Running head: WEBSTER CASE

CASE STUDY on Webster Elementary School

Klaressa L. Howery
Oakland University

Author Note
This case study was prepared for EA 754: Human Resource Management, Section 901,
taught by Dr. Caryn Wells.

WEBSTER CASE

1) How do you guide the principal to assess the staff? What are your
conclusions about this school?
A. Be visible. Conduct power walkthroughs to get a sense of what is
happening in each classroom. These interactions will allow you to
discuss real events that are timely which should be useful in helping
the teacher to develop goals for their classroom. It will also give the
principal a chance to identify strengths of their staff and celebrate
successes.
B. Help the new principal access state and local assessment data (MEAP
and/or NWEA student growth data) from teachers former students to
identify strengths and any trends that may show areas of concern.
C. Conduct one-on-one conversations with staff keeping in mind that
these are the individuals that you will be working with to change to
direction of the school. Ask teachers about their passions and what
they need from the principal.
D. Invite teachers to share some exciting and/or interesting projects that
you notice during your walkthroughs or conversations. Invite them to
publish them in the halls to show pride in student work and help
eliminate the dark, and uninspired hallways.
E. Share a copy of the article, A 4-Step Process for Identifying and
Reshaping School Culture by Cletus R. Bulach (2001) and ask that the
principal if conducting an Expectations Diagnosis would be helpful.
Inform the principal that this will give her insight to what type of
leadership the faculty prefers. The next step will then be to develop a
set of rules and expectations that the faculty wishes to be governed by

WEBSTER CASE

which will make these unspoken norms public. Step one in this
process helps principals identify and reshape their schools existing
culture through listening and building trust. Listening conveys that the
opinions of the faculty are important which will begin building trust
within teacher/administrator relationships.
F. Share this quote from the article cited below with the new principal.
The best leaders are women and men who have first-class training,
bright minds, warm hearts, a passionate embrace of their mission, a
strong connection to their colleagues and communities, and the
courage to be open to what is here. (Marturano, 2014)
*After reading through the Webster Elementary case study, it brought to
mind the following conclusions about this school. The veteran staff, which
can typically be an asset, are in need of a strong leader that can revitalize
the schools mission, vision, and beliefs so the needs of all current students
can be met. With the recent plant closings, the strain of lost income for
families creates stress within the families which in turn, carries over to the
students. Websters parents would benefit from support as well. The general
appearance of their school is uninviting and there is a rift between the staff
and parents/students. The culture of the school is in need of immediate
attention.
2) What are the questions you would ask the principal to get her to think
about improving the effectiveness of the staff? What evidence would

WEBSTER CASE

you use to help this principal realistically and fairly look for teacher
improvement?
A. Ask the principal what her vision, mission, and goals are for Webster
Elementary. What are your individual beliefs that relate to student
success and what is needed to achieve this success in the classroom?
B. How can a shared vision motivate your staff to engage in continuous
improvement for their classes? Webster Elementary school as a whole?
C. During your walkthroughs, what positive interactions have you
observed that could be used as building blocks for change?
D. During your one-on-one conversations, what were some common
themes that you heard from the staff? Do you think it would be helpful
to publish them/communicate them to all staff? Which one issue could
you run to/focus on first? With student behavior issues being a
concern, would a school wide focus such as PBIS (positive behavior
intervention support) work for you and your staff?
E. What are some of your ideas to collaboratively develop a positive
culture that will promote student growth and improve the school
climate? How can you communicate the need for staff members to
share their voice in this process? Parent voices? Student voices?
F. How will you use successes and acknowledge failures to continue
change efforts toward continuous school improvement?
*The principal will need evidence that can be used to help her determine
teacher improvement. As an HR director, it would be important that the
principal review the current teacher district evaluation tool so there is a deep
understanding of teacher expectations. To give this principal a realistic view,

WEBSTER CASE

I would assist her by obtaining school data that measures academic goals
and behavioral infractions. This would be the baseline data that would be
used to make decisions on what is working and where areas of concern lie.
These data would be used again for comparisons to measure improvement
and surveys to gain perceptions from other stakeholders would be initiated.
Upon finding areas of improvement, no matter how small, a celebration this
accomplishment would ensue.
3) What kinds of staff development would you suggest she initiate for this
school year?
*English Language learners are now part of the fabric of Webster
Elementary. These students bring specific challenges to the learning
environment. Teachers need to develop strategies in order to ensure
growth for this population as well. SIOP (sheltered instructional
observation protocol) is a research based tool that helps meet ELL
students needs and improve academic English in all content areas.
*A school-wide behavioral intervention and support system is needed
to focus on positive behaviors to minimize the disruptive behaviors
(fights, pushing, backtalking in the classroom, name-calling) that
Webster is currently experiencing. This professional development
would foster conversations among colleagues that focus on positive
initiatives that increase motivation among students to behave
appropriately in classrooms, hallways, lunchroom, and playground. By

WEBSTER CASE

reducing behavioral infractions, instructional time would increase

which would lead to improved academic progress.
*I would also suggest that staff have high quality professional learning
opportunities by implementing a job-embedded professional
development system. Teaching practices and learning is directly
impacted by using this approach. Teachers would be able to choose
from different formats which allows them to focus on areas that are
relevant to their needs. The job-embedded structure would also help to
facilitate collaboration by working with a mentor or coach, small group
of professionals at grade level for example, and/or application of
literature based on best practices. This would set a foundation for
further collaboration on future initiatives and help unlock the doors
of isolation.
4) How will you help this principal understand the parents and
community? What importance will you place on working with the
parents?
*Many of the parents are former students of Webster Elementary. Therefore,
they have a history with the district and could allow the principal to see her
school through another lens. By inviting these stakeholders to be a part of a
focus group, the principal is taking time to forge a parent/community
connection. These parent coffees can be used to gather specific needs that
the principal can then prioritize and address. This may lead to more leverage
in the future especially since there is a need for a millage to pass in order to

WEBSTER CASE

provide their children and their community with the resources needed for the
21st century learner.
*Working with the parents also helps you to reach the child. It surrounds the
child with caring adults that are on the same page. Since there is also a
request from parents to become involved in your schools, it is important that
the principal embrace this through PTC for example, which will provide ongoing communication and feedback as action plans are carried out.

