Running Head: CASE STUDY- SHAPING SCHOOL CULTURE 1

Case Study: Shaping School Culture

Donna Meda

Grand Canyon University: EAD 529

May 5th, 2021

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Part 1: Case Analysis

1. Brief summary of the case
I’ve been hired as the principal of a “D”-accountability labeled middle school
with grades 4th-8th. Our school is going through a tough time as student behavior
increases while student achievement decreases. We have 700 students were most
of them come from lower-income families. The majority number of students are
Hispanic, but we also have the largest African American population in the district.
Our staff consists of 33 full-time general education teachers, one full-time special
education teacher, and one gifted education teacher. We need to hire at least seven
more teachers across all grades. To continue, I must review the student
achievement data, the SIP, discipline data, teacher observations, and other
previous principal files that were left behind.
2. Identify the issues to be resolved
I can already tell teacher motivation will be something I will have to work on as I
also think about ways to raise student achievement and lower behavioral issues,
so we can build a positive school culture together.
3. Stakeholders involved in the issues
Principal
Vice Principal (if applicable)
Administrative Team including District
Teachers and other staff members
Parents
Students
Community Members
4. One or two existing laws or court rulings that relate to the issues
Arizona Revised Statutes Title 15. Education § 15-843. Pupil disciplinary
proceedings

5. District policies that relate to the issues

Student Behavior Policy
Student Behaviors That Require Administrative Action
Violations of Local, State, or Federal Law
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
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Disciplinary Decisions and Potential Consequences

(Sonoran Science Academy-Peoria, 2020)
6. Possible solutions to the issues
 Discipline Committee made up of teachers from each grade-level and
principal; Discipline Policy
 Extracurricular Activities that Promote Diversity
 Mentoring Program; Teacher-Student or Student-Student
 Professional Development for Teachers and other Staff Members on SIP;
Update SIP
 Parent-School Staff Committee
 Hiring Teachers with Discipline Experience
 Vision and Mission Committee
7. The solutions chosen to resolve the issues and 8. Action steps (2-5) for implementing
each solution, including a timeline for each step
All the Above (#6)
In July, I would start by creating a leadership committee with veteran teachers
interested in participating in the hiring process of new teachers with discipline
experience. Then, with this leadership committee, we would find ways to revisit
and possibly recreate the vision and mission statements of our school in case they
didn’t relate or reflect with our student body and our goals for our students. I
would look through the School Improvement Plan and see where we need
professional development on immediately before the school year starts. As a
principal, I must ensure my teachers feel prepared and are ready to start the school
year successfully. At the same time, I would start communicating with district to
see how the funds will be distributed and how much is available for professional
development opportunities for our staff. I would start scheduling professional
development on our master calendar. I would also make a few updates to the SIP
by adding extracurricular activities that promote diversity within our students,
ensure our curriculum is up to date, and we have all the materials necessary, and a
discipline committee to make updates to our school’s handbook so students and
parents know about our new systems before they are required to sign documents.
9. Potential moral and legal consequences of each solution
Student behavioral issues might be because of many reasons such as bullying,
class interruptions, vandalism, etc. This is the reason why it is important to make
changes around the school systems. Having a discipline committee is necessary
for this reason and not only to ensure the bad behaviors are accounted for, but for
the good behaviors to be accounted for, too. Having parents sign the new policies
on the handbook and getting them involved will unite the parents with the staff.
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Students need to see that involvement happening. The curriculum must be

updated and of course, with new curriculum comes professional development
opportunities for teachers to build their capacity. The legal consequences that I
see would be students reaching their point of expulsion considering the school
might have a zero tolerance policy.
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Part 2: Rationale
The school where I’m a new principal at has a reputation of being a “tough” school for

being rated as a “D” middle school with grades 4th through 8th. Many areas need improvement

such as student achievement and a new discipline system is needed. The school has gone through

14 different administrators and has a total of 700 culturally diverse students, 33 full-time general

education teachers, one full-time special education teacher, and one gifted education teacher.

As the new principal with such a challenge, I’d make sure to start with creating a

leadership committee that would help me in the hiring process of our new seven teachers. Having

a system that consists of our veteran teachers, teachers that know exactly how our school is and

what our school is lacking will help me identify the teachers that we need. For example, we need

teachers with ideas on a productive discipline committee that will ensure students are following

the policies, receive consequences and praises as needed, and behave according to our school’s

vision and mission. Will we have teachers applying considering we’re a tough school? We

might, but the key is to be positive, optimistic, and share a good word within our community to

attract those teachers. Revising the vision and mission with my leadership team and any new

teachers will ensure it remains updated according to our student body and sets goals that pertain

our students. The vision and mission are the most important tools thus far, so we must ensure

that they’re positive and envision the goals we want to see accomplished by our students. “A step

wise approach can be helpful for developing a vision, starting by contemplating your purpose in

the context of a positive future full of possibilities” (Martin, Ankel, Hemphill, Heron,

Khandelwal, Merritt, Westergaard, & Santen, 2018). These statements will help every

stakeholder stay focused on the success of our students.

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The School Improvement Plan must also be looked at and updated with improvements

needed for the success of our teachers and our students. A discipline committee, strong

leadership committee, extracurricular activities that promote diversity, a mentoring program, a

parent-staff committee, and enough professional development topics are a few projects I would

have in mind as I start my principal role in this school. The extracurricular activities that support

diversity will ensure that our culturally diverse students feel welcomed and feel encouraged to

continue to learn about different cultures, especially those that build our school’s culture overall.

Not only extracurricular activities, but events such as International Food Night or Around the

World can motivate students and make them feel comfortable of being at our school. The

communication between parents and school would need to increase greatly. One way to make

sure this is happening, would be to create the parent-staff committee here parents will be able to

voice their opinions and ideas. Their input matters and will make the school a better place for

their children.

Last, but not least, professional development for teachers on the existing curriculum or

new curriculum programs. Knowing that these teachers have seen 14 administrators come and go

is heartbreaking. As the new principal, I will ensure my staff of 35+ teachers feel successful by

being trained on the programs and strategies they need. Students might be misbehaving because

they don’t understand what they’re being taught by their teachers. Most of the time, it’s not their

teachers’ fault. It’s just that their teachers don’t know exactly how to teach the curriculum for

many reasons. So, as a principal, I need to make sure I’m really working on the foundations

instead or working on the wrong “problems.” The foundation would be to start working on

helping my teachers succeed by building on their capacity by training them and allow them time

to collaborate and share ideas and experiences. “Connections with peers helped to inspire and
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prevent professional isolation, as well as build resilience for inevitable classroom/clinical

practice challenges that would otherwise have negatively impacted teaching, student learning

experiences, and sustained profession partnerships” (Webb, Wong, Hubball, 2013). When all

these areas are worked on, the culture of the school overall will be positive where all

stakeholders including our students will feel happy, welcomed, and successful. Having a positive

mindset as a principal will help my staff, students, and their parents trust me in bringing our

school to be successful.
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References:
Martin, D. R., Ankel, F., Hemphill, R. R., Heron, S., Khandelwal, S., Merritt, C., Westergaard,

M., & Santen, S. A. (2018). Creating a Vision for Education Leadership. The western

journal of emergency medicine, 19(1), 165–168.

https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.11.35301

Sonoran Science Academy-Peoria. (2020). Student Behavior Policy. Sonoran

Science Academy-Peoria Student and Parent Handbook, 2020-2021.

Webb, Andrea S.; Wong, Tracy J.; Hubball, Harry T. (2013). International Journal of Teaching

and Learning in Higher Education, v25 n2 p231-238 2013