Case Studies in 21st Century School Administration

Addressing Challenges for Educational Leadership

David L. Gray, Agnes Smith

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781452235974
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Leadership in Education

Case Studies in 21st Century School Administration: Addressing Challenges for Educational Leadership presents real problems that confront today's school leaders who must deal with issues of diversity, school improvement, and limited resources. Authors David L. Gray and Agnes E. Smith give prospective school leaders opportunities to resolve complex issues in K-12 school settings through reflective questions, activities, and authentic assessment tools for skill development.

CASE 1

A Teacher’s Absences Create Problems

Holding Teachers Accountable for Excessive Absences

BACKGROUND

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Experience and observation suggest that one of the most important ways in which teachers teach is by example. Teachers who begin instruction promptly each day or each class period communicate a strong message to their students. Such teachers reinforce the importance of using time wisely and the significance of daily instructional goals and objectives. They also facilitate the development of a clear focus on academic achievement and learning among students. The consistent presence of the teacher sets the tone for students to value productivity in the classroom. Moreover, students grow to understand that the teacher genuinely cares about them and their academic progress. Effective teachers communicate the importance of instruction by beginning classes on time and by being present unless they are scheduled for professional development opportunities or they are experiencing illness or emergencies. Through their presence, planning, and lesson delivery, highly effective teachers communicate to students that the work they are doing is important. Students learn from their teachers’ example of dedication and commitment to be prompt and to approach learning with a similar dedication.

Teachers’ requests for leave are governed by local school policies. Teachers are required to be on duty a specified number of days prior to the opening of school and to remain on duty a specified number of days after the last day of school for students. On the days when students are in attendance, teachers are required to be on duty unless appropriate leave is approved at the local school and central office levels or unless the teacher’s reason for being absent relates to an emergency or family or personal illness. While school districts allow a certain number of days for sick leave, typically one day a month, teachers who are absent for an extended period of time due to illness or any other personal or professional reason must either receive school board approval to be absent or provide appropriate documentation that satisfies requirements of local school district personnel policy.

Special provisions must be made when a teacher is pregnant and another teacher will be needed to assume interim responsibilities for the time the regular teacher is on maternity leave. When teachers attend professional development in-service meetings or conferences, provisions must be made for their absences. Furthermore, when teachers are absent for reasons of illness or emergency, a substitute must be secured to conduct daily activities with students. It is the school principal’s responsibility to communicate to teachers a consistent method of preparing for substitutes. Some principals require teachers to follow a specific lesson plan format when absent, whereas other principals might request that teachers develop a folder of grade-level or subject matter activities to guide the classroom work for the term of absence.

Because of the relationship between teacher attendance and student productivity, principals need to be prepared to respond to parents’ and teacher colleagues’ concerns when a teacher must take extended leave. While parents’ concerns will understandably focus on the consistency of their children’s instructional program, department and grade-level teachers will be worried about “taking up the slack” until the regular teacher has returned to school. Clear communication to all interested parties is necessary to avoid misunderstandings and provide reassurance. When a teacher and principal have prior knowledge of an extended absence, policies can be reviewed, preparations made, and communications issued for parents and other vested parties. However, when frequent or extended absences occur on a day-to-day basis, adherence to personnel policies and procedures becomes even more important for principals.

When a teacher begins to develop a pattern of excessive absenteeism, a principal must balance the needs of the teacher and school allowances for absences with the need to have a certified, competent teacher working with students on a consistent basis. Many factors have to be weighed. What is the reason for the teacher’s absence(s)? Is the teacher absent for successive days, or is there a pattern of sporadic absences? How many years of experience does the teacher have? If the teacher is experienced or tenured, what is his or her past performance history? Has the teacher provided materials and lesson plans for a substitute that will provide productive activities for students? Is it possible to secure the services of a regular substitute who is already familiar with school routines and schedules?

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

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• Adherence to local school district personnel policies/procedures
• Provision of a consistent, quality instructional program
• Public relations with parents, community members
• Legal dimensions of teacher performance evaluation
• Communication and organizational conflict

THE CASE

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Mr. Samuel Taylor is principal of Walnut Creek K–8 School. Walnut Creek serves 750 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Only three years ago, the school served the same grade levels with a student population of 527. Because of new industry that has moved into the area, the suburb in which the school is located is experiencing rapid growth and demands for housing. The location of the Walnut Creek community is also attractive, because it is only an hour’s drive from the coast and pristine beaches for vacation activities. Parents have told Mr. Taylor that they appreciate the opportunity to have their children enrolled in the same school for nine years and to live in an area that offers access to the coast.

Because of the population growth in the Walnut Creek community, the school gained three new teacher units for this academic year—one at the kindergarten level, one for fourth grade, and an additional physical education teacher. Mr. Taylor was able to interview and recommend applicants for the kindergarten and physical education positions prior to the opening of school. Because the increase in student population at the fourth grade level was not expected, he had fewer applicants from which to choose to fill the new fourth grade position, and the assistant superintendent of human resources asked him to consider recommending a young teacher, Mrs. Green, whose husband was appointed assistant coach at the nearby high school. After an interview with the teacher and a review of her reference letters, Mr. Taylor honored the assistant superintendent of human resources’ request and recommended that Mrs. Green be appointed as fourth grade teacher for this new teaching position.

