See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/333224591

Early Career Teacher Struggles: An Administrator’s

Influence on Retention

Article in Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership · May 2019

DOI: 10.1177/1555458919849453

CITATIONS READS

0 111

1 author:

James Martinez
University of Tennessee
8 PUBLICATIONS 16 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by James Martinez on 05 August 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

849453
case-report2019
JELXXX10.1177/1555458919849453Journal of Cases in Educational LeadershipMartinez

Case
Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership

Early Career Teacher

1­–14
© 2019 The University Council
for Educational Administration
Struggles: An Administrator’s Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
Influence on Retention DOI: 10.1177/1555458919849453
https://doi.org/10.1177/1555458919849453
journals.sagepub.com/home/jel

James A. Martinez1

Abstract
Rebecca Ashe, a first-year mathematics teacher at North Hills High School, considered
herself well-prepared after her university preparation. She is energetic and dedicated
to her students, providing real-world examples in her classes from past experiences
as an engineer. After 3 months in the classroom, however, Rebecca had become
disheartened and exhausted. Moreover, Rebecca felt her school principal, Andy
Anderson, had provided only superficial support. This case study explores obstacles
that early career teachers face and asks readers to consider strategies that school
administrators can employ to support these teachers. This case is suited for use in
administrative preparation courses, specifically those focusing on human resources,
evaluation, leadership, and supervision.

Keywords
leadership, retention, evaluation

Case Narrative
A New Emphasis
Andy Anderson was a student-athlete, teacher, assistant principal, football coach, and
now principal at North Hills High School. His father had served in the facilities depart-
ment at the school for 22 years, retiring the year before Andy was hired as a physical
education teacher. Andy’s mother was a homemaker, but served on the school parent–
teacher association (PTA) for all the years Andy and his siblings were in high school,
and still dropped off homemade, baked treats to the front office each week, to the

1The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Corresponding Author:
James A. Martinez, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 315 Bailey Education Complex, 1126
Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996-3430, USA.
Email: jmart176@utk.edu
2 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

delight of Andy and his colleagues. Outside of his college years, Andy had lived in the
North Hills community, now only a few blocks from the school, in a three-bedroom
cottage with his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
Currently in his fifth year as principal, Andy felt that he was reaching his stride
professionally, working with his staff and teachers to implement policies and proce-
dures that were endorsed by the school board and district office or promoted from
within the school to best serve the interests of all school constituents. Andy also
instituted a structured, faculty mentoring program at the school, pairing veteran
teachers with novice teachers in their first year at the school. The program was very
well received and highlighted in a school district’s online webpage entitled “School
Success Story.” The school had achieved the “highest rating” by the most recent
accreditation committee, so Andy felt he could finally “let up on the pedal a bit” after
4 years of committed service. Circumstances, however, would conspire against Mr.
Anderson’s plans.
At the beginning of the school year, Mr. Anderson received news from the super-
intendent that, of the four high schools in the district, North Hills High School had
suspended or expelled far more students, as a percentage of the whole student body,
than the other high schools. The superintendent asked Andy what was contributing
to this statistic, and after a brief internal investigation, Andy responded by stating
that there were an inordinate number of teacher referrals for classroom disturbances,
which ultimately led to these disciplinary actions. The superintendent asked Andy to
work with his teachers to implement “progressive” discipline policies and proce-
dures, which aspired to reduce these referrals, and free up site administrators to
communicate with parents of students demonstrating more serious behavior issues.
The superintendent reminded Andy that when he (the superintendent) was a teacher,
“students only spoke when spoken to” and that “noisy classrooms are a sign the
teacher is not in control.” Andy worked with his staff and teachers to implement
more strict, in-class, disciplinary procedures and told them that, as a response to the
district mandate, classroom management would take on a greater emphasis in the
teachers’ evaluations.

