Case Resolutions

Chapter 1

Resolution: Case: Academic Challenges of A Homeless Student

1. After examining the data of her fourth grade students, Principal Surrey communicated with one of her fourth grade parents and a fourth grade teacher. Principal Surrey was made aware of a number of challenges that Jasmine, one of her homeless fourth graders, was experiencing. Given legal obligations under the McKinney–Vento Act to eliminate barriers to accessing academic activities for homeless students and Jasmine's needs, Principal Surrey waived Jasmine's library fees and sought financial resources to help the family. Principal Surrey also collaborated with the counselor and her Central Office Homeless Education Coordinator to provide Jasmine's mother with support to find a permanent place to live.

2. While remaining aware of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the McKinney–Vento Act and after conferring with Jasmine's mother, Principal Surrey made Ms. Edwards aware that Jasmine was homeless and might be unable at times to complete homework at home.

3. Principal Surrey met with Ms Edwards' Jasmine's fourth grade teacher to develop a plan for homework completion and to extend deadlines for submitting late work during the family's present crisis. A solution they discussed included providing transportation a couple of times a week for Jasmine so that she could receive either before school or after school homework help from Ms Edwards.

4. Principal Surrey also arranged for a meeting with herself, Ms Edwards, and Ms Jacobs, Jasmine's mother, to address concerns about Ms Jacobs' perception about a lack of connection and caring and her inability to help Jasmine with her Math homework. Principal Surrey opened the meeting by allowing Ms Edwards time to share her concerns, develop a plan to improve relationships, and Principal Surrey also ensured that Ms Jacobs was aware of the steps that Ms Edwards had already taken to help Jasmine by paying for her Buckle Down Math book and classroom supplies.

Chapter 2

Resolution: Case: Helping Principal Whitley Lead an Equitable, High-Achieving School

1. At Principal Whitley's school, most of her 149 Latinx and African American students are nonproficient. Given that Principal Whitley realizes that most of her students that are nonproficient do not have access to homework help, she should provide before-school or after-school homework help for her students. Principal Whitley should also examine why her in-school tutoring has not helped her students to become proficient and make needed adjustments. Principal Whitley should ensure that highly qualified teachers are leading in-school tutoring efforts.

2. Given a slight increase in the Teacher Observation of Potential in Students (TOPS) recommendations, Principal Whitley should continue to focus on this effort.

3. Principal Whitley should prioritize hiring African American, Latinx, and Asian faculty. She could try recruiting teachers at HSIs, HBCUs, churches, Black sororities, and Black fraternities. She should also consider hosting a Faculty of Color recruitment event.

4. Principal Whitley should focus on Cultural Proficiency professional development for her faculty and staff. Principal Whitley has some teachers who are experiencing success with Black and Latinx students. She should work closely with those teachers and encourage them to share best practices. Principal Whitley could also encourage struggling teachers to participate in peer observations of successful teachers.

Chapter 3

Resolution: Case: Cutty – Underperforming Teacher

1. Dr Matthews admonished Ms Cutty that she should use time effectively and ensure that she follows the schedule she developed and communicated to her students.

2. Dr Matthews also instructed Ms Cutty to notify parents in advance of upcoming tests, and she reminded Ms Cutty that per School Board policy, recess cannot be withheld from students as a punishment. Dr Matthews indicated that Ms Cutty should communicate regularly with parents and respond to parental concerns within 24–48 hours.

3. The abovementioned recommendations were provided in writing and at scheduled conferences with Ms Cutty. Dr Matthews advised Ms Cutty to make better use of the Literacy coach as a resource, implement recommended strategies, and develop an appropriate classroom snack policy so that none of her students would be without a snack. Dr Matthews also offered the assistance of the administration as needed.

Resolution: Case: Teacher Escalates Student Conflict

1. There were clearly some conflicting stories about who threw or dropped Crystal's homework assignment on the floor. Though disrespectful, throwing paper on the floor is not a violation of school policy. At some point later, Ms Eagle could have required Crystal to pick up the paper rather than initiating a confrontation. It is possible as Ms Dobson asserted that Ms Eagle threw the paper on the floor, but given the conflicting stories, the truth would be difficult to ascertain.

2. Crystal should not have been forced to sit alone in a dark office. If Crystal had not been banished to the office, she might not have used her cellphone to call her mother. It is admirable that Ms Eagle wanted to handle the behavioral concerns herself, but once it became evident that her behavioral strategies were not working, Ms Eagle should have either called the office or called Ms Dobson, Crystal's mother. The disciplinary referral describing the incident was not written until 3.40 p.m. that afternoon – after Ms Dobson had already visited the school twice, met with the principal, and contacted Central Office.

