parent explained that the book was provided as homework support so
that parents can look up homework topics that they do not understand. In this way,
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parents can be better able to help their children with homework. Another book, What
Students Need to Succeed in English and Spanish was also given to parents to help
them with homework. The parent said that the principals who were at the school
before Ms. Samson did not enforce daily homework completion.
Teacher collaboration is another way in which this principal provides
intellectual stimulation for teachers. Collaboration takes place at two levels, the
leadership team and at grade level meetings. During grade level meetings teachers
have very specific conversations about instructional practices that work and those
that do not work and discuss strategies for improving student performance. More
importantly, teachers share effective instructional practices so that all students can
benefit from effective instructional strategies. One teacher described collaborative
efforts among teachers to include long-term planning at the beginning of the year
and weekly grade level meetings. Another teacher described planning at the
beginning of the year as follows:
We do it at the beginning of each year. We go back and think about okay,
what did we miss? What didn’t we get to teach yet so we can improve? And
we go back and we just make out our whole year plan in the beginning of the
year and we just try and stick to that and follow it. So that way we map out
and we get all the skills taught throughout the year. And then having my
year planned out in my drawer definitely helps.
In the opinion of the participants in the study, one of the two most effective
practices for improving student achievement as demonstrated by the progress made
on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is collaboration at weekly grade level meetings.
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At these meetings members of the grade level share their best practices and plans for
improvement of student achievement. According to the Interim principal, “having
that conversation reduces isolation and promotes a more, you know, it’s a family
culture. We work together to ensure that all of our students will achieve.”
Additionally, the leadership team meets over the summer to plan for the
school year. On a personal level, a state board member who is also a renowned
educator mentored the principal. She also visits excellent schools and continues to
participate in district sponsored professional development such as AB75 and CORE
training to hone her own leadership skills. All participants in the study agree that
intellectual stimulation activities have helped improve the instructional program and
consequently, academic achievement at the school.
Knowledge o f the School’ s Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment
According to this principal, “knowing the craft of teaching is important.”
Consistent with this responsibility, the principal supports and encourages the use of
district adopted curriculum but is also aware that no one program adequately
addresses all instructional needs. Thus, the curriculum is supplemented by the use of
other materials and programs. The principal explained how the instructional
programs were tweaked to get the maximum benefit out of them:
we did use Open Court, we did use Saxon, we found there were holes in
Saxon so we supplemented with other materials that are all research based.
We used Math Steps.. . . we can’t teach religion so I brought in a values
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curriculum called Being Your Best, and that was phenomenal. It has made a
very big difference. And a lot of higher order thinking types of books that I
just found in this Gifted and Talented book program, I mean it was a catalog,
and I gave them out to everybody. So we worked on how to ask questions,
how to get information and think on a higher level. And then we just
followed the program. You had to do the program the way that it said with
some added tweaks to it.
In order to make Open Court an effective teaching tool, the principal moved
lunch time back in order to create a 3-hour literacy block so that workshop can be
implemented in each classroom at least three or four times a week. Additionally,
teachers were required to have guided reading in one of the centers during workshop
even though guided reading is not a part of Open Court. In support of her decision to
add this component to workshop, the principal said, “my experience as a teacher
was, my kids really learned, not only fluency but comprehension really improved
during that time.”
The administration goes to great lengths to ensure that teachers understand
the standards. One teacher explained, “We do a lot of analyzing, critical analysis of
what the child has to know. We really look at our classroom as a differentiated
group, not as a whole.” The interim principal clarified what the true curriculum is at
the school: “The true curriculum of our teachers is the standards, not Open Court not
Saxon, but the standards. And so we use the curriculum that is mandated to help
implement the true curriculum of the standards, but supplement accordingly.” Two
out of the six teachers interviewed felt that the creativity and flexibility that the
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principal allowed them to have in using mandated curriculum helped increase
student achievement.” One parent was of the opinion that students are doing so well
because of the focus on content standards. She felt that teachers had to teach the
standards because the parents are checking on them since they know what their
students are supposed to be learning.
Moreover, in order to help students catch up on content, the principal
instituted an extended day program in which every teacher tutored their own
students from 2:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 3 days a week starting in October through May
when state testing begins. Teachers have the option of continuing through June if
they so choose. The extended day program provides opportunities for teachers to
help students with homework and provide additional practice for skills on which
students are struggling as determined by student performance on weekly skills
assessments. Teachers receive compensation at the district’s hourly extra duty pay
rate.
Data Driven Decision Making
Data collection and analysis is an integral part of efforts to align curriculum,
instruction and assessments. The principal collects information about student and
staff performance on a regular basis. Data on student performance are collected from
multiple sources. The school has a beginning middle and end-of-year assessment
that is used to monitor student progress. Additionally, the district provides quarterly
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benchmark assessments that are also used as a source of information on student
performance. However, the driving force behind student performance analysis and
source of information for decision making about the next steps is the skills test that
students take every Friday. The information from the Friday Skills Test is used to
target struggling students who need to be invited to tutoring. Closer to testing this
information is also used to identify and target students who are performing at basic
and below basic performance levels so that teachers can work with them and move
them up into the proficiency band.
Friday Skills Test scores are provided to the principal on Monday. The
principal analyzes the test scores and creates a spreadsheet with the teacher’s name
and their score for the week. The spreadsheet shows how many points up or down
each class went in each subject area. Additionally, grade level averages and school
averages are shown on the same spreadsheet. The school also estimates their AYP
weekly because they have created AYP points per grade level. The principal gives
this information to teachers by Tuesday so they would have the information to
inform their discussions during grade level collaboration on Wednesdays. She
explained:
My style is very open and honest. You know if you’re a low teacher, you
know it. And I’m here to-; you know, I’ll have the resource teacher working
with you. I want to support you, but you need to ask what’s this other
teacher doing that’s doing so much better than me? You need to want to go
in there and I’ll free you up, I’ll cover your class so you can go observe her,
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so on and so forth. But you need to-, you know, it needs to be a team effort
that, okay, this individual needs some support at this point.
The practice of publishing and comparing student performance by class and
teacher created a spirit of competition and pressure to perform at high levels among
staff members. One teacher explained the pressure under which this is done:
Well I know that at our school there is a lot of competition. That’s how she
gets everything done. If you were slacking off or-, no matter what,
everything was about competition, your test scores for example. At a
meeting they would put the test scores up and each teacher would be put on
the overhead and your scores would be there. You could be embarrassed, or
you could be whatever (laughing), but that’s your score and you know it.
And then she would applaud the person who was number one. So it was a lot
of competition and either you were going to be rivaling that person or
whatever.
Although many teachers shared the view that high expectations and hard
work are the norm at Fairview, many do not view the practice of publishing and
comparing class scores on weekly tests as a positive thing. One teacher said:
It is not explicit, but implicitly known that your scores will be published and
compared to others... It is not an objective comparison because there’s a
concentration of gifted students in one class... Growth is not measured at this
school, just achievement - have you met the standard or not.
There is an on-going dialogue between the principal and the grade level.
During grade level collaboration, the groups analyze the test scores and look closely
at instructional strategies that were used to teach the standards targeted on that
week’s assessment. They have very specific conversations about student
performance and strategies that work and those that do not work. They identify
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standards that students are having the most difficulty with and determine what needs
to be done differently in order to get better results.
Grade level collaboration is highly structured. The principal provides an
agenda that must be strictly followed. The grade level reports essential agreement on
each item on the agenda or the plans to be implemented to the principal. The
principal, in turn, responds to each item on the report in writing. A review of the
2004 Grade Level Collaboration Feedback binder revealed a very interesting
interaction between the principal and the grade level members. For example, one
grade level team had the following comments: Teacher A complained about being
overwhelmed and experiencing trauma in her personal/family life. Teacher B
complained about being tired and burned out and Teacher C said she was tired too.
The principal responded: “I hope you feel better this week. Remember we love you
and the kids need you.”
The principal uses the opportunity to provide feedback to refocus teachers’
attention on the essential goal of student achievement. On one occasion, teachers at a
grade level merely listed students’ specific weaknesses. The principal redirected
teachers as follows: “Okay, instead of simply writing weaknesses, please address
specific strategies to rectify the weak area.” Another sample response to a grade
level was: “I encourage you to read your minutes before you turn them in - the tone
seems rushed and negative - both of which will not help encourage and move our
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students nor improve teaching ability.” Clearly, the principal takes the responsibility
for keeping everyone focused on essential goals seriously.
The principal also used the opportunity to provide feedback to recognize
creative thinking by teachers and to acknowledge their contribution to teaching and
learning at the school. One such occasion was when she wrote: “Excellent! I’m
going to share with the school on Monday!” Other comments include: “Great!”,
“Good idea!” and “Nice!” In this way, teachers obtain the principal’s input in their
collaboration efforts. Two teachers said that her micromanaging style is really
effective and keeps everyone accountable.
When asked about what teachers perceive to be the leadership practices that
helped to increase student achievement most teachers acknowledged that the testing
practices have been key. The testing practices are well organized and highly
structured and the teachers seemed to like that very much. Most teachers also believe
that the collaboration that follows the testing is the other leadership practice that has
helped to improve student achievement. Remediation after school or after school
tutoring is generally acknowledged as an effective practice.
On the other hand, two of the teachers interviewed opined that there is an
undue emphasis on test taking and acknowledged that they do teach to the test. One
of them was concerned that the undue amount of time allocated to test taking might
be resulting in students missing out on significant aspects of content knowledge.
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However, other teachers felt that it is a good thing for teachers to teach the content
in the way it is going to be tested. One teacher explained, “Teachers have a good
grasp of what the testing looks like and teach it the way they [the students] will see it
so it might be more familiar for the students.” Another teacher explained:
Because we know what we’re going to have on the test, so we’re more
focused on making sure those skills are learned throughout the week. .. .
Before, we taught for our own tests, and now we’ve got to teach to meet that
goal.... So you’re like honing in and teaching as much as you can to make
sure your kids understand, so that when they take that test, they get it and
they do well.
Ability to Monitor and Evaluate People
and Programs
The principal believes that effective monitoring is the key to her success and
an effective means of holding all stakeholders accountable. This is in consonance
with district expectations. The Associate Superintendent stated the district
expectations in very clear terms, “We ask our principals to go in to monitor the
classroom. We ask them to send samples of their documentation when the
classrooms have been monitored.” The principal understands the importance of
regular monitoring and evaluation of people and programs, “I would say monitoring
is really key. You can’t let up on monitoring. That’s just my belief.” One parent
said: “She’s always in the classrooms, so teachers have to be prepared always.”
The teachers do not seem to mind being monitored closely, they seem to be
used to it and believe that it is part of the reason that the school has been
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academically successful. One teacher expressed her feeling about being closely
monitored as follows: “I don’t mind being pressured and stressed because I’m doing
this for a group of students or that she’s found teachers; hired teachers that feel that
same way. So it doesn’t really feel like I’m micro managed because I’m doing what
I’m supposed to be doing.” From this teacher’s point of view,
Micro management, even though some people hate working under that, in
terms of turning a school around, that’s the only way to do it. My personal
opinion is that you need to be micro managed. You have to watch every
single thing that every person is doing or else it falls apart.
Observing teachers is not all that this principal does when she visits
classrooms. A teacher described her other activities in classrooms as follows:
Oh she does a million things. Like modeling lessons, she’ll come in and
actually teach a lesson. You give her like, “I need to teach this standard, can
you come in and give me some good ideas?’ And she’ll plan a whole lesson,
come in and teach it to your kids.
The principal takes her role as instructional leader very seriously. The
teachers welcome the high level of involvement on the part of the principal in the
day to day running of the school. However, most of them do admit that the
atmosphere on the campus is more relaxed now that she is not on campus.
Being an Optimizer o f Innovation
The principal of Fairview inspires others to achieve higher performance
levels by tapping into their love of the profession. As she explained, “You have to
want to feel good about your work. And I kind of tried to buy into that passion that I
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believed was there originally when they wanted to become a teacher.” The principal
explained how she encouraged teachers to accomplish goals that would normally
seem to be beyond their reach as follows:
I have every teacher set goals every year. And on that spreadsheet, their goal
is by their name. So they can see how far they are from their personal goal in
ELA and math. .. .1 would recommend doing that to any new principal, have
them look at their student achievement, set goals for the year, try and push
some on to higher goals, and using that in all of your conversations with
them. Students also set goal for their academic achievement every year.