At first, Mrs. Green seemed to make efforts to be friendly with other teachers and to meet the duties and responsibilities of the job. For the first four weeks of school, she was present every day, and she arrived for early-morning duty on time, except for one occasion when she apologized for oversleeping. Then during the fifth week of school, she called in sick on Friday. This absence was the beginning of a pattern that became apparent by Christmas. Mrs. Green called in sick on the first Friday of every month from September through December. School board policy governing teacher sick days reads as follows:

Full-time employees receive one accumulated sick day for each month worked. Continued unpaid absences are unacceptable and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

At the Christmas break, Mrs. Green had used all of her sick leave days and had none to carry over after the holidays.

Two weeks after Christmas, Mrs. Green’s three-year old son was hospitalized for a week, and she called Mr. Taylor to tell him that she needed to be with her son. Mr. Taylor expressed concern for Mrs. Green’s son. He explained that because she had no accumulated sick leave days, she would need a doctor’s statement; otherwise her absence would be considered neglect of her duties. The day she returned to school, Mrs. Green gave Mr. Taylor a statement from her son’s pediatrician supporting her need to stay in the hospital with her son. When Mr. Taylor submitted the weekly personnel report to the district’s Department of Human Resources, he attached the doctor’s statement to it. According to policy, Mrs. Green’s absences due to the illness of her son were excused, but her salary was reduced by the number of days absent.

During Mrs. Green’s week-long absence, parents of two students in her class asked to see Mr. Taylor. The parents, Mrs. Gray and Mrs. Williams, expressed concern about Mrs. Green’s extended absence from the classroom.

“I understand her son is ill, Mr. Taylor,” said Mrs. Gray, “but our children are falling behind the other fourth grade classes in English and math. We’re worried about the SAT tests that our children will take in April. If they continue to fall behind, they won’t do well.”

Mr. Taylor listened to the parents’ concerns. He expressed appreciation for their patience, and he commented that he knew they understood the need for a mother to be with her small child in the hospital. He assured them that Mrs. Green’s son was well and that she was working diligently to ensure that her students were as prepared for standardized testing as all the other fourth grade students.

As the parents left Mr. Taylor’s office, Mrs. Williams stated, “We appreciate your time, Mr. Taylor, and we do understand Mrs. Green’s need to care for her preschool-age son. However, now that he is well, we expect our children to have full-time, uninterrupted instruction for the remainder of the school year!”

Mr. Taylor thoughtfully considered options for working with Mrs. Green and her absences from the classroom. He reviewed the school board policy for teachers’ sick leave and turned to his computer keyboard to develop the following memo to Mrs. Green.

MEMO: Mrs. Green

FROM: Mr. Taylor

RE: Extended Absences from School

I want you to know that I appreciate your need to care for your preschool son during his recent hospital stay for a serious case of influenza. However, I want to bring the school board policy regarding teacher sick leave days to your attention.

Because you were absent four Fridays of school prior to the Christmas holidays, you had no sick leave days to support your absence when your son was in the hospital. Your personnel record reflects nine days of absence from school since September, five of which were unpaid days of sick leave. According to school board policy, additional sick leave days will subject you to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Please let me know if you have questions regarding this policy or its application to your situation. I will be available to conference with you tomorrow or another day this week.

Mr. Taylor placed the memo in a sealed envelope in Mrs. Green’s office mailbox. He watched that afternoon as she collected her mail from her mailbox. He witnessed Mrs. Green taking the envelope from her mailbox with other announcements and mail. Although Mr. Taylor was available to see Mrs. Green each day for the remainder of the week, she didn’t request a conference to discuss the status of her sick leave personnel record.

During the first week in February, Mr. Taylor distributed a memo to all teachers requesting dates for scheduled observations. The evaluation process for teachers requires a minimum of two observations for every teacher each year. While one observation may be unannounced, a second must be scheduled at a time convenient to the administrator and known by the teacher. Mr. Taylor had completed all unannounced observations of teachers, including Mrs. Green, before Christmas. When Mr. Taylor observed Mrs. Green’s teaching in November, he documented her performance during a social studies lesson. Mr. Taylor commented that Mrs. Green’s objective was clear and that she used both visual and auditory lesson delivery techniques. He recommended that she consider a structured way to evaluate students’ progress with lesson objectives. He noted that she reviewed the written assignment of only 14 of her 25 students. The other 11 students received no feedback from Mrs. Green.

By the end of February, Mrs. Green had not requested a date for her scheduled observation. Mr. Taylor made a mental note to speak with her on the last Friday of the month, but she called in sick on that day. Before the end of the Friday of her absence, a fourth grade colleague, Mrs. Matthews, came to the office during her planning time to speak to Mr. Taylor.

“I think you should know, Mr. Taylor, that Mrs. Green told me yesterday that her dad, who is a state legislator, has a condominium at the beach. In fact,” Mrs. Matthews added, “Mrs. Green told me that her father has made his condominium available to her husband and her during the months of February through April. She boasted to all fourth grade teachers yesterday that her father is politically influential because he serves on the state finance and home-land legislative committees. I just thought you’d like to be apprised of her attitude, Mr. Taylor. The other fourth grade teachers are upset that she considers her absences from school to be of little consequence.”

Mr. Taylor gave some thought to Mrs. Matthews’s statements and prepared another memo for Mrs. Green, which read:

MEMO: Mrs. Green

FROM: Mr. Taylor

RE: Sick L...