Born to Teach
Rebecca Ashe was born into a family of teachers—her father was a high school English
teacher, her mother was a middle school physical education teacher, and her only other
sibling, Chloe, taught fourth grade in a public, elementary school located across the
street from their childhood home. Although always having a great deal of respect for
the teaching profession during her early schooling, Rebecca was urged to pursue an
engineering degree after excelling in mathematics and science in high school. After
scoring in the top 1% of all U. S. ninth-grade students on the Preliminary Standardized
Aptitude Test (PSAT), Rebecca’s father told her she should consider being “more than
just a teacher.” Rebecca wanted to stay close to home for college, so she completed her
mechanical engineering degree at a local, 4-year public university, earning summa
cum laude honors.
Martinez 3

Upon graduation, Rebecca was offered a position as a systems engineer at Hobart

Industries, located 30 miles from her home. While working at Hobart, Rebecca’s
supervisor saw she was very adept at using computer languages (i.e., JavaScript,
C++) and recommended that she earn some extra money by teaching courses in com-
puter programming to other employees in the company in an after-hours program.
Rebecca took her supervisor’s advice, and soon found teaching these classes were the
best part of her day, working with her colleagues as they became more proficient with
computer programming. She could see how her natural enthusiasm was positively
affecting her “pupils.” Her work as an instructor not only increased her pay, but also
provided needed contrast to the isolative work Rebecca performed at her desk during
the regular work day, compiling engineering statistics for technical reports. To balance
her professional life, Rebecca joined a local athletics club where she took stationary
cycling classes in the mornings before work.
After 18 months at Hobart, Rebecca received a call from her sister, Chloe, and was
asked if she would agree to give a presentation about careers in engineering for women
at her kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school’s Science & Technology Night, to be held
in 3 weeks. Chloe told Rebecca that she would be assisted by a group of middle school
honors students in the weeks leading up to the event. After some hesitation, Rebecca
agreed and met with four students once a week until the event to design an engaging
demonstration. These meetings became more and more enjoyable as Rebecca felt
more and more at ease with her group of teen-age students, laughing at their middle
school stories. At the end of the last preparatory session, Rebecca felt sad that the ses-
sions had ended, having enjoyed their shared experience. As Rebecca met with the
students in Chloe’s classroom, her sister also witnessed these positive interactions and
told her sister that she was a “natural” with middle school students.
At the event, Rebecca’s presentation was a huge success, mainly because had
involved her students so thoroughly in the demonstration. At the end of the presenta-
tion, the students presented Rebecca with a Lego™ trophy and a handcrafted, signed
note telling Rebecca how much they appreciated learning from her. The gesture
touched Rebecca deeply. The principal of the school attended the presentation, thanked
Rebecca afterward and mentioned that a few middle school parents had expressed
their gratitude for the wonderful work done by their student’s “engineer mentor.” The
principal ended their conversation by saying jokingly, “If you ever want to switch
careers and be a math or science teacher, you have a job here.” For the next few weeks,
Rebecca returned from Hobart Industries and admired her Lego™ trophy and thank
you note, placed prominently on her the faux mantle she had purchased for her
townhome.
As far as her work at Hobart Industries, Rebecca continued to be energized by her
nightly programming classes, but she grew increasingly tired of the mundane, repeti-
tive work during the regular workday. She asked her supervisor if there were other
opportunities at Hobart that included more interactions with colleagues, and less desk
work. He replied by stating that more dynamic roles, such as project management, had
traditionally been reserved for engineers who had “put in their years” at the company.
“It takes about 5-10 years before we move junior engineers into these positions,” were
4 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

the words he used to characterize the situation. One night, Rebecca found herself look-
ing up requirements on the computer for earning a teaching credential at her university
alma mater. She was surprised to discover that many of the prerequisites would be
waived from her undergraduate work, and if she enrolled in classes and student teach-
ing on a full-time basis, she could earn a single-subject, secondary-level teaching cre-
dential in just 15 months.