The principal also has goals for herself. She uses her goals as well as the
teachers’ goals to guide conversations and decisions regarding student achievement
throughout the year. In this way, the principal was able to keep the staff focused on
essential school goals.
Maximizing the potential for each teacher to perform at a higher level was
important to this principal but at the same time she realized that change comes with
resistance and that teacher buy-in for innovation would not be one hundred percent.
She described how she handled teacher resistance as follows: “And what I did was, I
supported the teachers if they were willing to be supported in working hard and
having no excuses for themselves in terms of performing.” This support, coupled
with honest feedback to teachers, was, according to the principal, the reason that the
teachers who did not feel comfortable within the new culture left of their own
volition. She stated, “I believe in honesty. So being very honest, and getting people
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to look honestly at their work ... I really didn’t fire anybody, but they left because
they knew, ok, this is it, this isn’t a right fit.”
As Table 5 shows, an average of 4.8 teachers per year have left the school
since Ms. Samson became principal in the year 2000. The 2001-2002 school year
had the highest turn over rate, there were 10 new teachers at the school in that school
year. When asked why some teachers left, one parent expressed the view that many
left because they were either unwilling to change the grade level they have taught for
years or their instructional practices. Many teachers also felt that teachers left
because of inability to keep up with the pace or due to conflict of educational
philosophy. As the test scores show, the teachers who chose to stay at the school
have improved their level of performance and consequently, student achievement.
They have maximized their instructional capacity.
Parental Involvement
In spite of the gains made in other areas of the school’s functioning, parent
involvement is identified as a community barrier to improvement in student
achievement in the Single Plan for Student Achievement. In the school’s application
for distinguished school status, low parental involvement was attributed to the fact
that 60% of the students are bussed in from different locations in the city. As a
result, many parents are unable to attend school functions due to lack of
transportation.
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The principal has used a variety of means to get parents to become involved
with the school and their children’s learning. According to the principal, there has
been a lot of improvement in this area.
It has increased dramatically. I mean that was really one of the missing links
when I started at Fairview 5 years ago. I would say maybe 5 to 10% of the
parents would show up ... at parent/teacher conferences, or open house, back
to school night; very little parental involvement. And now I would say
we’ve been doing averages-, .. .And we’ve done from 80% to sometimes
50%, so its between 50 and 80% now that parents will show up to an event.
But I would say a 100% in terms of homework, reading logs, and behavior,
because every night a child brings home a behavior sheet, homework and a
reading log. And they have to get it signed in order to come back to school.
So, on that level I think we’ve got a 100% at this point.
Improvement in parent participation has been achieved through a variety of
means. A weekly bulletin in English and Spanish has been an important means of
communicating with parents. Additionally, the school has several
information/training nights for parents. They have Math Night, Literacy Night, back-
to-School Night, Open House and STAR Night all of which provide opportunities
for parents to better understand what their children are expected to know and be able
to do. One parent explained that on Back-to-School Night, the principal reminds
parents of the previous year’s goal and explains how the school has met that goal.
She then tells parents what the goal for the new school year is and how they plan to
meet it.
Additionally, the school has a functioning School Site Council in which
parents are encouraged and welcome to participate. These meetings provide
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opportunities for teachers to give parents suggestions for supporting their children’s
learning at home. Other means used to involve parents in their children education
include the provision of workshops through The Parent Institute on the school
campus, home visits, frequent home calls and parent compacts that state the
expectations for student, parent, teacher and school.
Parent conferences provide another opportunity for the school to get parents
involved in their children’s education. The principal explained:
At parent conferences you need to explain what the child is not doing...
Originally, we were like, you know, “How come you’re not upset that your
kid can’t do this?” And so the feedback automatically was, “Who the heck is
this lady Ms. Samson? I’m about to go curse her out. I’m walking into the
office, I’m going to do this, that and the other”. So that’s how I immediately
got people coming to this school, because they were hot. And then turning
that into support in essence, you know saying, “Ok, you’re right, but let’s
figure out why they’re not doing this. Let’s make this happen” you know.
So, building relationships with them through igniting the fire, basically, from
the fact that students were not achieving.
Alongside parent conferences, the principal expended a lot of time and effort
scheduling Student Success Team (SST) meetings to address academic and behavior
difficulties. The SST consists of the principal or designee, the teacher, parent and
other school personnel who could offer valuable contributions to the areas of
concern. In the last school year, the school had approximately 100 SSTs.
The teachers interviewed believe that parental involvement may have
improved compared to what it was but it is still a challenge at this school. One
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teacher said:
That area is very low. We have a few parents that are always volunteering,
but because a lot of our students are bussed to our school and they don’t live
very close by, many of our parents don’t have transportation. So we
generally would see our parents on Back-to-School Night or sometimes we
have like Literacy Night or something like that. They may come out for
something special. But vary rare do you see a parent that comes up to the
school and engages in a conversation with the teacher or gets involved with
the school.
A new teacher described parental involvement at the school in this way:
Honestly I don’t know first hand as far as my classroom, but I have seen
volunteers in the office. I see them here making copies, at assemblies
helping set up. I don’t go to PTA so I’m not really sure about their
involvement in PTA. There are not very many [fundraisers] like sales, so I
haven’t really seen that. So I would have to say maybe little, [low parent
involvement], because I really don’t see the parent doing much as opposed to
when its time for like assemblies.
Another teacher stated that it is hard to rate the level of parental involvement
because it changes year by year depending on the students in the class each year.
One of the parents interviewed explained that even though many parents do
not volunteer their time at school, a majority of the parents help from home. She
clarified: “Ms. Samson said when parents help with homework that’s a type of
volunteering. So, a lot of parents are helping the school.”
Even though parent participation has improved somewhat there is still a lot
of room for improvement. Fliers to participate in this study were sent to all parents
on two separate occasions. A total of three responses were received from both
efforts. The first response received declined the invitation to participate in the study.
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Several weeks later, two favorable responses were received. The third parent
interviewed only happened to be around during discussions with her sister and then
volunteered to participate in the study. Obviously, a lot of improvement is still
needed in the area of parental participation.
High Expectations
When asked about practices that the principal believed she had used
effectively to improve student test scores her response was high expectations.
The main practice that everybody kind of thinks about but doesn’t talk about
is high expectations. I just have no tolerance for sentences like, “Well they
can’t do it” meaning the students. Or, “The parents are the reason why,” you
know, the excuses had to go out the door. I’d listen to them for sure, because
it’s a real obstacle. .. .And so, I kind of lifted the expectation that students
are going to do well. I mean we’re named after a wonderful man, Richard
Fairview and kind of bringing in that kind of respect and dignity for
education. I mean he went to Harvard, he went to UCLA, and he’s the first
African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. So he’s a phenomenal man.
Kind of living in that light and realizing that our students can do the same
thing if we decide that that’s what we’re going to expect from them.
This attitude met with resistance from staff members initially. As the
principal noted:
And so that kind of took a minute where the teachers were like, “What? You
know we’re kind of dealing with battleground issues and you want to talk
about them going to Harvard? And what I did was, supported the teachers if
they were willing to be supported in working hard and having no excuses for
themselves in terms of performing.
The “no excuses” attitude of the principal did not stop with teachers. The
same expectation was communicated to students, parents and other staff members.
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As a result, relations were initially strained. The principal described the initial
reaction to her high expectations as follows:
Getting parents on board was very difficult, because meanwhile I’m
suspending all these kids, you know, how am I going to get parents to buy-
in? But in time, when the scores started to increase, teachers started feeling
better, parents started feeling better, students started feeling better ‘cause
they’re learning.
One parent explained the resistance from parents: “Parents complained
about lots of homework at the beginning. They did not want to deal with
homework.” She said that the principal responded by giving the parents the option of
transferring to another school if they did not want their children to learn. She
explained that it is more harmful when children do not learn. So, parents knew that if
they choose to send their children to Fairview, they have to work to meet high
expectations. All stakeholders have a clear understanding that there can be no
compromise or excuses for lack of high expectations for all students.
Discipline and Order
“When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy. When you
have disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined
action, you don’t need excessive control” (Fullan, 2003, p. 9). Discipline is one of
the huge pieces in this principal’s accountability plan. She held everyone
accountable, herself, teachers, parents and students. “The kids have to respect the
teachers. And the teachers have to respect the students too. You have to respect
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each other. So I would say discipline was huge; it still is.” The principal clarified
the thinking behind her practices in this area thus:
I think you have to respect the teacher. And you (the teacher) have to respect
your profession. So I’m giving you homework, it has to be done, if it’s not
done, you cannot come back to my classroom because it’s disrespectful. I
don’t go to work empty-handed every day and not do my job. Your job is to
do your homework and bring it back. And the parent has to support us in
that. ... I wasn’t going to let a teacher who’s trying to teach be bullied all day
by the students who didn’t want to learn.
In order to ensure that the context in which students learn is disciplined, the
principal employed a mental health assistant whose job it is to take discipline
problems away from the classroom so that teachers can teach. The mental health
assistant has a classroom in which students get character education and are helped
with completing classroom assignments. The mental health assistant takes care of in
school and out of school suspensions, contacts parents and consults with the
principal regarding disciplinary matters.
The investment in discipline seems to have paid off. The Interim principal
explained the progress made in the area of discipline as follows:
I think it’s a warmer place and I think that the behavior, and this is huge, the
behavior of our students has really shifted. We implemented a character
program called Being Your Best and now we’re using Positive Action. We’re
doing Student o f the Month, the student that best embodies the value of that
month. Explicitly teaching character development has been really important.
And our students, for the most part, they behave. ... I mean the principal
always uses the example of her first year here, there was a kid jumping on
the file cabinet, I mean just out of control. And the behavior piece has been
very important.
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Discipline is also required of staff and parents. One of the two parents
interviewed said that even parents are expected to follow the dismissal protocol by
waiting outside the gate for their children after school. The campus security ensures
that routines are followed during these times. Additionally, there is a strict uniform
code for students and a professional dress code for teachers. Teachers are expected
to model the actions that will lead students to the fulfillment of the school’s mission.
One of the parents expressed her feelings about discipline at the school
during Ms. Samson’s absence: “Honestly, I feel we need her,back. I feel the interim
principal is too soft. Ms. Samson is sterner. Kids as well as staff need discipline.
She’s a little soft on her discipline.”
The principal summed up the leadership practices that she believed were
effective for improving student achievement as follows:
I would say, again, high expectations. I think the fact that I was a good
teacher helps because you can speak to teachers if you know how to teach.
.. .1 taught in the community that I’m working in, and I had very high results
with my students. And so I think that that helped with buy-in. I think being
the example. There was nothing I’m asking you to do that I’m not going to
try or do. So you’ve got to work hard. You have to be there early. You
have to stay late, originally. I mean, once you’ve created the environment,
now you don’t have to work that hard, it’s not the same amount of effort. It’s
still a lot of work, but it’s not the same. And not being afraid, courage. I
think people don’t talk about that enough. But I mean it really took courage
to do the type of change that happened at Fairview. I mean I was threatened
by parents with gangs and teachers did crazy things, ... I had a tire slashed, I
mean really crazy stuff happened. And I just kind of knew that this was
supposed to happen and I just kept steadfast in my belief and I drove home
crying many days, but I never would let it show at work. So courage and
honesty. You have to be honest, but you have to take feedback as well. I
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mean I received a lot of criticism and learning from that. Being a life long
learner I think is very important and being passionate about what you’re
leading. ‘Because if you’re not passionate ... it’s hard to follow someone
who’s not passionate. And a team player, ultimately the desire needs to be to
build a team so that you don’t have to be the-, you know the only person
doing everything.
In sum, the principal effectively utilized the practices and responsibilities
discussed above, having and maintaining high expectations for herself, her staff and
students, regular weekly assessments, providing professional development for
herself and her staff, parental involvement, discipline and the use of data to drive
instructional practices to turn the school around. However, four other practices were
used to make these practices and responsibilities effective; they are motivation for
students to aspire to higher performance levels, developing a spirit of competition
among the teachers, commitment and hard work on her part and on the part of the
teachers to keep everything working as planned and to maintain the pace set by the
principal. Effective and regular communication was another practice that was used
to keep all stakeholders on the same page about expectations and accomplishments.
The principal required adults to model all expectations. She knows that it is
important that her actions are consistent with her expressed beliefs and values.
However, it was her passion, courage and steadfastness in holding on to her beliefs
and values that kept all stakeholders focused on the essential goal of improving
student achievement.