5) What are the landmine issues for which you will warn the principal?
What are the cautions?
A) When conducting the expectations diagnosis discussed in
question one, make sure that the staff does this activity using a
spontaneous approach during a staff meeting. If teachers have a
whole day to develop expectations, the results may be skewed
toward what the teachers think the principal wants to hear. (Bulach,
2001)
B) It is great for the principal to be excited about her new hires (the
recent EL teachers and Special Education teachers). However, it is
important that she doesnt put them on a pedestal for the
experienced teachers to aspire too. Your goal is to unite the staff,
not divide it by inadvertently communicating a new staff vs
experienced staff scenario.

WEBSTER CASE

6) Create a success rubric along with this principal. What indicators would
you look for and with what timeline? (Created using Fullan, 2006)
ACTION

WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE

BY WHEN?

EVIDENCE OF
SUCCESS

Clear, Focused
Vision
Communicated to
Stakeholders

Webster Principal

Before winter
break-December

Vision, mission,
beliefs are posted
in classrooms and
throughout the
school. Parents,
teachers, and
students can
articulate this
vision.

School Wide
Comprehensive
Plan for Behavior

District level
funding, Webster
Principal and
Staff

End of 1st yearJune

PBIS
implemented in
classrooms and
begin hallways
(two areas of
need cited in
case study).
Reduction in
incident report
data.

School Wide
Comprehensive
Plan for
Academics

District level
funding, Webster
Principal and
Teachers

On-going, end of
the year

Local
assessments
such as NWEA
and/or Dibels for
first year since
state test (MEAP)
would have been
given in October
before SIOP
training.
Outcomes of job-

WEBSTER CASE

9
embedded
formats such as
action research,
case discussions,
and coaching
results from
teachers would
provide evidence
of what
works/does not.

Using Data to
Inform Instruction
& Determine
Resources

Webster Principal
and empower
staff by giving
access to data
that can be used
to show need for
further resources.

On-going,
monitor through
quarterly
conversations
between principal
& teacher(s).

Formative
assessments,
examples of
student work,
professional
journal/portfolio.

Administrator and
Teacher Capacity
to Teach Literacy
for All Students

All teachers,
Webster
principal, Central
office support
w/resource
allocation.

SIOP training
would be
completed by the
end of semester
one-January.

Administrator
would be able to
communicate and
recognize best
practices for
teaching literacy.
Teacher will show
evidence of best
practice for
teaching literacy
in lesson plans.
Staff meetings
and small group
meeting (future
PLCs) minutes
reflect evidence
of literacy
components.

Establish
Professional
Learning

Webster Principal

On-going,
informal through
1st year

Time allocated for

PLCs in district
calendar.

WEBSTER CASE
Communities
(PLCs)

10
supported by jobembedded PD. At
the start of year
two, a more
formal structure.

Protocols and
reporting
procedures that
show meeting
focus. Begin to
connect w/other
buildings (ie.
grade levels) in
district.

7) What do you feel are the most serious challenges to moving forward
and how would you help the principal?
The principal at Webster Elementary is beginning a dance in the rain and
will need support to keep from drowning. In emotion-charged situations,
many leaders identify with what Mr. Jerome T. Murphy calls the reactive-self.
As the districts human resource director, I will need to impart to the new
principal to embrace the fact that there is no leading, without bleeding. By
identifying with a balanced-self, she will better equip herself to no longer feel
a desperate need to escape discomfort-or over react-because these
uncomfortable feelings will no longer define who she is. (Murphy,2011)
Currently, Webster Elementary schools climate is stormy. The principal
needs to be the calm in the eye of the storm as she leads and inspires
others to make environmental changes. Daniel Goldman identified six
common leadership styles and explained how each style affects an
organizations climate. Visionary, coaching, democratic, and afflictive

WEBSTER CASE

11

leadership styles, help create a positive climate in which people feel

energized to do their best (Goldman, 2006). This will demand that the new
Principal is able to utilize these different leadership styles as Websters
meteorologist, while leading others through this in-climate weather.
The tone of those interactions is largely shaped by the schools culture-the
unspoken norms, habits, and traditions that influence how people behave. To
shape a socially intelligent culture, school leaders may need to change
norms, starting with their own behavior (Goldman, 2006). Further, it is
important that your new principal is coached to understand that improving
culture is on-going which makes these challenges more of a journey than a
destination.

WEBSTER CASE

12
References

Bulach, C., (2001) A 4-step process for identifying and reshaping school
culture. Principal

leadership, (April 2001), 48-51.

Fullan, M., (2006) Change theory: A force for school improvement. Center for
Strategic Education, 157(November 2006).
Goleman, D., (2002) Leading resonant teams. Leader to Leader, 25(Summer
2002), 24-30.
Goleman, D., (2006) The socially intelligent. Educational Leadership,
(September 2006), 76-81.
Maruturano, J., (2014) Finding the space to lead: A practical guide to mindful
leadership. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
Murphy, J., (2011) Dancing in the rain: Tips on thriving as a leader in tough
times. The Phi Delta Kappan, (September 2011), 36-41.

WEBSTER CASE

13

WEBSTER CASE

14

WEBSTER CASE

15

WEBSTER CASE

16

WEBSTER CASE

17

WEBSTER CASE

18