A New Direction
After talking with her sister, parents and a few friends, Rebecca decided to leave her
engineering job and programming teaching to enroll in the teacher preparation pro-
gram at her alma mater. She told her friends that she only had one chance to “make a
difference” in the lives of local teens. Still US$5,000 in debt from her undergraduate
loans and recent purchases, she posted a flyer in the middle school wing of her sister’s
school, offering tutoring services. She was surprised by the large response and set up
a schedule that worked well with her credentialing classes, tutoring each evening and
on weekends. After a year of living on a tight budget, Rebecca completed her prereq-
uisite and methods classes, as well as her student teaching at North Hills High School.
She especially enjoyed her student teaching placement with her mentor teacher. Mrs.
Agee, who taught mostly pre-calculus and calculus to juniors and seniors. These stu-
dents responded particularly well to Rebecca’s connections between the mathematics
they were learning and real-world applications that served her at Hobart.
Although she only briefly interacted with Principal Anderson, he stopped her in the
office one late spring afternoon and asked her about her plans for the upcoming school
year. Rebecca was surprised by his interest in her career aspirations, and told him that
she was considering applying for a middle school position to replace a retired mathe-
matics teacher at her sister’s middle school. Mr. Anderson responded by saying,
“Before you commit to anything, would you at least consider interviewing with us,
here at North Hills High?” He told her that, if she ultimately was hired, he could ask
Mrs. Agee if she would agree to be her mentor. Rebecca thanked him and felt honored
to have his confidence. The next week, she agreed to an interview with him and the
mathematics department chair, Joe Soto.
When Rebecca arrived at the interview, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Soto, and Mrs. Agee
were seated around a table. Mr. Soto told Rebecca that the position in consideration
would be a full-time appointment with some additional duties, such a club advising or
coaching. The interview went very well, as Rebecca answered questions about teach-
ing strategies with students with specialized learning needs, comfort with standardized
assessments, ability to collaborate with other teachers, and eagerness to support school
clubs and athletics. The interviewing committee members were enthusiastic and posi-
tively responded to her answers. At the end of the interview, Mr. Soto asked whether
Rebecca had any questions for the committee. Rebecca asked which courses she might
be expected to teach, and Mr. Anderson responded that these decisions would be made
in the middle of the summer when accurate enrollment information would be avail-
able. Rebecca left the meeting feeling optimistic about her chances in getting the job
Martinez 5

and reminded herself of the fruitful experiences working with Mrs. Agee and the stu-
dents at North Hills High.
The next afternoon, Rebecca received a phone call from Mr. Anderson who
informed her that the position in the mathematics department at North Hills High
School was hers if she wanted it. Rebecca thanked Mr. Anderson and let him know
how that she would need a day to consider the offer. Five minutes after she hung up
with Mr. Anderson, Rebecca was on the phone with her sister, telling her the good
news and asking if the middle school position was still available. Chloe told her that
the opening had not yet been posted for the position at the middle school. After a day
to consider her options, Rebecca decided “a bird in the hand” was better than waiting
on a job at her sister’s school, and soon was in the front office at North Hills High
signing the employment contract with Mr. Anderson’s administrative assistant.

Teaching and More

A few months later, Rebecca received her keys to her classroom and was soon at work
arranging the desks in groups of four to encourage collaborative learning. Mrs. Agee
came over to visit for a few minutes, and said she looked forward to continuing to sup-
port her with anything she needed. After a fruitful year of collaboration during her
student teaching, Rebecca was excited that Mrs. Agee would continue to serve as her
mentor. “I am so lucky,” Rebecca thought to herself, “to have her classroom right next
to mine.” Later, Mr. Soto stopped in to officially welcome her to the department, ask-
ing if there was anything he could do to help. He then informed Rebecca that she had
been assigned to teach a standard load of six classes, three freshman Integrated
Mathematics I (IM1) classes and three Focus on algebra (FOA) classes for students
who had either failed IM1 during their freshman year or been identified as “lower
achieving” in eighth grade by their middle school counselors. Rebecca was also
assigned as the Girls Who Code (GWC) club advisor and assistant coach on the
school’s coed ultimate Frisbee team. Finally, Mr. Soto told Rebecca that she would,
like all other teachers at North Hills High, supervise students on a rotating basis who
were required to attend “Saturday School” because of disciplinary or attendance
infractions. As Rebecca was taking this information in, she slowly lowered herself into
one of the student desks, eyes glazed in a stare across her classroom. Mr. Soto could
see it was quite a bit for Rebecca to take in, so he leaned over her desk and said,
“Sounds like a lot, I know, but we all get through our first year just fine . . . I’ll bring
your teacher’s editions over later this afternoon.” He then departed, with Rebecca still
staring blankly across the classroom.
Rebecca’s first weeks as a full-time teacher, advisor, and coach went by in a blur.
She woke each weekday morning at 5:45 a.m. to pack a lunch and get to the athletics
club for a half-hour cycling class, then showered, dressed, and grabbed a quick break-
fast to make it to North Hills High at 7:30 a.m. per union contract. Before classes
started a half-hour later, Rebecca responded to email messages and made copies.
During part of her 45-min lunch, Rebecca worked with her GWC club students, a
group of mostly juniors and seniors who had a love for computer programming. As
6 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