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Research Question Two: What Strategies and Practices Were Used
To Improve and Sustain Improvement in Student Achievement?
This section describes what the principal has done to sustain improvement of
student achievement. The factors that promote sustainability of innovation have been
identified to include (a) continuity of leadership, (b) buy-in from key stakeholders,
(c) ability to make the reform a prominent part of the school’s culture, and (d) ability
to keep staff focused on the essential goals (Datnow, 2005).
The principal has remained true to the same practices that she used to
successfully turn the school around to sustain the school’s academic growth. She
continues to have high expectations for all students, she continues to provide
opportunities for teachers to grow professionally by providing meaningful
professional development opportunities and continues to test students regularly,
collect and analyze data to inform decisions regarding interventions that are
appropriate for students’ academic growth. The principal asserts that the key to
sustaining improvement at her school is the fact that she is never satisfied with the
current level o f performance. She always looks for opportunities for improvement.
So I ’m glad we improved, but I still think we can do better every year ... I
really would like 100% of the school to score proficient or advanced. It’s
not a huge school, there’s no reason why it can’t happen. Proficient first of
all, is not 100%.. .You can get 70 and still score proficient. So its really kind
of ridiculous that we’re not-, we can’t get there ... So I’m not satisfied. And
so we congratulate each other and the teachers that did improve, ... but we’re
right back the next day, looking at why we’re still not at 100% yet.
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A classified staff member put it this way:
She won’t just stop and relax because the kids have done well. She forever
wants to keep them energized, creating energy. It makes the kids to reach
out further. She doesn’t expect for anyone here to get real comfortable on
what they’ve done. There’s no comfort at all. You must-, there’s always
room for improvement...
Teachers have the same opinion. One teacher said:
I think that each year she comes in and we have a different focus... So I think
that each year we just set a different focus and we try and improve on that
instead of each year going back over the same thing. But we always focus on
reading comprehension because our reading comprehension scores always
seem to be lower than our math. ... Different things each year, it’s not only
like one book that she’ll focus on for the whole year.
Another teacher agreed that progress in student academic achievement is
sustained when there is structure, consistency in expectations and teacher retention:
I think maybe the consistency. Like every year there [are] things put in place
for us to do. Like everyone expects to do a Friday Skills Test every Friday.
We’re expected to analyze our data... And the staff is in agreement with
everything. So I think the fact that the staff is all-, we’re all in one accord
really helps out with ... some form of retention of the staff and having people
who already know what to do and not having to retrain again.
At this school, there is no room for complacency. The culture is that of
continuous inquiry and reflection about effective practices. There is also
consistency, teachers know exactly what to expect and what to do. There have been
no changes made to the programs except to fine tune those things that work. These
are the factors that seem to have contributed to the principal’s ability to sustain the
improvement of students’ academic achievement.
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Continuity o f Leadership
Succession is critical to the sustainability of any innovation (Fullan, 2003).
There has been no leadership change at this school since Ms. Samson became
principal in the year 2000. Now that the principal is away on maternity leave, her
resource teacher has stepped in as the interim principal. Ms. Samson’s ability to
develop leadership in others has ensured continuity of leadership at this school.
Some teachers opined that the interim principal is merely following Ms. Samson’s
agenda. They all agree that it is a positive thing to have someone they already know
and have worked with step into her shoes. One teacher put it this way, “I think that
the Interim principal has really done a lot for our positiveness.”
As discussed earlier in this chapter, the principal has worked closely and
effectively with the leadership team to the point where the leadership team now runs
the school smoothly and effectively even though the principal has been away on
maternity leave for months. One teacher expressed the opinion that the school
remains effective in the principal’s absence because the principal has matched
people and roles effectively. She said, “... W e’re doing okay without her physically
being here, because she’s given everyone the right responsibility for their role here
at the school. So we just check in with her and everything still runs pretty much
smoothly.”
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The Associate Superintendent for the cluster ascribed the effectiveness of the
school to the leadership practices:
It’s a school that’s on the move. And I believe that it has a lot to do with the
leadership, with the administrative leadership that exists with the previous
principal and the interim principal, with the level of enthusiasm that they
have. So that, in and of itself has a lot to do with the mobility that the school
is making academically.
One reason this principal has been able to put together a staff that can
successfully continue her leadership practices is that she changed her hiring
practices to ensure that the people who come on board have the same philosophy
about education as she holds. She chooses only people who demonstrate a potential
for growing professionally and are willing to make the commitment it takes to
provide adequate opportunities for students to master the content in the core
academic areas. The principal explained her hiring practice:
Well we have a pretty intense hiring practice. Ok what we do first is ... I
kind of look through the resumes and see if they seem, you know, like it
might be a match for our school. And then I set up an initial interview. It’s
three steps. We do the initial interview where the interviewee comes and
interviews with me only. And at that time they do a writing sample as well,
which tells a lot. They write about their educational philosophy and then a
scenario of what they would do to make sure that all of their kids are reading
at or above grade level. After our conversation, if it connects, if I feel like
there’s a connection, I invite them to interview with the leadership team,
which is a grade level chair from K-5 and special education, and then several
parents. And then after that, if we feel there’s a f i t ... we have them model a
lesson. And when they model the lesson, we kind of try to get the grade
level that we’re thinking they’ll fit in, and we try and give them a class that
we think discipline might be challenging, because we want to see how they’ll
handle it. And myself, the grade level chair, and parents observe that lesson.
And after that we make a decision.
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The principal ensures that she recruits only those teachers who are
compatible with the school. According to the interim principal (formerly the
resource teacher), “We look for teachers that are highly driven, highly committed,
are compatible with the mission of the school, you know that would sort of embody
the no excuses mentality, that will do what ever it takes for our students to achieve.”
The principal justified this recruitment practice as follows:
The teachers who don’t love teaching didn’t stay. So I didn’t really teach
any teacher how to get focused. Because we just weren’t going to match
ultimately, you know what I mean? We have teachers that needed help in
certain areas, but then wanting to focus and teach was not an issue because
they wanted to be there and to teach.
True to the principal’s expectation, several teachers left the school for
various reasons but most teachers interviewed concurred that most people
left because they were unwilling to do the work. Other reasons that people
left the school include: conflicting ideas about teaching and learning,
enrollment in graduate school and inability to cope with the hectic work
schedule. Those who chose to stay were mostly committed to do the work.
One of the teachers acknowledged that the school has been able to do well on
standardized tests because the teachers who are retained are those who
already know what to do and need no retraining. Another teacher asserted
that the hiring of teachers who feel the same way about teaching and learning
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is one of the effective leadership practices that have turned the school
around.
Distribution o f leadership
The principal expressed a desire to build a team that is empowered and
capable so that she does not have to be the only person in charge of everything. She
seems to have made some progress in this direction. The principal explained the
status of leadership at the school:
The thing I really should say, is that the leadership team has-, and that’s what
I wanted, ... (the) leadership team is running Fairview at this time, it’s not
me anymore. It was, originally, but its not now. You know, I still kind of
drive to make sure that people don’t fall [off track], but the leadership team
makes the decisions.
The principal proudly pointed out that the system is now in place and is now
“self-subscribing”. In essence, there is a system in place at this school whereby the
leadership team is running the school. They refuse to blame students or parents for
lack of performance and do not accept excuses for lack of student progress on skills
tests. The leadership team is building on the foundation laid by the principal.
Distribution of leadership is a skill that has slowly evolved for this principal.
As one teacher explained, “the first 2 years I’d say, she was very like micro
managing. And then she started; as soon as she had some teachers she could trust
that are here, that are dedicated, that’s when the leadership team really started to
click.”
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The key to successful distribution of leadership is hiring people who share
the same beliefs about teaching and learning. One teacher explained:
there’s like a good cadre of us that know exactly what needs to be done,
where everything is, all the passwords to everything and we know what to
do. And I mean we talk to her all the time, everyday. So she’s always here
somewhat, in some way. But the systems are in place now.
Most of the teachers and classified staff interviewed acknowledged that there
has been no difference in the running of the school since the principal went on
maternity leave. A classified staff member noted: “Actually I don’t really think
[there] is much difference at all because the principal that is acting in her place right
now was well trained by her, and nothing changed. Everything is being done the
same way that she did it.” A teacher agrees: “I don’t think it really changed much at
all. ... It’s just basically, she’s absent, but the school’s still running the same.
Nothing really, nothing’s changed. I think everything is still going the same.”
Another classified member acknowledged a period of uncertainty with the
initial shift in leadership but claims that everything is alright now because Ms.
Samson is still very much in the picture.
Well at first when Mrs. Samson was on her leave it was some kind of a
hardship to myself. And I noticed the body language around with our team
players; it was kind of like missing her and really wanting her back. So, after
we’d gotten used to Ms. Yates [interim principal] being in her place, and she
was still talking to Ms. Yates on the telephone and still giving her the support
and leadership that she needed regarding the things that she wanted to do so
that the school could carry on.
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A teacher also said that the principal’s absence had an impact on the staff.
One teacher said that the staff is more relaxed and thus a little bit lax in their focus:
I think that her absence has probably created a little bit of relaxing on the
part of the staff. And that probably also has negative and positive impacts.
And I think it’s also created a different type o f just vibe. I think every person
has a vibe, and some times its positive and some times its very hostile and
negative. And I prefer it as more positive environment where people are
treated nicely and you’re spoken to nicely. So that motivates people.
The transition to the interim principal was smooth because everyone had
worked with her before as resource teacher. Moreover, she is basically continuing
the principal’s practices. However, majority of the teachers, four out of six,
acknowledged that the teachers are more relaxed. One of the teachers explained that
their grade level started a new practice of departmentalizing this year. A practice
they may not have had the courage to bring up had Ms. Samson been there. She
stated that she is working harder this year than last year and the staff is not sticking
to the dress code as much. The teacher’s comment refers to Ms. Samson’s strict
enforcement of the district’s dress code for teachers.
When a new teacher was asked about the impact of Ms. Samson’s absence on
the school she said:
Now I wasn’t here last year of course, but from what I hear, people tell me
that the environment is much more relaxed. That its much more relaxed, not
that people are not working, but the stress level is not as high, its not as
intense, ... You know, from what I heard, there used to be people [that] had
like this anxiety, this pressure, this stress that was almost overwhelming. But
I mean they performed. I heard that it’s more relaxed as a school.
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A leadership team member was also asked how Ms. Samson’s absence has
impacted the team, her response was; “It’s not changed that much because she talks
on speakerphones. ... she’s always at the meeting on the speakerphone, so its not
changed much in that sense (chuckling). It hasn’t changed at all.” This comment
suggests that even though the principal is not physically present, she still controls the
conduct of the meetings through the speaker phone. While teachers appreciate the
more relaxed atmosphere at the school, many also appreciate that too much
relaxation could result in negative consequences for students’ academic
achievement.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an area in which this principal acknowledges that she needs to
grow. This section addresses the principal’s ability to entertain opinions that conflict
with her own. Flexibility is also the extent to which the principal is able to entertain
diverse perspectives and adapt her leadership style to meet the needs of specific
situations. (Waters et al., 2003). One teacher described the leadership team meetings
in these words:
Well we do sit down and we discuss, she gives us an agenda of things she
wants to discuss. And we speak on those things, and we discuss how we’re
going to do a certain thing. But there is usually, already, how we’re going to
do it already set aside (chuckling), and w e’re just saying yes or no, or we
think we need to tweak it a little bit. But it’s already set.
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The principal admits to being a very honest person who is forthright, works
very hard and expects the same of those she supervises. These strengths were also
the sources of the biggest mistakes she made as a young administrator. “My staff
would definitely say I’m not very patient, and I’m not.” She explained some of the
mistakes she made initially as follows:
Well, I probably could have handled things differently. I was very young
and I was frankly shocked that these adults were honestly the problem. I
mean that’s how I saw it, that they’re the reason why kids aren’t learning.
Yes, the parents obviously ... need to be held accountable as well. But
you’re not their parent. You are educated. You are receiving a paycheck.
Your kids went to college and you’re allowing these kids to not learn? It just
was not right. And so I kind of spoke to them that frankly. And some of
them respected it, some old schoolers especially, because they came into
teaching with that kind of respect. And some hated it. The union gave me a
very, very difficult time. And I was very frank with teachers. I still am. I’m
very frank. I’ve learned how to be a little less, maybe insulting. Because I
think they took it as insulting whereas if it were me, I would be saying,
“Okay, yes, you’re right”. So I had to reflect and learn after many episodes
of being in the superintendent’s office and the union threatening to strike,
and all of those kinds of things. . I had to learn how to say it a little
differently, but I still say it. I believe in honesty.