3. Ms Eagle antagonized Crystal by approaching her at recess. While it is true that Crystal was violating the school electronics policy, Ms Eagle should have avoided any unnecessary confrontations with Crystal especially given that she was still likely upset with Crystal about the earlier incidents. Our students will be angry at times, and it is okay to allow them space to be angry especially if they are not being destructive in any way or hurting others. It is not acceptable to pull on a student's clothing. While ripping Crystal's jacket was unintentional, it could have been avoided if Ms Eagle had not approached Crystal. Ms Eagle's disciplinary report was incomplete. She did not mention ripping the jacket, engaging in an altercation with Ms Dobson nor did she mention leaving Crystal alone in a dark office or reprimanding Crystal during recess. Ms Eagle should also make provision to compensate Ms Dobson for Crystal's ripped jacket.

4. Ms Eagle should not have told Ms Dobson that she knew where Crystal got her attitude from. This comment served to enrage Ms Dobson and did not help to deescalate the conflict.

Chapter 4

Resolution: Case: Miscommunication About Multicultural Fair

1. One of the primary challenges Dr Iona faced became maintaining professionalism and acknowledging that working together was a priority. Whether or not second grade chose Antarctica became less important. Dr Iona should have met with second grade before making her decision. In her attempts to save time, she made the situation worse.

2. Dr Iona realized that collectively the group was able to devise a better solution than she could develop independently. After expressing their contrary views and agreeing to disagree, the group devised a compromise that was communicated to parents in a clarifying letter. For that school year only, second grade teachers were allowed to complete and display projects on either Antarctica or Asia, given some teachers had already begun work with students on Antarctica. Second grade and other grade levels were admonished not to send home any communication about schoolwide matters without prior permission from the principal.

Chapter 6

Resolution: Case: Volatile Student–Teacher Exchange

1. This was a fairly contentious and complex matter that remained a topic of discussion at school for several weeks or months to come. While it is never acceptable for students to physically assault a teacher, Mr Bradley’ antagonized William by following him and blocking his exit. It was very difficult for Mr Bradley or other Science teachers to focus on anything other than the fact that a student pushed a teacher. The assistant principal faced a great deal of pressure to focus on the student's actions rather than the teacher's response.

2. Ms Carrington, the assistant principal's first priority was to investigate the matter thoroughly and get as many written statements as possible before addressing William's behavior. William was taken to In-School Suspension while the assistant principal investigated then sent William home with a letter that explained the number of days of his suspension. Given the mitigating circumstances of Mr Bradley’ response and the fact that this was not the first time that Mr Bradley was physically aggressive to students, the number of days for suspension given was much lower than would have been if William's actions were unprovoked. The number of days was based on allowable consequences in the student handbook.

3. After communicating with Ms Berry, William's mother and assuring her that appropriate communication with the teacher would take place, a follow-up meeting was conducted with Mr Bradley that began with assurances that teachers would be treated with respect and an appreciation for his monitoring the halls for student handbook violations. In addition to the abovementioned message, the assistant principal also stated that William would be suspended. Given the heated nature of the exchange between William and Mr Bradley, the assistant principal conferred with the principal about the potential for a written teacher reprimand. Ms Carrington shared about how difficult it was to have to document this incident in Mr Bradley's file especially given that he was a victim in this case. Unfortunately, because of Mr Bradley's response and to prevent any potential litigation initiated by the parent, a written reprimand was placed in Mr Bradley’ Personnel file.

Chapter 8

Resolution: Case: Kindergartner With Medical Issues

1. Fortunately, Patricia did not have an asthma attack while she was on the field trip at the Pumpkin Patch. After her conversation with Ms Standish, Dr Stedman immediately met with Ms Rhoades, the Teacher Assistant, Ms Otter, the Kindergarten teacher and the School's part time nurse. After carefully reviewing current procedures for the administering medicine, Dr Stedman emailed her teachers about checking in with the School Secretary about administering prescriptions for students with a current on-site prescription. Dr Stedman was careful not to mention any names in her communication.

2. Dr Stedman realized that it was her responsibility to put in place a well-crafted system for administering prescription medicine both in the building and also while students were on field trips. This system was put in place immediately.

3. Dr Stedman contacted Ms Standish after developing and implementing the new system in order to assure Ms Standish that Patricia would be safe at school.