soon as she finished her last class at 3:15 p.m., she was out on the lower practice fields,
helping the head coach with the 30 student-athletes who had joined the ultimate
Frisbee team. Practice ended at 5:30 p.m. and Rebecca was home by 6:15 p.m. to pre-
pare dinner and begin her planning and grading for the next day’s classes. Most nights
she fell asleep, half propped up in her bed with the television on and student papers
strewn across her lap.
After 2 weeks, she discontinued attending her cycling classes to get a bit more
sleep. Although she was enjoying bringing “math to life” each day, Rebecca’s classes
were more challenging than she anticipated, especially the FOA classes. The students
in these classes were generally unmotivated as a result of years of defeated experi-
ences in past mathematics classrooms. Rebecca tried to compensate for their lack of
enthusiasm by incorporating dynamic hands-on activities, such as using plastic weight
scales that helped her students understand how to balance equations. Even with these
activities, a number of students began to misbehave in class, texting on their cell
phones under their desks and bursting out in laughter in small groups when Rebecca
was attending to another group’s activity.
Once, after Rebecca had warned a student a number of times to stay on task, he said
under his breath, “What do you expect from me, you b****.” Rebecca was shocked
and asked the young man to pack up his belongings and head to the principal’s office.
She called the office upon his departure to inform them that the student was on his
way, and resumed her work with the class. Ten minutes later, an assistant principal
returned with the student, saying that the two of them had a discussion and that the
student promised to not disrupt the class for the remainder of the period. The student
set down his backpack and slumped down in his desk with his head lowered. Rebecca
was surprised that there was no formal apology from the student, her stomach turning
each time she glanced over at him. Near the end of the class, a female student com-
mented to Rebecca, “why doesn’t he (the disciplined student) have to do anything, and
we do?” After the end of class bell sounded, Rebecca moved toward the young man to
see if she could talk about what happened, but he pulled his baseball cap down over
his forehead and quickly exited the classroom. In 5 min, Rebecca was teaching the
next class, her stomach still in knots.
At the end of her last class, Rebecca stopped by Mrs. Agee’s classroom. Although
she wanted to share what had happened earlier that day, she was reticent to do so as she
wanted her mentor to feel that she was the right person for the job. Rebecca and Mrs.
Agee exchanged some small talk until Rebecca realized she was late for ultimate
Frisbee practice, and rushed out, thanking Mrs. Agee for her overall support.

Reaching Out
A majority of Rebecca’s FOA students turned in less than half of their assigned home-
work, prompting her to contact parents about her concerns. Many of her email com-
munications were unanswered or resulted in incorrect addresses, so Rebecca began
making phone calls in the evenings. About half of these calls resulted in her leaving
voicemail messages, without follow-up responses. When she did reach a parent, they
Martinez 7