The principal’s inflexibility in handling opinions that conflict with her own is
shared by a majority o f the teachers interviewed. One teacher described her as
confrontational. She described the sequence of such conversations: “She states her
opinion, listens to your opinion, then responds to your opinion and then, the
conversation is over.” Another teacher advised that you simply don’t share your
opinion with her. Yet another described her as indomitable. Most of the teachers
interviewed described her as driven.
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The principal sums up the leadership practices that she believed were
effective in sustaining the improvement in student achievement as follows:
I actually still really monitor. I would say monitoring is really key. You
can’t let up on monitoring. That’s just my belief. I would say
accountability, holding people accountable that means everybody, yourself,
the teachers, students, parents, everybody, classified staff, holding everybody
accountable. And high expectations I would say is huge. And knowledge,
meaning knowing the craft of teaching I think is important. I think that was
really important in getting the buy-in from everybody. And then I would say
collaboration. I would say that that’s very important. Those are essential.
But you’ve got to have a monitoring system for accountability. You’ve got
to have really strong systems in place.
In sum, the principal has been able to sustain improvement of student
achievement by monitoring staff and programs, ensuring continuity of leadership,
empowering teachers by distributing leadership, particularly the leadership team,
obtaining stakeholder buy-in, making high expectations and student achievement a
prominent part of the school culture and keeping the staff focused on essential
school goals. Consistent with the findings of Waters et al. (2003), the focus has
shifted from a second order change situation to a first order change situation. The
focus is no longer on changing the status quo but maintaining the status quo. The
focus is to have better communication with all stakeholders, relate better with staff,
retain teachers, build better relationships with all stakeholders and ensure continuity
of succession through distribution of leadership so that the effective practices can
continue even when the leadership changes.
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Research Question Three: What Is the Belief System That Is the Basis for
the Strategies and Practices Used to Improve and Sustain
Improvement in Student Achievement?
Ideals and Beliefs
Change in people’s belief and behavior occurs’when the context allows new
beliefs to be practical, expressed and nurtured (Gladwell as cited in Fullan, 2003). A
leader’s actions must be consistent with the values and beliefs she holds and must be
perceived to have integrity, selflessness and striving for the good of the organization
(Julius et al., 1999). This section examines how Ms. Samson has been able to
maintain continuous achievement in the face of conflict and resistance to change by
stakeholders.
The principal believes that all children can learn and that adults have the
responsibility to make quality education accessible to them. The principal explained:
I believe that all children honestly can do exactly what their heart desires. I
mean I think there’s really no limit for a child. And I think that education
should be the vehicle that they get the tools to becoming whatever they’re
meant to become. .. .And so I think it’s our responsibility to make sure that
children get the tools and meet their potential.
Additionally, she believes that children should be raised with respect,
discipline and values. The principal uses several vehicles to impart these feelings,
attitudes and beliefs. She believes that teachers have to take personal responsibility
for student learning, she does not entertain any excuses or placing of blames from
teachers. The mission and vision statements of the school are a reflection of her
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beliefs about education and learning. One teacher sees it this way, “she has created
the vision and mission. I don’t think that there’s any other way to have a vision. It’s
her vision, and we subscribe to it, and it sounds good on paper.” She often has to
stand up for these beliefs.
I will very openly speak against negative [comments/attitudes]; you know I’ll
say, “I completely disagree with that view point. I don’t think that our
students don’t have a shot. And I don’t think that their parents don’t care. I
don’t know one parent that doesn’t care about their kid, even if they’re on
drugs.”
In order to ensure that her beliefs are known, accepted and practiced
schoolwide, the principal talks to students and staff on a regular basis about her
beliefs and the school’s vision and mission to keep every one focused on the beliefs,
and attitudes that she knows promote effective teaching and learning. She scheduled
regular morning assemblies where students affirm the beliefs daily. The school
motto is “Read! Read! Read!” The Spanish translation is “Leer! Leer! Leer!” The
principal also communicates her beliefs through bulletins and informal notes in
teachers’ boxes. She also has messages to parents on a weekly basis. In this way, she
ensured that her beliefs gained schoolwide acceptance and have become part of the
culture of the school.
One parent expressed her belief that the school is doing well because
teachers and principal are a great team. She said that there is great communication
between the principal and the teachers. Another parent described how the principal
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lets the children know that she loves them. She said: “She lets kids know that she
loves them. It is important to her that the teachers let the kids know that they love
their students too. They parents also have to let the kids know that they love them.”
The principal instituted college awareness programs which is consistent with
her belief in schools, teaching and learning. Each classroom has information about a
college that all students in the classroom are aware of and aspire to attend. She had
T-shirts made that say all students are college bound. In an informal conversation the
campus security guard stated that the one act that won him over and made him
believe in the principal’s leadership and support was seeing the students in the t-
shirts that say they are college bound. According to him, it is a huge change for
children in this neighborhood to aspire to go to college, much less Harvard and other
Ivy League colleges.
Consistent with her belief in children, the principal adopted one of her
students who was a foster child.
It (the adoption) really was huge for my staff, because they were like, “Ok,
wait a minute. She’s beyond walking the walk at this point.” It was a very
difficult decision, in hindsight, but she was in foster care for seven years, no
for 3 years, and moved from eight or nine homes. And you see that a lot at
our school. There are a lot of foster kids. And she just spiritually spoke to
me. And she was always under my desk. She was in my office all the time
because she was in trouble, and then under my desk hiding all the time. And
I just felt inclined to do it. And I think that spoke a lot to my (integrity).
They were like, “If this woman’s willing to do this ... She’s in it for real”
versus self-glory.
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Besides, this one act rallied staff support for the principal it provided an
opportunity to work together and to get to know one another more.
And through doing that too, it helped me be vulnerable. The staff saw me as
vulnerable, because I was struggling. It was a very difficult decision I made.
And so lots of people picked up and started helping me with this child. And
through that we got to really know each other as well.
Consistent with her belief that educators are personally responsible for
students’ learning, she holds herself accountable to her school’s test results. One
teacher described her actions thus:
I have to say she’s a team player because she’ll come in and teach just as if
she was the teacher, if you needed her. She’s one of those people who, if
you don’t get it, she’ll sit down and take the time to work with you and
figure it out. So I think that definitely her faith in the kids and knowing that
they can succeed and that it’s up to us to help them succeed is really
important.
The principal put several things in place to motivate the students to aspire to
higher performance levels. One teacher explained some of the incentives:
There are several things; she has the skills test for example. We have a
parent bulletin that goes out every week. And every student that scores 80%
or higher on their skills test is printed in the bulletin so the parents get to
know. And then every other Friday, yes every other Friday the students are
acknowledged in front of the whole school for their success.
The principal summed up the leadership practices that are consistent with her
beliefs as follows:
I think everything that I do. The mistakes even that I made, you know being
too aggressive or too honest or impatient. ... So I would say all of it shows
my educational philosophy because I did it so earnestly and so full of vigor,
and I made huge mistakes. But in the end they paid off because I learned
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from the mistakes. It wasn’t, again, it was not for self; it was for children to
improve, to do well. And so I would say everything I’ve stated does match
with my educational philosophy.
The principal has successfully created a culture in which her beliefs are
known and subscribed to by all stakeholders. She has acted in a manner that is
consistent with her beliefs which has resulted in buy-in on the part o f major
stakeholders. People are convinced that she is committed to students and has high
expectations for them. Hiring staff who share the same beliefs and who have the
same level of commitment has helped the principal obtain buy-in and keep the focus
on student achievement. However, flexibility and ability to handle opinions that
conflict with her own are two areas in which improvement will be needed.
Research Question Four: What Kinds o f Internal and External Support
Facilitated or Impeded the Improvement and Sustaining o f
Student Achievement?
This section examines how well Ms. Samson has been able to use support
from internal and external constituencies to increase and sustain the improvement of
student achievement.
Internal Support
Certificated Staff. All teachers and classified staff interviewed said that
the principal supports the staff in various ways. According to one teacher,
Oh she does a million things. Like modeling lessons, she’ll come in and
actually teach a lesson. You give her like, “I need to teach this standard, can
you come in and give me some good ideas?’ And she’ll plan a whole lesson,
come in and teach it to your kids. And then she also seeks out professional
development opportunities that are really good for us.
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When asked about what teachers do to support the principal, most teachers
simply said that they do as they are asked. However, all staff members
acknowledged that she does support them. One teacher explained the kinds of
support the principal provides:
I think a good administrator needs to know how to protect [her] teachers and
protect their instructional time. And she’s done a really good job with that
and keeping us focused here at school and not worrying about what’s going
on outside of the school and that sort of thing, which we’re lucky.
A new teacher described the support she receives as follows:
When I ask her for things, things that I don’t quite get or understand, not
necessarily materials but concepts, she’s been really good about directing me
to different people. If she asks something of me, and I go to her and I ask for
clarification, she’s been good about clarifying or actually showing me.
Other areas in which teachers feel they have been supported are: professional
development, reduction of distractions to teaching and learning, and keeping the
focus on student achievement. Each of these areas has been discussed in detail
above.
The principal also feels that the support of her staff has been important for
keeping the momentum for student achievement going. She explained:
Well some key players have really stepped up and they help me keep my fire
going. You know my resource teacher, who’s there now [as interim
principal], Ms. Moreno, Ms. Rawls [teachers], several parents have been
huge in it. When my secretary, you know she’s not there anymore, there’s a
new secretary, but she became a huge player by just keeping my fire going
when the tough times were there. And they just believe the same way I
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believe, so they keep coming in with greater ideas than I thought of. And
they just keep me going in terms of believing that all children can learn.
Classified Staff. Surprisingly, the classified staff is not represented on the
leadership team. However, they are involved in the plan for improvement of student
achievement through regular Monday meetings in which each person’s role is
clarified. One teacher described the role of the classified staff:
Well one thing that came up when we first wrote the California
Distinguished School award [application] ... We [realized that we] need a
Student Support Services Committee (SSSC). And so that takes all the
classified staff and they meet together and they discuss like safety and how
they’re affecting student achievement around the school and in the
classroom. And that has done wonders for our school like over the past three
years. Like all of a sudden we just (snaps fingers) realized that everyone’s a
component; like every person. If a child sees one person not bought into the
school, then that gives them an excuse for them not to buy-in because we’re
all adults and they’re watching us.
As explained in the school’s application for California Distinguished School
status, the purpose of the SSSC is to coordinate all student services. The committee
is made up of the principal, nurse assistant, campus security, librarian, plant
workers, cafeteria manager, Kedren Mental Health therapists, school secretary,
attendance clerk, mental health assistant, Resource Specialist, speech therapist, and
adaptive physical education teacher. They meet once a week to address school needs
in the areas of English Language Development (ELD), SSTs for struggling students,
discipline, art enrichment, health programs, counseling services, safety, attendance,
mental health referrals and career development.
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When asked how a classified staff member supports the principal, the
response was:
I’m with her at all times, what you call ‘have her back’. You know a
principal is not well liked by a lot of parents. So when there’s a big function
going on here at school I make sure that I have her in sight and I’m not too
far away from her. I carry my two-way radio just in case anything happens I
can contact the school security.
Obviously, the principal does not lack loyalty among the staff. This staff
member feels protective of her.
Parents. As discussed earlier in this chapter, parental involvement is an area
in which the principal struggles mainly because of the unique context in which she
works. Approximately 60% of her students are bussed in from other areas of the city.
However, parents admit that the principal supports their efforts to help their children
succeed at school by providing training for parents on campus at the parent center
and providing each parent with books so that they can brush up on some of the
academic skills on which their children might require homework help. The parents
feel they support the principal when they help their students at home and adhere to
the terms of the parent compact.
The principal sums up the support she provides to staff to include the
following practices, ensuring that students are disciplined so they can learn,
providing uninterrupted time to teach, providing knowledge through professional
development, particularly in the areas o f excellent school visits and videotaping of
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excellent and effective instructional practices during formal observations,
collaboration time for grade levels and for the leadership team, mentoring new
teachers by pairing experienced teachers with new teachers, providing such
instructional support as modeling lessons and small group instruction by the
resource teacher for struggling students.
