Case Study 3
ISLLC Standard #3: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Title:The Cost of a Cup of Joe
Key Questions:
- To what extent should a school administrator go to ensure the safety of his students?
- How can an administrator ensure that his campus is secure when school-related programs allow students to come and go from campus during the school day?
Discussion:
Half-way through the school year, the principal of Red Bird High School was promoted to a district-level position and an interim principal, Dr. Michael, was appointed and eventually hired as the permanent principal of the school. When he began to prioritize his agenda for Red Bird High School, Dr. Michael spent a great deal of time scrutinizing the grounds and overall maintenance of the school and noted that the exterior doors to the school, as well as the gates to the school parking lot remained unlocked and open for the majority of the school day. Dr. Michael felt that the custodial staff’s failure to lock the doors and gates compromised the safety of the students, faculty and staff. Because of his commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment, he asked the custodial and maintenance staff to meet with him to brainstorm ways to rectify the problem. During the meeting, Dr. Michael realized that there simply was not enough man power to lock and unlock all exterior doors between each class change. In addition, because of the number of students who participate in work based learning programs, the lots need to remain open to allow for the coming and going of those who leave campus during the school day. Dr. Michael knew that without additional staff, he could not secure the school and its grounds in a way that would keep his faculty and students safe.
Dr. Michael reviewed the school’s budget for some way to hire additional staff to help with the security of his campus. He noticed that the profit collected from the morning sale of breakfast biscuits was consistently used to provide refreshments during faculty and leadership meetings. By his calculations, using these funds, along with a small portion of other discretionary funds previously held aside for the purchase of coffee and coffee supplies that are kept in the workroom, he could pay the salary of a security guard to oversee the campus parking lots. Although he knew it would not immediately be viewed as a popular decision, Dr. Michael went ahead with the decision to discontinue the purchase of coffee supplies and faculty meeting refreshments in favor of a more secure campus.
Answers:
- Part of being a responsible administrator requires that you are able to make decisions that are often un-popular in effort to provide a safe and secure environment for educating students. While the teachers of Red Bird High School were not pleased with Dr. Michael’s decision to cut the coffee and refreshments they had become accustomed to, it was necessary to do so in order to ensure that the funds needed to pay for a security guard were available. As an administrator, it is essential that you are committed to keeping your campus safe so that your faculty feels secure and your students are able to be educated without distraction.
- Especially in high schools, campus parking lots must remain open for diver’s education classes, community based work programs and faculty that are itinerant and commute from campus to campus during the day. Dr. Michael saw the need for a more secure campus and acted in the only way possible to secure the parking lot area, a place where outsiders could easily make their way to the building without permission if not closely monitored. Dr. Michael acted in this manner in order to protect his faculty, staff and students.
Case Study/Administrator Evaluation: This administrator is demonstrating the necessary behaviors to secure his campus, placing the safety of his faculty, staff and students above other non-essential discretionary decisions. I feel he is performing at the proficient level.