were generally very understanding of Rebecca’s concerns, but apologized that they
had little time to assist their students with their homework, while taking on two or
more jobs and supervising the students’ siblings at home. Many of the FOA parents
were either single parents or foster parent couples. The phone calls were becoming
more time-consuming, affecting Rebecca’s lesson preparation and grading time. Soon
she was returning graded papers to her students 3 weeks after they had been turned in.
As the initial weeks passed, Rebecca found she was losing track of which weekday
it was, but looked forward to Friday and Saturday nights, where she slept 12 to 14
hours without turning over in her bed. Halfway through the first semester, the ulti-
mate Frisbee team began competing against other teams, so Rebecca began to travel
to these matches as well, sometimes requiring half of her day on Saturdays. On the
days she was not coaching, Rebecca supervised Saturday school, trading days with
other teachers to ensure she met this obligation and was available for Ultimate Frisbee
events. On Sunday nights, Rebecca joined her parents and sister for dinner at her
childhood home, receiving words of encouragement that seemed to bolster her confi-
dence for the upcoming week. “It would get easier,” they said, “just hang in there.”
Rebecca’s GWC club was always a refreshing group to work with, motivated, and
well-mannered. Rebecca enjoyed working with them so much that many times she
left her lunch half-eaten.
One late afternoon as she was teaching her last class of the day, Rebecca was at the
front of her classroom when her vision became blurry and her legs felt unstable. She
dropped the dry erase marker from her hand and upon bending down to retrieve it, felt
as if she was going to fall down, so she quickly grabbed the edge of her desk and used
her arms to support herself, migrating around the desk and ultimately sitting down in
her chair. She could very faintly hear a few of her students asking if she was feeling
alright. Moments later, Rebecca lifted her head to see Mrs. Agee’s face come into
focus. Mrs. Agee, who had come in at a student’s urging from the adjoining classroom,
broke the seal on a water bottle on Rebecca’s desk and helped her drink. After a few
more gulps of water, Rebecca began to regain her alertness and, after an embarrassing
apology to Mrs. Agee and the students for their concern, returned to teaching. At the
end of the period, Rebecca looked over at her desk and saw that her lunch bag had not
yet been opened.

Administrative Oversight
Implementing stricter classroom management policies was more difficult than
Principal Anderson expected. Some veteran teachers resisted strongly, and felt the new
procedures “got the assistant principals ‘off the hook.’” Some of the veteran teachers
were openly criticizing the new classroom discipline policies to their early career men-
tees, causing even more concern for Principal Anderson. In addition, as many of the
veteran teachers were politically tied to district office administrators, including the
superintendent as well as many of the school board members, Mr. Anderson focused a
great deal of energy assisting veteran teachers at North Hills High with the new class-
room management procedures, leaving less time to support his novice teachers. It was
8 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

just before winter break when Principal Anderson finally had the opportunity to stop
by and visit Rebecca’s classroom for about 5 min at the end of one of her classes. On
his way out at the end of class, Principal Anderson asked her what teaching standard
she chose to focus on during her first year. She thought for a moment and replied with
“classroom management.” Moving down the hall, he gave her a “thumbs up” sign and
later emailed her to arrange a formal observation of one of her classes. As Rebecca felt
there was no substantive feedback given during this initial visit, she was eager to have
Principal Anderson take a deeper look. She spent an entire weekend designing her les-
son—preparing the materials and adjusting some of the components based on her sis-
ter’s recommendations. On the day of Principal Anderson’s visit, Rebecca was nervous,
feeling a bit overheated and tugging on the neckline of her blouse. When the beginning
of class bell rang, however, Mr. Anderson was nowhere to be seen. Rebecca waited 5
min as the students became increasingly fidgety and talkative, and checked her calen-
dar to make sure she had not made a mistake.
Having no other indication when Mr. Anderson would arrive, Rebecca started into
the introduction of her lesson. Mr. Anderson joined the class about 10 min late, burst-
ing through the door and mouthing “I’m sorry” to Rebecca as he took an empty seat in
the rear of the classroom. He took out a clipboard and clicked his pen a few times
before looking up. The students were inspecting a hand-drawn picture projected onto
the dry erase board showing three skier’s paths down a mountain pass. Each skier’s
slope was labeled with a capital letter, and Rebecca had purposely not included a grid
behind the picture. After answering some initial questions, Rebecca asked the students
to get into their pre-established groups and discuss which of the skiers had the steepest
slope, based on the information provided, and what additional tools would be helpful
in determining their estimate. After 10 min of lively group discussion, Rebecca asked
the student in each group whose first letter of their last name was alphabetically closest
to “Smith” to report their group’s decision and their reasoning to the whole class.
After this, Rebecca opened up the discussion to any of the students, calling on
raised hands and other students who did not indicate they wanted to contribute to the
whole class discussion. Rebecca then placed a grid behind the picture and manually
calculated the slopes for each skier. Afterward, Rebecca asked students to raise their
hands if they had seen the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., either in person or
in a film or television show. She then gave a 5-min history of the monument, showing
images through the overhead projector from films such as Forrest Gump and Night at
the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
Rebecca set the groups to work collaboratively on calculating the slope of the steps
in front of monument, based on a photograph provided by Rebecca of the side profile
of these steps. Rebecca circulated the classroom, and supported groups that needed
additional help. The class ended with an “exit ticket” where each student indepen-
dently calculated the slope of an X-Games bicycle ramp with a height of 20 and a
length equal to the number of letters in the student’s last name. Students wrote their
names and their final answer on a large Post-It™ note, placing it on the inside of the
door upon exiting. Mr. Anderson exited with the students, thanking Rebecca for her
lesson and asking her if she could come in to his office at the end of the day to go over
Martinez 9