External Support
District. The district holds school principals accountable for student
achievement. Principals must know what students are able to do and what students
need. They are expected to be able to collect data, interpret and analyze data in order
to determine students’ needs. Additionally, principals are the instructional leaders at
their school sites and are responsible for the professional development of their staff.
As the Associate Superintendent for the Cluster explained:
Also it’s the role of the principals to make sure that teachers are at a level
that they need to be at as far as being able to provide quality instruction for
our students based on student needs. Now as we know, teachers come at
varying levels in terms of professional growth. ... So it’s the principal’s role
to bridge that gap, to look at the individual needs of those teachers, to find
out what those needs are, and to make sure that he or she makes available the
training, the professional growth that that teacher may need so that that
teacher can provide the best instructional program for students.
Principals are involved in the planning and implementation o f interventions
designed to meet the diverse needs of the students. Principals are also responsible for
ensuring that parents are involved in the education of their children by making them
feel welcome on campus, providing adequate and timely information regarding
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student performance and providing help to parents who may need homework help,
test preparation skills and other education related needs.
The district ensures that principals are held accountable by requiring
adherence to the district’s mission, vision and goals. The district requires principals
to monitor instructional programs by ensuring that they spend at least 20% of their
time in classrooms. The Associate Superintendent ensures that this is done by
requiring that sample documentation of classroom visits is sent to the district office
every week. Additionally, the Associate Superintendent for the cluster requires each
principal in the cluster to prepare a quarterly report. The Associate Superintendent
clarified the need for this requirement saying:
We ask our principals to do quarterly reports where we ask them to take a
look at those areas that may be hindering the quality of instruction that
should not exist. If there are teachers who need assistance in helping them to
do a better job, we ask them to identify those teachers and to identify what it
is that they’re doing. If there are other staff members who may not have the
best attendance pattern in the world, we ask them to meet with them and find
out what the problem is, if there’s anything that they can do to help in
making sure that everybody understands that attendance is important.
The district provides support to principals through various departments. The
department of research and evaluation provides a comparative summary of test data
to school sites to facilitate the process of analysis and interpretation of test data. The
administrative offices for the cluster also do comparative analysis of test data but in
addition, they provide professional development for principals and a forum for
principals to share best practices and discuss ways to improve student achievement.
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The Office of Special Projects provides support for each site leader in the
development of budgets and the Single Plan for Student Achievement. In addition,
the Office of Special Projects makes sure that all schools are compliant on all state
and federal laws with regards to funding and other mandates. The Health Services
Department has the Harvest of the Month program that highlights healthy food
choices in and out of the school setting. Teachers receive monthly newsletters
highlighting a fruit or vegetable. Teachers are supported to create standards based
lesson plans that address the use of the fruit or vegetable highlighted each month.
When asked about how the district supports her efforts to improve student
achievement, the principal said:
I make very bold steps. And they hear about it through complaints. And
they come to me upset, concerned, questioning. And they listen. And they
end up supporting what is happening because they see that the efforts are
working. So it’s turned from a place of, “Okay Michaela, you have to come
into my office.” I mean, I used to literally say to Dr. Gutierrez, “What did I
do now?” because I was in his office all the time for things, to now, because
we’re doing so well, they just are saying, “Okay Michaela, if this is your
idea, okay.” For example, we wanted summer school, and not many schools
got it. And I wrote a memo, I was very upset. I think summer school is
extremely important. And it was okayed, which I don’t know, that was very
important for us in terms of our student achievement. And so things like
that. I mean in the end we get supported. I think though we take bold steps
and there is some down fall from it. But we do get supported.
The principal also alleged that in the past, principals had a lot more support
than at the present time. There were trainings and retreats that are geared to help
principals be the instructional leader or other roles they are held accountable for. The
district would bring in keynote speakers from different fields who would inspire
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principals. This is no longer the case. The trainings are more about technical matters
like how to write teachers up or about such compliance issues as sexual harassment,
child abuse etc. She said that at present, principals are supported but only if they ask.
On the issue of accountability, the principal welcomes the responsibilities
imposed by NCLB. She does not feel that NCLB creates any hardship for her. As the
principal sees it, “if you’re going to make change in a system, especially like what
we’re talking about, you have to take on all of the responsibilities.” So she would
like to be in control of her own budget and would like to be able to hire and fire as
well. She explains:
I can see it is a lot of responsibility, but honestly that is your responsibility
regardless of No Child Left Behind if you take your job seriously about
students’ learning ... if you believe in the role of a principal, its your job to
make sure that its happening at your school site. And so I welcome having
that responsibility because in essence you end up having to take it from other
individuals who get upset with you that you’re trying to do this, but it’s your
school.
The district recognizes the need to involve principals in the design and
implementation of curriculum and instruction inasmuch as they are being held
accountable for the improvement of student achievement. The Associate
Superintendent’s opinion was:
Well I firmly believe that principals should have an opportunity to participate
in the design, the development, implementation and evaluation of curriculum
related materials. Now that’s not to say that it happens all the time, but
whenever you are putting something together that’s going to be the driving
vehicle for student achievement, those individuals who are expected to
implement it, those individuals who are expected to monitor it should have a
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say, should be involved in the developmental stage. And that may be an area
that we need to work on.
Another area that the district seems to need to work on is the amount of
flexibility that principals have for making decisions regarding improvement of
student achievement. While principals have flexibility in making decisions regarding
what needs to be done to meet the instructional needs of students and what support
they provide to teachers in order to deliver effective instruction to students, they
have little say in the hiring of staff because the district has a pool from which
principals must hire. In the case of special needs, principals have no say at all. The
principal expressed her feelings in this regard as follows: “For one, principals are not
allowed to hire the teachers for special education, which is ridiculous because I can’t
be held accountable for an individual that didn’t go through the process (hiring) I
just explained. I mean they’re not bought in.”
Surprisingly, most teachers are not aware of exactly how the district supports
the school. One teacher recalled that district supported them by providing an
incentive check of $2,000 to the school at the beginning of the school year for 2
years of consecutive achievement. Another teacher thinks the district supports new
teachers through the beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. One
classified staff member and one teacher said that now that the school is doing well,
the district is more open to approving their requests for field trips and the like.
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The parents did not feel that the district supports the school either. One
parents said that the district failed to make the school look good for the California
Distinguished School visitation. Another parent said the district denies the school
programs that could be beneficial to their students because the school is doing so
well and poorly performing schools are more deserving of district support. She gave
examples of request for support in the form of request for Gifted and Talented
Education program (GATE), tutoring by Sylvan and access to internet support. She
said all requests were denied. Support in the area of personnel was also denied. The
school needs the services of a noon aide and bilingual aide for each grade level.
None of these requests have been met so far by the district.
The Single Plan for Student Achievement for Fairview Elementary School
identifies district barriers to improvement in student achievement to include a lack of
quality professional development and frequent changes in district administration. In
view of the district’s expectations: “I expect principals to adhere to or to utilize the
kinds of practices that deal or tie directly to improved student achievement.” And the
Associate Superintendent’s expectation that principals’ daily and weekly activities
are geared toward improvement of student achievement, there is a significant gap in
district expectations and the support it provides for site leadership. The district
expects principals to know the state standards, be able to correlate lesson plans to
state standards, assess students regularly, analyze assessment data, provide
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differentiation of instruction, provide staff development that meet staff needs,
provide modeling or coaching of professional expectations and monitor instructional
practices. If principals are to acquire the ability to put these practices in place
effectively, the district must provide quality professional development.
The Associate Superintendent indicated that the next steps in the district’s
support of school sites will include the continued provision of a forum where
successful practices can be shared and showcased and the continued provision of
support and training for new and aspiring principals. Recently, the district provided
coaches to support first year principals. This seems to be a step in the right direction
but if the feelings expressed by the principal are shared by other site leaders, the
district needs to do more to support school sites in their efforts to improve student
achievement.
Family, Friends and Faith. The principal relies very strongly on her faith,
family and friends for support.
My mom, I mean if it wasn’t for my mom I wouldn’t-, and the church. You
know prayer and going to church are-, I wouldn’t be here other wise. I really
do believe that God has sent me here. It’s because of Him that we’re doing
the things that we’re doing. So my connection with my faith, my mother, my
friends, my husband even Angelique [adopted daughter]. There were points
where they (teachers) were going to do a strike or something and I was all
upset. And this was when I was still single with her [adopted daughter].
And I opened the door one day to my bedroom, and she had written-, she had
all these figures and notes written out in the front of my bedroom that said,
“Don’t let them take your fire away. Don’t take no for an answer.” It was
really sweet. Because you know she went to Fairview, so she saw all of it
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happening. I mean she was in the car when I was crying. ... But yeah,
everybody really rallied around and helped make it happen.
One teacher stated that “God is a huge part of her beliefs.” Belief in God and
values is definitely a huge part of the principal’s beliefs. While explaining the school
curriculum the principal said, “we can’t teach religion so I brought in a values
curriculum called Being Your Best, and that was phenomenal. It has made a very big
difference.” In her office is the Prayer of Jabez framed and hung on the wall. For this
principal, her faith, her family and friends are an essential component in her support
system. They enable her to be steadfast in her beliefs and to take bold steps toward
the achievement of her goals.
Professional Colleagues and Organizations. The support of mentors, peers
and immediate supervisors has been a source of help for this principal.
I was mentored by the state board member and excellent principal ... which
was a huge gift from God because she helped me a lot. Other principals
have been very supportive. I have a friend who’s now a very high up person
in the Teach for America organization. She’s a good friend of mine. .. .And
we keep each other growing. ...
One mentor that made a big contribution in terms professional support was
the state board member. She introduced the principal to the Waterford, a K-2 literacy
program to help tackle the challenge of literacy at the school. The principal seems to
have relied very heavily on the personnel from Teach or America (TFA). Three of
the teachers interviewed were recruited by the principal from TFA. A total of six
staff members are TFA alumni. The number used to be higher, however, 2 years ago
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the district stopped recruiting staff from TFA. One of the teachers described the
principal’s trust and confidence in the teachers from that organization and how she
used them to set the tone for the kind of organization she wanted to lead:
Well back in the early days, it was when Teach for America was still around,
she was really grasping on to teachers that she knew could-. She used Teach
For America a lot because she knows what kind of people apply to that
program, and so after about two years of hiring we had like nine or ten Teach
For America teachers here. We had a good core and then it was just time to
start getting rid of people that aren’t on the same page. And so you can’t
really-, it’s really hard to fire teachers, as we all know. So it wasn’t a matter
of firing, it’s just like, “Okay, if you’re not here for what we’re going to do,
then we’re going monitor you, we’re going to document-.” And that kind of
drove a lot of people out.
It is interesting to note that the school has continued to do well in the 2 years
that the district has stopped employing TFA teachers.
Additionally, the principal said that all of her supervisors, the State
administrator, the Superintendent, and various Associate Superintendents who have
supervised her at different points in her position as principal had supported her.
Surprisingly, this principal has not relied very much on the support of
professional organizations. She admitted:
Yes, we do have [ACUSA] in Compton, and I’ve worked a lot with them.
And I am a member of ACSA. I haven’t done a lot with them to be honest
with you, but I do read their newsletter. I should probably do more. And
that’s about it I would say.
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It might have been even more beneficial and less of a struggle had this
principal had access to a bigger network of professional colleagues and association
for support. Maybe the challenges would have been easier to bear.
In sum, the principal relied on an extensive support system in order to stay
focused on her goals and to sustain the improvement of student achievement. The
next steps for this principal are:
We have a huge group of kids at basic in reading, so I’d love to see that go
up to 80. You know if it was where math was, I would feel comfortable. So
I definitely want ELA-, if we could get them to 80 [percent proficient], I’d
feel good - eighty percent mastery and then ultimately a hundred. I think this
year the goal is 70. If we could get there between 60 and 70 would be good.
And then math, keep it where it is, if not get it higher. We’re at 82. If we
could get to 90, that’d be great. And then I would love to get the California
Distinguished School Award. ... The computer lab it’s bare now it needs to
come alive. I’d love for the library to take a next step and just being a much
more multi-media type o f place for the students. And I would love to get a
lot more community involvement so that we could get real-, or not even
community, but outside, like money into the school.
The next steps for students are:
I would like to see them doing more kind of higher order thinking projects.
And be able to get into-, I would love to get some of our students into
competitive private middle schools, because that will guarantee a path
toward a competitive college at least and maybe a dual language immersion
program. We’ve looked at it. I just want to make sure I can sustain it. I
don’t want teachers to leave because then students are left hanging. And
that’s it for now.