4. Dr Stedman met with Ms Otter about the other concerns that Ms Standish raised and presented the information as perception data. Dr Stedman also added that not all of their parents could afford to contribute to the purchase of an expensive rug so it was vital that no parents were alienated simply because they were unable to make financial contributions. Ms Otter was asked to either purchase a less expensive rug or use other avenues for obtaining funds such as DonorsChoose or the Parent Teacher Association. Dr Stedman also shared that Ms Standish was disturbed by Ms Otter's repeated requests to have her cousin come as a guest speaker.

Resolution: Case: Lack of Parent Communication – End of Course (EOC) Retest Assistant Principal Grant's response to Mr Naviance:

1. Ms Grant called Mr Naviance by 3 p.m. to discuss his concerns. She then emailed a response at 3.26 p.m. and cc'd her response to Mr Naviance's wife, the principal, the assistant superintendent, and the superintendent.

Dear Mr Naviance

My apologies for the confusion. I sent an initial email about EOCs tomorrow but sent a subsequent email that I don't believe you received when you sent your reply. The English EOC will not be given tomorrow. I should have notified you sooner of the date Savannah is scheduled to take her EOC. Savannah is scheduled to take her English EOC on July 28th. She should arrive between 8.00 a.m. and 8.15 a.m. The exam will begin at 8.30 a.m. and will meet in room 20054. We should have provided you with more information about Savannah's EOC status at the end of the school year. When I spoke to you just before summer school started, if we had informed you about whether she had passed the Math EOC retake, knowing which class to take in summer school would have been more apparent. There should certainly have been better communication between myself and the person coordinating the EOCs so we could have given you that information. When we spoke a little while ago, I hope I was able to clarify your question about Math EOC results.

There was a short timeline from the end of school to the start of summer school. I received Savannah's summer school application on Thursday, June 19th and summer school began on Tuesday, June 24th. I called you on Monday, June 23rd because I wanted to make sure that I placed Savannah in the course she needed the most (both English and Math were listed as #1 choices on her application.) We will also give students multiple opportunities to take the EOC, but not according to the same schedule as Segovia High School. Please feel free to contact me at 555-428-5206 x 100099 if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Ms Grant

1. Mr Naviance's response to Ms Grant

Mr Naviance cc'd his response at 3.27 p.m. to his wife, the principal, the assistant superintendent, and superintendent.

Ms Grant,

Thanks again for your telephone call a few minutes ago. Knowing now that this is the first year each high school has run their own summer school program helps explain the differences between our school and Segovia High School. I hope my constructive feedback will be helpful to fine tune the program.

Mr Naviance

Equity-focused Classroom Checklist

Class:________  Teacher/Observer: ______  Date: ______

Classroom Walkthrough Form

Class:_______ Teacher/Observer: ________ Date: _______

Lesson Plans: Time on Task/Lesson Focus:

__Yes __No Lesson Plans are available ___ Yes ___No Students Understand Lesson Focus

__Yes __No Objectives align with pacing guides ___Yes ___No Class Started quickly

Copy for teacher. Copy for Administrator.

Care Team/Academic Plan Process

• Meet with middle schools to develop initial High School CARE Team list. Meet with elementary schools to develop initial Middle School CARE Team list. Students are placed on list based on attendance, behavior, or academics.

• In June, review list of students with two or more F's as a final second semester grade. Add students to CARE Team list.

• Develop a new CARE Team list of students based on academics, attendance, and/or behavior. Share CARE Team list with faculty for input and provide updates each quarter.

• All students from the CARE Team list are assigned to meet with a counselor or Assistant Principal on a weekly basis. Counselor or Assistant Principal meets with their CARE Team students to develop an Academic Plan.

• Students on the CARE Team List are required to meet with one or more teachers for tutoring/homework help during study or after school

• CARE Teams (Counselor and APs) meet on a weekly basis about a specified group of students from the CARE Team List. Discuss support for students, weekly monitoring of academic plans, and required weekly meetings with teachers for remediation, especially Math I, Algebra I, and English I teachers.

• PLATO computer-based education system reteaching/remediation is mandatory.

• Students move out of an intervention, such as study hall, Math Lab. or PLATO, when it becomes evident that support is no longer needed (students demonstrate mastery of essential/expected learning on a consistent basis).

• At each quarter, continue to monitor students placed on CARE Team List and add/remove students to/from list as needed.

• For students who have struggled in Math, place them in Math lab instead of study hall.

• D & F list at progress report (Revise list and develop Academic Plans).

• Athletic coaches monitor athletes' academics weekly or biweekly, provide study halls for athletes and “bench” athletes when grades are not satisfactory (passing grades).

• Monthly meetings with coaches to monitor student athletes' grades.

Care Team/Academic Plan School Year _________

Student's Name: __________________ Grade: ____________*

Phone Number: ________________ Email: _______________*

Date of meeting: ___Counselor/Social Worker's Name: ____*

Name of Person initiating Plan: __________Notes: *________

Review Grades: _____________Yes/No Notes: *____________

Review Attendance: __________Yes/No Notes: *___________

Goal(s) based on Report card, grades, attendance:

Plan's Effective Date: *

Days to Meet with Teacher for mandatory tutoring:

Monday: Social Studies

Tuesday: English

Wednesday: Math

Thursday: Science

Friday: PE/World Language

Date Assistant Principal notified for follow-up: __________*

Date for Parent Contact: __________*

Date for Parent/Teacher Conference: __________*

Date student scheduled into PLATO/Study Hall: __________*

Notes:

Cut below line – Student's copy

…………………………………………………………………

Academic Plan Student's Name:

Days to Meet with Teacher for mandatory tutoring:

Monday: Social Studies

Tuesday: English

Wednesday: Math

Thursday: Science

Friday: PE/World Language

Goal (s) based on Report card, grades, attendance:

New Course Proposal

• I.

  Course Title and Length: Race, Gender & Human Behavior: A Historical and Contemporary Study – Semester

• II.

  Rationale: There is a need for a high school course that focuses primarily on issues of racism and privilege. Of particular importance is how these issues affect people of color today and have affected people of color in history. This course should be composed of a racially balanced group of juniors and seniors. Balance could be achieved by requiring that students are admitted by permission of instructor.

• III.

  Course Overview: This semester course will address racial issues and privilege in the United States. By exploring personal experiences, historical references and examining contemporary issues of relevance to high school students, we will attempt to describe and understand racial issues as they affect us every day. During the semester we will cover the following topics: personal experiences with racism and working assumptions, white privilege, the historical roots of racism, the Middle Passage, Pro-slavery ideology, Slave Narratives, Reconstruction, Lynchings, and the KKK, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, the Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and Malcolm X. We will also study contemporary racism in society, Racial Identity Development, Stereotypes in the Media, Affirmative Action, Racism and its effect on African Americans, Latinxs, and Asians, White responses to racism, Issues of race, Exemplary education programs, Interracial dating, Racial Justice and Reparations. Students will also produce an individual or collaborative plan that works to dismantle an area of racism or privilege, exposes an area of unacknowledged privilege and/or that succeeds in benefitting an oppressed group.

• IV.

  Content and Skill Objectives

  Students are able to:

  1. Express their earliest experiences with racism or noticing differences and also discuss on-going experiences.

  2. Recognize white privilege in its current forms.

  3. Determine where they are with regard to the Stages of Racial Identity Development.

  4. Identify the role of racism and privilege in history.

  5. Describe the historical perspectives of prominent people of color.

  6. Engage in respectful discussions on controversial subjects.

  7. Examine misinformation, missing, and distorted information, and reintegrate this information to form a new, more accurate understanding of history.

  8. Examine accepted societal viewpoints, assumptions, beliefs, and feelings which perpetuated racism in the past and perpetuate racism and privilege in the present.

  9. Explain what they have learned about exemplary education programs.

  10. Develop an action plan that works to dismantle an area of racism or privilege, exposes an area of unacknowledged privilege and/or that succeeds in benefitting an oppressed group.

• V.

  Materials Needed

  Video: Skin Deep

  Video: Ethnic Notions

  Video: True Colors

  Videos: Eyes on the Prize

  Video: Martin Luther King

  Video: Malcolm X

• VI.

  Projected Budget

  Cost to produce course packets

  Cost of videos

  Cost of textbooks

List of Case Studies

Case Study #1 Academic Challenges of a Homeless Student

Case Study #2 Helping Principal Whitley Lead an Equitable, High-Achieving School

Case Study #3 Ms Cutty – Underperforming Teacher

Case Study #4 Teacher Escalates Student Conflict

Case Study #5 Miscommunication About Multicultural Fair

Case Study #6 Volatile Student–Teacher Exchange

Case Study #7 Kindergartner with Medical Issues

Case Study #8 Lack of Parent Communication: End of Course (EOC) Retest

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Principals Leading Equitable, High-achieving Schools

Table 2.1 Educational Equity Audits

Table 2.2 Multi-program Equity Audit

Table 3.1 Coventry Midlands High School (CMHS) Teacher Profiles

Table 3.2 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)

Table 3.3 Job Posting Sites to Consider for Latinx Teacher Recruitment

Table 3.4 Teacher Shortage Solutions

Table 8.1 Village of Wisdom's Eight Conversations