his evaluation. Rebecca felt good about the lesson, at least the parts that Mr. Anderson
had witnessed.
When she met with Principal Anderson about the lesson, she brought the Post-It™
exit tickets with her, which was evidence that the students understood the lesson. Mr.
Anderson commented on how much he enjoyed Rebecca’s lesson. “I’m not a math
major,” he said, “but I was able to follow your lesson pretty easily.” He praised her
organization and how engaged the students were. On the contrary, Principal Anderson
shared a few concerns. He noticed that many more boys in the class were called on to
share their ideas than girls. When Rebecca respectfully responded by saying that as
two thirds of the students in the class are boys, calling on one girl for every two boys
made sense, Mr. Anderson grew agitated and said, “Well, let’s just make that a bit
more even, OK?” Mr. Anderson went on to say that he noticed that a few of the stu-
dents had their shoes off, which in his opinion was a safety issue. “If we have an
emergency and the class needs to exit the classroom safely,” he said, “one of them may
trip over one of these shoes.”
In the end, Rebecca earned an overall score of 3 out of 5 on the evaluation,
which Principal Anderson said was “right on track” for an early career teacher.
Rebecca did not know quite how to feel about Mr. Anderson’s assessment of her
lesson, and she was disappointed that her instructional practices, cross-curricular
lesson design, and student-learning evidence were not more heavily weighted in her
overall score. The next morning, she came in to Mrs. Agee’s classroom before
school to share her evaluation experience, and she was sympathetic. “Sounds like a
wonderful lesson, Rebecca, don’t worry about the overall score, as long as you get
a three, you’ll be fine.”

Finishing the Year

Rebecca spent most of her Thanksgiving break catching up on overdue grading, and
later suffered a nasty cold over more than half of the 2-week winter break. In the spring
semester, she felt as if she was “underwater” most of the time, but tried to appear to
Mrs. Agee and her colleagues that she was managing the job well. The end-of-month,
1-hr-long coaching sessions with Mrs. Agee were constructive, centered on curricu-
lum and general school procedures and policies. That said, Rebecca did not bring up
her real struggles in the classroom and with regard to work–life balance, figuring that
if she did, Mrs. Agee would not recommend her for a second year of teaching at North
Hills High. It was her parents who most concerned about Rebecca, encouraging her to
jump back in her morning cycling classes and reconnect with friends who had not seen
her in a while. In the classroom, the discipline problems seemed to lessen in her FOA
classes when Rebecca moved the desks back into rows and columns, using direct
instruction, less group activities and giving students time in class to complete most of
their homework. She knew that this type of teaching “flew in the face” compared with
the best pedagogical practices she had learned throughout her teacher preparation, but
even the students commented on how much better they enjoyed her classes, which
were in one student’s words, “like the math classes we are used to.” Mr. Anderson took
10 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

notice of the changes as well, stating in his spring evaluation “Rebecca’s students are
more attentive to her, and she has more control of her less noisy classroom.”
Rebecca earned a four on her summative evaluation and, in late March, was asked
to return for a second year at North Hills High. One day in May, Rebecca was grocery
shopping and ran into her old boss from Hobart Industries. He asked her how things
were going with her teaching and she responded that the job was “ten times more dif-
ficult than my old engineering work,” but rewarding. He noticed she looked with-
drawn with slumped shoulders and dark circles around her eyes. Upon his departure,
he said that if she ever wanted to return to Hobart, her old job would be there for her.
As he turned the corner with his grocery cart, Rebecca began to cry.