One of the parents interviewed would like the school to continue to do the
same things that have made them successful. In addition, she would like to have
more sports and arts activities as enrichment programs at the school. Another parent
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believes that the next steps for the school is an API of 900 and national recognition
as a Blue Ribbon School.
The next steps for this principal are quite clear. She acknowledges that retaining
teachers would be essential to the achievement of the next steps for the school.
Conclusion
The participants in this study agree that the leadership of the principal
has been effective in moving the school forward and improving and sustaining the
improvement of student achievement. The majority of the participants in the study
identified two leadership practices as the most effective in improving and sustaining
improvement in student achievement, they are professional development and
collaboration. These top two responses are followed very closely by weekly test
practice as most effective in improving and sustaining the improvement of student
achievement.
The key factor that seems to be obscured by the more obvious leadership
practices is the personality or character trait that is the foundation for the leadership
practices and responsibilities demonstrated by the principal. This is her courage to
stand for what she believes even when it was not popular to hold such beliefs and in
the face of personal threats to her safety and her ability to take bold steps and risks.
More importantly, her ability to learn and grow from her mistakes have been
important factors in this success story.
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Some of the challenges identified during the study are: teacher apathy,
teacher retention, high transience among students and low parental involvement. The
interim principal sums it up in this manner, “I would say, I mean certain teachers
that were not as bought-in, some parents that provide difficult situations. But I think
bottom line, we really work to embody the no excuses mentality.”
The next steps for the principal was getting the California Distinguished
School Award (this has been achieved), achieving eighty percent proficiency in
English Language Arts, improving access to technology and library resources and
implementing a dual language immersion program. For parents, the next steps
should be more extra curricular activities including sports and the arts, achieving an
API of 900 and becoming a National Blue Ribbon School.
The data for each research question, with accompanying analysis and
findings, has been presented in chapter four. The study is summarized in chapter five
with conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further study.
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CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS OF THE
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
Summary of the Findings
The purpose of this study was to determine the leadership practices that have
been effectively used by a school principal to improve and sustain the improvement
of student achievement in a high poverty urban school. The intent of this study was
to make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge about effective
leadership practices, roles and responsibilities that facilitate improvement of student
achievement and the transferability of practices that facilitate school improvement to
other settings. Moreover, this study was intended to enhance our knowledge of belief
and support systems that facilitate the development of effective organizational
culture that leads to improvement of student achievement. The study seeks to answer
the research questions:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve improvement
of student achievement over time?
2. What strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain improvement
in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the strategies and practices used
to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
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4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
The study takes an in-depth look at key stakeholder perceptions of the
leadership practices, roles and responsibilities that have been effective in improving
and sustaining the improvement of student achievement. In addition, the belief
systems upon which those practices were based as well as the internal and external
support that facilitated or impeded improvement of student achievement were also
examined.
The study focused on a single school in a high poverty urban unified school
district. The school was selected because of the improvement in student achievement
which has been continuous for 5 years with a view to determining the leadership
practices, roles and responsibilities that have been used by the principal to improve
and sustain the improvement of student achievement.
In order to achieve an in-depth study and analysis of the leadership practices
that have been effectively used to improving student achievement, qualitative case
study research methods were used. Interviews of key stakeholder and examination of
documents were used to collect data. The case study method was used in order to
provide an in-depth and descriptive analysis of the phenomena studied.
The following is a brief summary of the findings with a view to answering
the four research questions:
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Findings fo r Research Question One
The first question asks: “What did the principal do to turn the school around
and improve student achievement?” No single leadership practice was identified as
the main reason for improvement of student achievement. Most participants
narrowed the practices to two or three. Consistent with extant literature, the
following leadership practices were found to have been effective in turning the
school around and improving student achievement: high expectations for all students
(Carter, 2001; Fullan, 2005;), use of data from regular weekly test practice to guide
instructional practices and decisions about tutoring and grade level collaboration
(Bemhadt, 2005; Schmoker, 1999; Price & Burton, 2005), professional development
of self and others (DeMoss, 2002; Hargreaves et al., 2003; Waters et ah, 2003),
knowledge of the curriculum, instruction and assessment (Johnson et ah, 2005;
Marzano et ah, 2005; Waters et ah, 2003), monitoring and evaluation of instruction
and programs (Cambum et ah, 2003; Carter, 2001) discipline and order (Carter,
2001; Towns et ah, 2001) and parental involvement (Fullan, 2005; Marzano et ah,
2005;). Each activity was highly structured and closely monitored by the principal.
There was on-going communication between the principal, students, staff and
parents on several levels so that all stakeholders were accountable for the part they
play in the improvement of student achievement.
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The data also indicated that these practices were successfully implemented
because the principal was able to hire the right people who were placed in
appropriate roles. In this way, the principal was able to build a culture of discipline,
hard work and no excuses for herself, her staff, students and parents. In this way, she
was able to obtain stakeholder buy-in for her vision. However, these practices were
found to be the outgrowth of other factors: the principal’s vision, passion for her
beliefs, courage to standing up for what she believes, honesty regarding teacher
performance and consistent focus on inquiry into effectiveness of programs and
practices (Bolman et al., 2002). These factors led to the successful implementation
of the leadership practices described above. Parental involvement is an area in which
growth is needed in order to sustain improvement of student achievement.
Findings fo r Research Question Two
The second question asks: “What leadership strategies and practices were
used to sustain improvement in student achievement?” The answer to this question is
that the principal was consistent in maintaining the practices that were used to turn
the school around. Additionally, the principal was never satisfied with increases in
student achievement that were never up to 100%, she yearns for all students to
achieve proficient or advanced levels of performance. Her energy and enthusiasm
has kept student achievement as the primary focus each year. Each year, the school
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had a different area to focus on in terms of improvement of student achievement,
and in this way she was able to keep all stakeholders focused on the essential goals.
The principal promoted a culture of reflection and inquiry about best
practices. She did not indiscriminately take on new programs but worked hard at
making programs that work more effective (Fullan, 1999; 2005). She provided
leadership opportunities for her teachers. The school’s application for California
Distinguished status was entrusted to a teacher to write. In fact, it was during the
principal’s absence on maternity leave that the school was visited by the state as part
of the approval process for the California Distinguished School status. The school
passed with flying colors. As the principal said, the school is now run by the
leadership team and not by one person, the principal (Lambert 2003; Waters et al.,
2004). She empowered teachers to become leaders in order to ensure continuity of
succession (Datnow 2003; Hargreaves et al. 2003). As a result, when she was not
able to be physically present the school was able to continue with the same agenda
and was run the same way she would have had she been present. Systems were in
place and teachers had been empowered to be leaders (Fullan, 2005).
Flexibility, the ability to see issues and situations from different perspectives
is an area in which the principal has grown but still needs improvement. She needs
to be more flexible and be able to entertain different perspectives in order to retain
teachers who already know the school’s culture and high expectations. Improvement
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124
in student achievement would be easier to sustain if teachers know what to do and
are not strangers to instructional expectations and school culture.
Findings fo r Research Question Three
The third question asks: “What is the belief system that is the basis for the
leadership strategies and practices used to improve and sustain improvement of
student achievement?” The principal has strong beliefs about schools, teaching and
learning and the ability of children to rise to meet high expectations (Bolman et al.,
2002; Waters et al., 2003;). She believes that it is the responsibility o f adults to help
children achieve and maximize their learning potential. These beliefs have been
effectively communicated to all stakeholders. The principal’s actions have been
consistent with her beliefs and this has helped to obtain buy-in from key
stakeholders. This has promoted a high expectations culture and all stakeholders are
working toward the same goal for student achievement (Hargreaves et al., 2004).
The findings show that operating from a belief system that believes in the
ability of children to meet high expectations is important but is not enough without
more. In addition, the principal needed courage to stand up for what she believes in
and the boldness to take the consequences of her actions and learn from her
mistakes. She needed a lot of passion, energy and commitment in order to achieve
and sustain the improvement of student achievement.
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125
Findings fo r Research Question Four
The fourth question asks: “What kinds of internal and external support
facilitated or impeded the improvement and sustaining of student achievement?” The
support of family, staff, friends, district, and professional colleagues has been
important to the success of the principal (Bolman et al., 2002). Moreover, the
principal relied on her faith to a great extent to help her get through the tough times.
While the district has been supportive in terms of reacting to bold steps taken by the
principal, the district does not seem to have initiated or put in place any support
programs that can be easily identified by the stakeholders. There is a lack of a
district-wide program that supports the professional development, motivation and
empowerment of principals. Programs that supported principals in the past seem to
have been discontinued without any replacement of support programs that are
equally effective. Surprisingly, the principal has an affiliation with only one
professional organization and has not relied as much on professional organizations
for support. This leaves one wondering what impact a wider support network would
have had on the principal’s leadership practices. For instance, could the challenges
of leading in a high poverty urban setting characterized by instability and political
turmoil have been lessened by a wider support network?
As stated earlier in this study, the intent if the study is to determine effective
leadership practices that have been used to improve and sustain the improvement of
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126
students’ academic achievement so that other practitioners can benefit from them
and possibly transfer such practices to other settings. The practices used by the
principal are those that are supported by research; having high expectations,
focusing on instructional practices, using data to drive decision making, knowledge
of the curriculum, effective collaboration, and provision meaningful professional
development.
In addition to these research based leadership strategies, the principal
included such practices as intense scrutiny of teacher candidates to ensure that only
high quality, knowledgeable and committed teachers are employed at the school.
Moreover, she implemented interventions that meet the unique academic needs of
her students; she had the Waterford Reading Program to meet students’ literacy
needs, after school tutoring starts very early in the year and continues beyond the
state testing period if teachers chose to continue, a Mental health Assistant was
employed to meet the social and emotional needs of students and to ensure a
disciplined and orderly learning environment. She invested a lot of time in having
Student Success Team (SST) meetings to address the academic and behavior needs
of the students as well as to involve parents in the education of their children.
Personal yearly goals for herself and her teachers guided discussions with teachers
throughout the year and helped keep the team focused on essential goals year after
year.
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127
Connection to Prior Research
As discussed in chapter 2, several studies have found that leadership
practices impact student achievement (Blankstein, 2004;; Datnow, 2005; Fullan,
1999; Waters et al., 2003). Waters et al. (2003) identified seven leadership
practices that have been found to be effective in leading innovative changes as
the one under study. The seven leadership practices are: (a) being a change
agent, (b) using flexibility, (c) operating from strong ideals and beliefs, (d)
intellectual stimulation of others, (e) knowledge of the school’s curriculum,
instruction and assessment, (f) the ability to monitor and evaluate people and
programs, and (g) being an optimizer of innovation. Additionally, seven other
factors were found in extant literature to be important to the improvement of
student achievement. The seven factors are: (a) continuity of leadership, (b)
distribution of leadership, (c) data-driven decision making, (d) parental
involvement, (e) high expectations, (f) discipline and order, and (g) belief
system. These 14 factors were used to organize the findings in chapter four.
Flexibility and parental involvement are two areas in which the principal was
found to need improvement. While some progress has been made in both areas,
there is still a lot of room for growth, particularly in the area of parental
involvement. As was found in chapter four, parental involvement for the
principal sometimes means that parents support their children at home in order to
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128
improve academically. If this is the yardstick that she uses to measure parental
involvement, she seems to have made a lot of improvement in that area.
All of the leadership practices referred to above were evident in the study but
some practices were found to be more evident than others. The principal was found
to be very strong in some areas and admittedly needs growth in some other areas.
Consistent with prior research findings, the principal has gradually evolved from
practices that change the status quo to practices that maintain continuous
improvement in student achievement. As a result, the principal is now more
concerned with building relationships, retaining and nurturing effective practices
through teacher retention and communicating effectively with all stakeholders.
Consistent with the findings of Datnow (2005), ensuring continuity of leadership,
obtaining buy-in from key stakeholders, making student achievement a prominent
part of the school’s culture, and keeping the staff focused on student achievement
are leadership practices, roles and responsibilities that have been effectively used to
sustain the improvement in student achievement.
This study provides valuable insights into what is currently known about the
impact of leadership on the improvement of student achievement in two significant
ways: First, the study has identified the leadership practices that have been used
effectively in an urban school. Practitioners can benefit by implementing these
practices at their school sites. Second, the study uncovers the practices that
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129
stakeholders in an urban school perceive to be the effective leadership practices that
have moved the school forward. In these ways, this study adds to the body of
knowledge about what is currently known about the impact of school leadership on
the improvement and sustaining of improvement in students’ academic achievement
in an urban school.
Apart from the use of research based leadership practices, many unique
leadership practices were found to have been used by the principal. For instance she
goes beyond the district requirement for hiring to ensure that she employs high
quality teachers who are committed to high academic achievement for all students
and a good match for her school. It is important to the principal that teachers
exemplify what she asks students to aspire to in terms of dress, knowledge and work
ethic.
The principal goes beyond the use of data to drive decision making about the
school and students to the use of data to foster a spirit of competition among her
staff and to motivate her staff to higher performance levels by publishing summaries
of grade level performance by class on schoolwide weekly skills tests. She does not
restrict her testing practice to beginning, middle and end of the year or quarterly
assessments. Assessments at this school are on going.
In order to foster effective team collaboration, the principal went to great
lengths to provide structure for each grade level and leadership team meeting. She
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130
also provides release time for them to work together. They submit their responses to
agenda items and she provides timely feedback to them. This dialogue between the
principal and the teams keep teachers accountable and informs the principal of grade
level activities and the areas where support will be needed.
Another practice that is unique to the principal is the tailoring of planned
interventions to the unique needs of her students. Realizing that the majority of her
students, 60%, are bussed in, all qualify free and reduced lunch, she invested a lot of
time in scheduling and holding SST meetings for struggling students. This enabled
her to share the school’s academic and behavior expectations with their parents and
to monitor student progress effectively. She sent weekly bulletins home to keep
parents abreast of happenings at school. She also employed a Mental Health
Assistant to help with keeping behavior issues out of the classroom by providing
services that meet students’ social and emotional needs. She encourages parents to
volunteer their time by helping students with homework at home. She provided each
parent with resources that would make it possible for them to be able to help in their
primary language, English or Spanish.
In order to meet the needs of her special education population, the principal
requires that special education teachers collaborate with regular education teachers.
In this way, the students are provided additional support toward the meeting of grade
level standards on weekly skills tests.
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131
The study also highlights some of the personal attributes that are important
factors in the ability to lead successfully in an urban school setting. Strong beliefs
about students’ ability to perform at high levels in spite of their background, passion
for those beliefs, a clear vision about the path that needs to be taken in order to
achieve school goals and the courage to take bold steps and stand up for one’s
beliefs (Bolman et al., 2002).
The principal relies on professional mentors and visits to excellent schools so
that she is able see and use what works in effective schools to guide her in her
efforts to improve students’ academic achievement. The principal does not entertain
complacency; she promotes continuous inquiry and reflection throughout the year
(Fullan, 1999, 2005). She uses yearly goals both for herself and her teachers to guide
discussions about student achievement and to keep the school focused on essential
goals throughout the year. These are some of the leadership practices and strategies
that are unique to the principal that are highlighted by this study.
Some of the other connections that have implications for policy and practice
are discussed in the following section.
Implications for Policy and Practice
The findings of this study have led to some conclusions about the
implications o f the study for policy and practice. The implications for policy and
practice are discussed in this section as suggestions for promoting effective
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132
leadership practices that improve and sustain the improvement of student
achievement.
1. School leadership plays an important role in the improvement of student
Achievement.
School leaders need to operate from a belief system that puts children first.
They need to be passionate about their beliefs, courageous about standing up for
what they believe and ready to work tirelessly to promote and create a learning
environment in which those beliefs are accepted, nurtured, expressed and practiced.
As discussed in this study, all stakeholders know the principal’s expectations in
terms of student achievement and her no excuses policy. Leadership is important in
developing a culture that puts student achievement first and ensures that all adult
activities focus on the improvement achievement as the number one priority.
2. Collaboration among staff members concerning student performance and
the sharing of effective instructional strategies is essential. Time for collaboration
must be provided.
Most of the participants in this study identified collaboration among staff as one
of the two major practices that have had the most impact on the improvement of
student achievement. Teachers value the time that they have to work together and
share instructional strategies. Collaboration also provides an opportunity for
reflection about effective instructional practices and programs.
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133
As noted earlier in this study, staff collaboration at this school is highly
structured. There is an agenda to follow and the group provides a report on essential
agreement on each item on the agenda to the principal. The principal in turn,
provides the grade level with feedback on the ideas and plans they come up with at
grade level meetings. In this way, teachers participate in meaningful instructional
decisions. DeMoss (2002) found that when principals provide opportunities for
teachers to participate meaningfully in instructional decisions students demonstrate
strong gains in student achievement.
3. Effective data collection and analysis to inform decision-making are
essential elements of improvement of student achievement
A leader’s ability to support instructional improvement and student learning
involves the effective collection and management of information about the student
staff, building and community. Additionally, effective leaders must be able to
analyze and use the data collected effectively to assess areas where students are not
achieving to expected levels of proficiency (Price et al., 2005). As found at this
school, data informs the areas of instructional focus on a weekly basis and guides
decisions about school goals each school year. Substantial improvement in student
achievement has been noted when principals are able to use assessment results to
target teachers' instructional efforts (DeMoss, 2002).
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134
4. Principals must provide on-going professional development to increase
teacher capacity
Principals should be aware of the professional needs of their teachers and be
able to provide professional development to meet their needs. In the age of state
standards and NCLB, teachers are being required to perform their duties in ways that
they were never required to before. New skills must be taught so that they can be
empowered to meet the new challenges they face. Professional development should
include but is not limited to: training on standards based instruction, alignment of
standards, instruction and assessment, effective instructional practices, data
collection and analysis, implementation of effective collaboration teams, excellent
school visits, and discussion of professional material.
5. Knowledge of the curriculum, is an essential ingredient for the
improvement of student achievement.
As noted in chapter 2, both NCLB and PSAA use test scores as a yardstick
for measuring the effectiveness of a school. It is therefore critical that principals are
knowledgeable about curriculum, instruction and assessment. Curriculum,
assessment and instructional practices must be aligned in order to accurately identify
deficits in learning, identify promising practices and promote improvement of
student achievement (Elmore, 2000). As discussed in chapter four, the knowledge of
what students ought to know and be able to do guides the decisions about the
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135
curriculum that is implemented and the programs that are implemented to cover gaps
in the adopted curriculum. Consistency in program implementation, instructional
practices, assessments and expectations for student outcomes are important to the
sustaining of improved student achievement.
6. Effective monitoring of programs, instruction and teacher and student
performance regularly to determine their effectiveness and honest feedback must
take place to ensure improvement of student achievement
As noted in the findings, it is critical that principals monitor programs,
instruction and staff and student performance on a regular basis. In this way,
principals can be better informed and be able to make decisions that will promote
student learning and facilitate the improvement of student achievement.
7. A reliable support system must be in place at every level to ensure the
success of principals and encourage the use of effective leadership strategies
It is not enough that the principal supports other stakeholders. The
stakeholders must support the principal as well. The principal acknowledged the
support of stakeholders in ensuring the smooth running and effectiveness of the
school. Several research participants acknowledged that they support the principal
by following whatever agenda was presented to them. The principal made efforts to
recruit teachers who share her vision, beliefs about teaching and learning,
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136
commitment and work ethic. Unity of vision and performance is essential to the
achievement of successful program implementation.
By the same token, the district must support principals’ efforts to improve
student achievement at the school site. District support should include:
• Development of a support system that is known and accessible to all
stakeholders district wide.
• Provision of mentors or coaches for new and aspiring principals to guide
them through the first few years of their principalship.
• Professional development for new and experienced principals, teachers
and parents that are geared toward empowering them to fulfill their role in the
improvement of student achievement effort.
• Encourage and motivate principals to participate in professional
organizations so that they can benefit from networking with other professionals, take
advantage of other professional development activities and keep them abreast of
current developments in the field of education.
• Continue to provide a forum for the regular sharing o f best instructional
and leadership practices.
• Provision of incentives and motivational activities for principals and
schools to encourage them to perform at even higher levels.
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137
• Promote excellent school visits so that principals and teachers can have
hands-on experiences at high achieving schools.
• Involve principals in decisions regarding the design and implementation
of curriculum.
• Ensure more flexibility in hiring practices so that principals can recruit
teachers who match the organizational culture of the school
• Provide competitive salaries for administrators and teachers so that
administrators and teachers who are good and experienced can be attracted to the
district to work.
8. State department of education can provide funding for the training of
new, aspiring and experienced administrators.
The foregoing discussion of findings details some of the professional
challenges that new administrators face in terms of ever changing state standards,
academic and professional requirements for meeting the needs of all students.
Additionally, inexperienced administrators have to cope with meeting staff needs,
involving parents in student achievement efforts and forming partnerships with the
community in efforts to improve the learning environment. These are areas in which
the state can provide funding for training to make the transition easier for
inexperienced principals.
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138
Recommendations for Future Research
This is a study of one successful leader in a high poverty urban school. For
this study to have greater value and applicability to other schools and districts,
therefore, it is being recommended that such a similar study be conducted on a larger
scale with several effective schools across one district. Additionally, a study across
districts might better inform practitioners of leadership practices that could be
employed to help districts improve student achievement.
A comparison of an effective and less effective school serving similar
student populations or community would also better inform practitioners of effective
and ineffective strategies for working with students in urban settings. Such a study
would also help to determine which leadership practices are transferable to other
settings and which are not.
Also recommended is the use of questionnaires in addition to interviews to
probe into the practices that people perceive to be effective in improving student
achievement and those that are not. This would allow for further substantiation of
the findings. Observation of the principal at staff meetings, leadership team meetings
and on classroom observations while interacting with teachers and providing
feedback to teachers would also be very helpful in determining the leadership
practices and skills that are effective in improving student achievement.
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139
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study provided an invaluable opportunity to look at
leadership practices that have been effectively used to improve and sustain the
improvement of student achievement. The study suggests that effective school
leadership in high poverty urban settings not only require technical know-how but
requires a belief in students’ ability to achieve at high levels of performance, a
passion for the job, the courage to stand up for what one believes and tireless work
to ensure that the focus stays on student achievement (Bolman et al., 2002).
The intent of the study was to add to what is currently known about effective
leadership practices that have been used to successfully improve and sustain the
improvement of student achievement. The study adds to the body of knowledge by
providing stakeholder perspectives on effective leadership practices, challenges and
personal attributes that are important factors in the ability to lead effectively and
improve student achievement in a high poverty urban school. Practitioners benefit
from this study because they are able to find out about effective strategies that may
be transferable to their school settings. Additionally, practitioners are able to
determine what practices would not be effective in their particular settings by
learning from mistakes made by the principal.
The study finds that the principal’s passion, beliefs about teaching and
learning and courage to take bold steps are important factors in the improvement of
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140
student learning. Additionally, stakeholder buy-in and support, both internal and
external are critical to the successful improvement of academic achievement.
Consistent with extant literature, the study finds that leadership plays a
significant role in the improvement of student achievement. This study clearly
highlights those leadership practices that stakeholders perceive to have had the most
impact on the improvement of student achievement and the sustaining of
improvement of student achievement. They leadership practices are regular testing
practices and staff collaboration, closely followed by professional development. The
study also highlights the challenges to improvement of student achievement efforts.
These challenges are low parental involvement, high student transience, high teacher
turn over rate and teacher apathy. It is interesting to note that the requirements of
NCLB provide no hardship to this principal. She had those practices in place before
NCLB, she believes they are essential practices for principals who want to meet the
needs of all students and she will continue to have those practices in place.
Be that as it may, future studies must continue to research leadership
practices that are replicable, transferable and adaptable to the unique needs of other
schools and districts. In this way, leadership practices that increase student
achievement would really work toward leaving no child behind by effectively
closing the achievement gap.
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141
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teaching, leading, and the realities o f reform (pp. 52-71). London: Falmer
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power In Reframing Educational Politics fo r Social Justice (pp. 101-126).
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Patterson, J. (2001, June). Resilience in the face of adversity. The School
Administrator, 18-21.
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Thousand Oaks, California: Sage..
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An essential ingredient for improving student learning. The Educational
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149
APPENDIX A
Administrator/Resource Teacher Interview Protocol
Note: The interviewer will begin by providing the interviewees with a brief personal
background information and information about the study. Additionally, the
interviewees will be informed that even though the interview will be tape
recorded, their responses will be strictly confidential. Furthermore,
interviewees will be informed that should they have anything they would like
to say off tape, they may so indicate at any time and the tape will be shut off
so they can make their comment.