Teaching Notes
Research related to qualities of principal leadership that focuses on teacher retention
informs educators and policy makers as they struggle to reduce high teacher turnover
rates (Derrington & Lomascolo, 2015; Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, & Carver-
Thomas, 2016; Walker, Garton, & Kitchel, 2004). Carver-Thomas and Darling-
Hammond (2017) state that “given the enormous scope of their duties, it’s simply
unfeasible for principals to give the level of attention needed to supporting. . . teach-
ers” (p. 1). This case study focuses on a first-year mathematics teacher, Rebecca
Ashe, and her principal, Mr. Anderson. Rebecca comes to North Hills High after
working in the engineering industry. She struggles with the demands of her new job,
coupled with Mr. Anderson’s evaluations of her work, illuminating the challenges
that both teachers and administrators face with regard to evaluation, supervision, and
overall support.
Half of all teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years (Foster, 2010).
This rate is even higher in high poverty schools and in subjects such as mathematics
and science (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Fantilli & McDougall,
2009; Goldring, Taie, & Riddles, 2014). Enrollment in teacher preparation programs
are declining, and teacher turnover is costing America US$7.3 billion annually
(National Math + Science Initiative, 2013). Highly developed leadership skills are
traits that principals need to ensure that “principal-teacher relationships” are nur-
tured (Hughes, Matt, & O’Reilly, 2015). Specifically with regard to principals who
serve in schools that focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM), Sparapani and Calahan (2015) found that, “the most important factor
(related to the use of technology in classrooms) is the involvement of the school
principals” (p. 250).
Faughn, Felter, and Pence (2015) defined support models for mathematics teach-
ers to include “professional development. . . (and) district and/or school administra-
tive support among others” (p. 1614). Principals build capacity in schools by
supporting teams of teachers who are charged with improving student outcomes
(Zepeda, 2014). In addition, more formalized efforts by school administrators to
serve as instructional leaders through the organization of coaching at their sites can
support early career teachers with their needs (Steiner & Kowal, 2007). Johnson
Martinez 11

(2016) states that, “instructional coaching is a reality in many schools today, yet
administrators often lack experience or background on how to utilize this profes-
sional development model effectively” (p. 39). This case is suited for use in profes-
sional preparation courses for educational leaders, specifically those focusing on
human resources, evaluation, leadership, and supervision.

Questions/Activities
The following questions and activities relate to the case study provided. You are
encouraged to generate additional questions related to the topic and relate them to your
particular context.

Discussion Questions
1. Through words and actions, what did Principal Anderson communicate to
Rebecca in evaluating her teaching?
2. Provided that no changes could be made to Rebecca’s established assignments
(i.e., classes, coaching, advising), what accommodations could Principal
Anderson have made to assist Rebecca in her first year as a teacher at North
Hills High School?
3. Although Principal Anderson implemented a mentoring program, which paired
novice and veteran teachers at North Hills High School, what other mentoring/
coaching alternatives could he have offered that would have suited first-year
teachers like Rebecca?
4. What obstacles exist in scheduling early career teachers with a greater diver-
sity of classes, from remedial to advanced? What can be done to address the
issue of these teachers being assigned all remedial and classes for younger
students?
5. The case study stated that Principal Anderson did not consider himself a “math
person.” To what degree does having the same educational background affect
an administrator’s ability to evaluate a teacher? What can be done to amelio-
rate these effects, if any?
6. Considering that mathematics and science teachers have other, often more
lucrative, career opportunities, what can administrators do to ensure that these
teachers are particularly valued so they are retained in the profession?
7. What aspects of the teacher evaluation process reinforce outdated teaching
practices? Given an evaluation rubric that emphasizes these antiquated prac-
tices, what can administrators do to more substantively evaluate their teachers
based on current best practices?

Class Activities
1. In groups of four students, have two members role-play the conversation
depicted in the case study between Mr. Anderson and Rebecca held in his
12 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

Table 1. Required Courses for Upcoming School Year (in No Particular Order).
Integrated Mathematics I (common core;
four sections)
Integrated Mathematics II (common core;
four sections)
Integrated Mathematics III (common core;
three sections)
Pre-Calculus (two sections)
Advanced placement statistics (one
section)
Geometry (two sections)
Pre-Algebra A (year-long study of first half of
Algebra 1; two sections)
Pre-Algebra B (year-long study of first half of
Algebra 1; two sections)
Focus on algebra (for students who failed
Algebra 1 their freshman year or were
recommended for remedial math by their
eighth-grade counselor; four sections)
Advanced Placement Calculus A (two
sections)
Advanced Placement Calculus B (two sections)
Trigonometry (two sections)

Table 2. Mathematics Teachers and Years of Teaching Experience.

Teacher Years of experience

Mr. Carlson 0 (new to teaching)
Ms. Gonzales 2
Mr. Washington 5
Ms. Rahamadan 10
Dr. Masters 22

office the afternoon after her first official observation. After the simulation,
have the other two members of the group re-enact the same conversation, but
this time portray Mr. Anderson as a former mathematics teacher whose focus
was centered on content instruction (Note: no student actors are required to
have a mathematics background for this role, but should emphasize the math-
ematics learning accomplished during the lesson). As a whole group, discuss
the differences between the two conversations.
2. In collaborative groups, create a simulated master schedule for a fictitious
mathematics department, which contains the courses described in Table 1
taught by the teachers described in Table 2. Assume each teacher needs to
teach six periods of mathematics each day. You need not address the number of
students in each class, as they will vary depending on the subject. After the
schedules have been completed, share the strategies that you employed and the
possible ramifications of your decisions.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.
Martinez 13

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

ORCID iD
James A. Martinez https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4570-6694

References
Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher turnover: Why it matters and
what we can do about it. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). When teachers support and evaluate their peers. Educational
Leadership, 71(2), 24-29.
Derrington, M. L., & Lomascolo, D. J. (2015). Principal support of teachers and its impact on
student achievement. In M. F. DiPaola & W. K. Hoy (Eds.), Leadership and school quality
(pp. 135-145). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Fantilli, R. D., & McDougall, D. E. (2009). A study of novice teacher challenges and supports
in the first years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 814-825.
Faughn, A., Felter, T., & Pence, B. (2015). Supporting teachers to increase retention Proceedings
of the 31st annual meeting of the North American chapter of the international group for the
psychology of mathematics education, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
Foster, E. (2010). How boomers can contribute to student success: Emerging encore career
opportunities in K-12 education. Washington, DC: National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future.
Goldring, R., Taie, S., & Riddles, M. (2014). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the
2012–13 Teacher Follow-up Survey (NCES 2014-077). Washington, DC: National Center
for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
Hughes, A. L., Matt, J. J., & O’Reilly, F. L. (2015). Principal support is imperative to the reten-
tion of teachers in hard-to-staff schools. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3,
129-134.
Johnson, K. G. (2016). Instructional coaching implementation: Considerations for K-12 admin-
istrators. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 1(2), 37-40.
National Math + Science Initiative. (2013). STEM education statistics. Retrieved from https://
www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis/STEMEducationStatistics.aspx
Sparapani, E. F., & Calahan, P. S. (2015). Technology in mathematics and science: An exami-
nation and comparison of instructional use in the United States and Taiwan. Education,
136, 242-252.
Steiner, L., & Kowal, J. (2007). Principal as instructional leader: Designing a coaching
program that fits [Issue brief]. Washington, DC: The Center for Comprehensive School
Reform and Improvement.
Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teach-
ing? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy
Institute.
Walker, W. D., Garton, B. L., & Kitchel, T. J. (2004). Job satisfaction and retention of second-
ary agriculture teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 45(2), 28-38.
Zepeda, S. J. (2014). The principal as instructional leader: A handbook for supervisors (2nd ed.).
New York, NY: Routledge.
14 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 00(0)

Author Biography
James A. Martinez is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and
Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to his work in higher education,
he served as a teacher and school principal for 17 years. His research interests include educa-
tional leadership supports to retain secondary STEM teachers and K-12 instructional
leadership.

View publication stats