1. Please describe briefly your leadership qualification and experiences
(background).
2. Please describe the school’ history including student academic performance
(all research questions, indirectly).
• Probes: How has the school’s API progressed and how have targets been
met?
• How has the school’s AYP progressed and how have targets been met?
• Are there other district measures used to assess schools? If so, what are
they and how has the school done?
• What leadership practices have been effective in improving student
achievement?
• Please describe the process of becoming academic achievement-driven.
3. Please tell me what you perceive to be the leadership practices that have helped
increase student achievement, (research question 1, indirectly)
Probes:
■ Intervention programs
■ monitoring and evaluation of instruction and programs
■ professional development
■ data analysis
■ collegiality and collaboration
■ instructional practices
■ parental involvement
4. What leadership practices and responsibilities do you feel have had the most
impact on the improvement of student achievement? (research question 1)
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150
Probe: what impact has the identified leadership practices had on instructional
practices and student achievement?
5. What leadership practices and responsibilities, in your opinion, have been
successfully used to sustain improvement in student achievement?
6. What is your philosophy of education or professional beliefs about schools,
teaching and learning? (research question 2)
Probes:
■ How well are you able to communicate these professional beliefs to other
stakeholders?
■ What are some of the leadership practices or behaviors that you
demonstrate that are consistent with these beliefs?
■ Describe the professional beliefs about schools, teaching and learning.
■ How do your professional beliefs impact your school’s vision, miion and
goals?
7. How do you feel your personal beliefs have impacted the school vision,
mission and goals? (research question 2)
8. How do you, as an administrator, support the improvement of student
achievement? (research question 3)
Probes: Please describe the kinds of support you provide for teachers students
and parents:
• Professional development
• Instructional leadership
• Collaboration time with colleagues
• Protection of instructional time
• Minimization of distractions from curricular goals
• Data analysis
• Planning time
9. What kinds of support do you rely on to maintain your focus on improvement
of student achievement? How do the staff and other stakeholders support your
academic achievement improvement efforts? (research question 4)
Probe: Please describe your sources of support:
• Staff
• Parents
• Professional colleagues
• Professional networks and associations
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151
• Family
• Friends
• District personnel and resources
10. How does the district provide support for your efforts to improve student
achievement? (research question 3)
If yes: What type of support is provided? Please explain.
Probe: How does the district support -
• improvement of instructional practices
• leadership
• data analysis or data driven decision making?
• Staff collaboration
11. What are some of the challenges you have faced in trying to improve student
achievement? (research question 1 and 3)
Probe: How has district action impacted your efforts to increase student
achievement?
12. Is there anything else you think might be making a difference/helping to
increase test scores at this school? (research question 1, indirectly)
13. What do you see as the next steps in your school’s academic achievement
efforts? (research question 1)
14. What advice would you give to me, as a new principal, about leadership
practices, strategies and responsibility that will help me improve and sustain
student achievement? (research question 1)
Note: the interview will conclude with the interviewer thanking the participant for
his/her time and valuable input.
Research Questions
Cross-references of interview questions with the four research questions:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve
improvement of student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain
improvement in student achievement?
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152
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
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153
APPENDIX B
Teacher Interview Protocol
Note: The interviewer will begin by providing the interviewees with a brief personal
background information and information about the study. Additionally, the
interviewees will be informed that even though the interview will be tape
recorded, their responses will be strictly confidential. Furthermore,
interviewees will be informed that should they have anything they would like
to say off tape, they may so indicate at any time and the tape will be shut off
so they can make their comment.
1. Please tell me about your teaching experience at this school, specifically
grades taught and how long you have been a teacher here, (background)
2. Your school has made significant API growth and continues to meet AYP
targets. To what do you attribute your school’s growth? (research question 1,
indirectly)
3. Please tell me what you perceive to be the leadership practices that have
helped increase student achievement, (research question 1, indirectly)
Probes:
■ Intervention programs
■ professional development
■ data analysis
■ collegiality and collaboration
■ instructional practices
■ parental involvement
4. What do feel are the leadership practices and responsibilities that have had
the most impact on the improvement of student achievement (research
question 1)
Probes: what impact has the identified leadership practices had on
instructional practices and student achievement?
5. What leadership practices and responsibilities, in your opinion, have been
successfully used to sustain improvement of student achievement? (research
questions 1 & 2)
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154
6. What are some of the strong professional beliefs about schools, teaching and
learning that the principal holds? (research questions 1 and 2)
Probes:
■ How effectively is the principal able to share her beliefs about
schools, teaching and learning?
■ What leadership behaviors or practices does the principal demonstrate
that are consistent with those beliefs?
6. How well is the principal able to inspire others to accomplish things that
might be unattainable to them?
Probe: How well does the principal portray a positive attitude about
teachers’ ability to accomplish difficult tasks?
7. How does the principal handle opinions that conflict with her own? (research
questions 1 and 2)
Probes:
■ How well is the principal able to adapt to change in the way things
are done?
■ How comfortable do you feel the principal is with leading change,
that is, doing things in new and better ways? (research question 1&2)
8. How do you feel your personal beliefs have impacted the school’s vision,
mission and goals? (research question 3)
9. How does the principal support teacher efforts to improve student
achievement? (research question 4)
Probe: Please describe the kinds of support you received:
• Protection of instructional time
• Minimizing distractions from instructional focus
• Professional development
• Instructional leadership
• Collaboration time with colleagues
• Data analysis
• Planning time
10. How does the district support your efforts to improve student achievement?
(research question 4)
If yes: Please describe the kinds of support the district provides:
• Professional development
• Collaboration time
• Mentoring or coaching assistance
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155
• Data analysis
11. What are some of the challenges you faced in your efforts to improve student
achievement? (research question 1 & 2)
Probe:
• What did you do to overcome the challenges?
• How did district actions impact your efforts to improve student
achievement?
12. How does the school support school the principal’s efforts to improve
students’ academic achievement? (research question 4).
Probe: please provide specific examples of support provided and the sources
of the support.
13. How do you support the principal’s efforts to improve student achievement?
(research question 4)
Probe: Please provide specific examples.
14. Is there anything else you think might be making a difference/helping to raise
test scores at this school? (research question 1, indirectly)
15. What do you see as the next steps in your school’s academic achievement
efforts? (research question 1)
16. What do you see as the next steps in leadership efforts to sustain
improvement of student achievement? (research question 1)
Probe: Please give specific examples or information about your next steps.
17. What advice would you give to me about how I might begin to initiate
academic improvement efforts at my school site? (research questions 1 and
4)
Note: the interview will conclude with the interviewer thanking the participant for
his/her time and valuable input.
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156
Research Questions
Cross-references of interview questions with the four research questions:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve improvement
of student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain
improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
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157
APPENDIX C
Parent Interview Protocol
Note: The interviewer will begin by providing the interviewees with a brief personal
background information and information about the study. Additionally, the
interviewees will be informed that even though the interview will be tape
recorded, their responses will be strictly confidential. Furthermore,
interviewees will be informed that should they have anything they would like
to say off tape, they may so indicate at any time and the tape will be shut off
so they can make their comment.
1. Please tell me about your experience at this school, specifically, how long
have you been a parent here, what is your child’s grade level and in what
other capacity are you involved with the school (background)
2. Your school has made significant API growth and continues to meet AYP
targets. To what do you attribute your school’s growth? (research question 1,
indirectly)
3. How involved is the principal in ensuring that teachers have the training,
materials and other support they need in order to teach effectively?
4. Please tell me what you perceive to be the leadership practices that have
helped increase student achievement, (research question 1, indirectly)
5. What do you feel are the principal’s strong professional beliefs about school,
teaching and learning? (research question 3)
6. What do you feel are the principal’s strong professional beliefs about
schools, teaching and learning? (research question 3)
Probes:
■ How does the principal communicate those values and beliefs to parents
and students?
■ What leadership behaviors does the principal demonstrate that are
consistent to those beliefs and values?
■ What impact has the identified leadership practices had on instructional
practices and student achievement?
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158
7. What leadership practices and responsibilities, in your opinion, have been
successfully used to sustain improvement of student achievement? (research
questions 1 & 2)
8. How does the principal handle opinions that conflict with her own? (research
questions 1 and 2)
Probes:
a. How well is the principal able to adapt to change in the way things
are done?
9. How comfortable do you feel the principal is with leading change, that is,
new and better ways of doing things? (research questions 1&2)
10. How well does the principal inspire students to aspire to attain things that
might seem beyond their ability?
Probe: How well does the principal portray a positive attitude about the
ability of students to make important accomplishments?
11. How does the district support school efforts to improve student
achievement? (research question 4)
If yes: Please describe the kinds of support the district provides:
• Professional development
• Collaboration time
• Mentoring or coaching assistance
• Data analysis
12. What do parents do to support the principal’s efforts to improve students’
academic achievement? (research question 4).
Probe: please provide specific examples of support provided and the sources
of the support.
13. Is there anything else you think might be making a difference/helping to
raise test scores at this school? (research question 1, indirectly)
14. What do you see as the next steps in your school’s academic achievement
efforts? (research question 1)
Probe: Please give specific examples or information about the next steps.
15. What do you see as the next steps in the principal’s efforts to sustain
improvement of student achievement? (research question 1)
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159
Probe: Please give specific examples or information about the next steps.
16. What advice would you give to me about how I might begin to initiate
academic improvement efforts at my school site? (research questions 1 and 4)
Note: the interview will conclude with the interviewer thanking the participant for
his/her time and valuable input.
Research Questions
Cross-references of interview questions with the four research questions:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve improvement
of student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain
improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
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160
APPENDIX D
District Administrator Interview Protocol
Note: The interviewer will begin by providing the interviewees with a brief personal
background information and information about the study. Additionally, the
interviewees will be informed that even though the interview will be tape
recorded, their responses will be strictly confidential. Furthermore,
interviewees will be informed that should they have anything they would like
to say off tape, they may so indicate at any time and the tape will be shut off
so they can make their comment.
1. Please describe your professional experience and current role in the district
(background information).
2. Please describe the district’s vision and goal for student achievement.
Probe: how does the district
3. Please describe how school principals are held accountable for student
achievement, (research question 3)
Probe:
a. How does the district ensure that principals are accountable?
b. What specific practices and responsibilities are principals held
accountable for?
4. To what extent is the principal expected to be involved in the design and
implementation of curriculum and instruction? (research questions 1 and 2).
Probe:
■ Monitoring and evaluation
■ Modeling of effective classroom practices
■ Data analysis
■ Professional development opportunities
5. Please describe the support the district provides to schools in terms of
improvement of student achievement, (research question 4)
Probes: professional development, specialized data, reports, etc.
6. Is the studied school typical of other schools in the district in terms of
improvement of student achievement? (research question 1, indirectly)
Probe: how?
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161
7. At a minimum, what specific leadership practices and responsibilities would
you expect principals to use as a means of improving academic improvement?
(research questions 1-3)
8. How do you, as a district administrator, support academic improvement efforts
at schools? (research question 4)
9. What problems have you seen schools run into in trying to improve academic
achievement? (research question 1)
10. Is there anything else you think might be making a difference/helping to raise
test scores at the studied school? (research question 1, indirectly)
11. What do you see as the next steps for the district to support schools’ academic
improvement efforts? (research question 4)
12. What advice would you have for other district administrators about how they
might support academic improvement efforts at school sites? (research
question 4)
Note: the interview will conclude with the interviewer thanking the participant for
his/her time and valuable input.
Research Questions
Cross-references of interview questions with the four research questions:
1. What did the principal do to turn the school around and achieve improvement of
student achievement over time?
2. What leadership strategies and practices were used to improve and sustain
improvement in student achievement?
3. What is the belief system that is the basis for the leadership strategies and
practices used to improve and sustain improvement in student achievement?
4. What kinds of internal and external support facilitated or impeded the
improvement and sustaining of student achievement?
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Owoaje, Francisca O. (author)

Core Title A case study of a principal's transformation of a high poverty urban school

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

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

Tag education, administration,education, elementary,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Datnow, Amanda (committee chair), Colbert, Joel (committee member), Mafi, Gabriella (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-425202

Unique identifier UC11336992

Identifier 3233801.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-425202 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3233801.pdf

Dmrecord 425202

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Owoaje, Francisca O.

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 au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA