ISLLC Standard 5: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.
Treating All Students and Employees Fairly
Statement of Purpose: Determining the most ethical and fair treatment for all student and all employees so that the school is successful at their mission, “to provide a safe, motivating environment that meets the needs of all learners.”
Questions the study answers:
1) How are professional ethics addressed within the school?
2) How does the school strive to provide a free, quality education to every student
3) How, as an administrator, do you treat all teachers fairly and ethically?
Situation: IC is one of four middle schools in our school system. AP Barry came to our school at the beginning of this school year from one of the other middle schools. The middle school he came from was a failing school for the last six years. AP Barry is a very quiet, soft spoken person who was an unknown to our school and, to a large extent, still fairly “unknown” even at the end of the year.
The faculty and staff at IC are responsible for the education provided to over 1300 students, up from 1050 during the last school year. Students from outside the state, outside the county, and from “School Choice” schools were among some of the new students we received, in addition to our “districted” upcoming sixth graders. We have a wide socio-economic base, as well as a widening ethnic diversity. We also had an increase in our population of students with disabilities. Our school went from 33 academic classrooms on the first day of school to 41 by the beginning of the second quarter (October 2007). We added an additional Quest teacher and five special education teachers.
The faculty climate has changed, as well. We have 20 teachers in our school that were employed there when the school opened in 1997. We have a low turn-over rate and we have requests each year to transfer into our school. However, with the influx of students at the beginning of this year, like last year, we earned additional teachers. Some of those teachers came from transfers from other schools (three of them), but the majority of them were “new hires”. In fact, we still have one position that has been vacant all year and has been filled by the same long-term substitute; however, the substitute is not “certified”. At least five of the new teachers are in their first teaching assignment and at least three of them had been in the classroom before, but had left and were returning for the first time in over four years.
With the change in our student climate and the change in the faculty, it is very important that we meet the needs of everyone; but in doing that, we cannot lose our values and we must always strive to do what is best for the students. In order to do that, we must have the best teachers and those teachers must be held accountable to not only the requirements of the state, but also those requirements of our local board and our local administrative staff.
Questions:
1) How are professional ethics addressed within the school?
During pre-planning, we had several faculty meetings that addressed the specific needs of our school. During one of those meetings, our administrators, including AP Barry, utilized the PSC website and presented an overview of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s “The Code of Ethics for Educators.” They also provided all employees with a hard copy of the Code of Ethics. They reminded teachers of items that are included on the Georgia Teacher’s Duties and Responsibilities Index, which would be the final evaluation for each teacher for the year. In addition, AP Barry was responsible for distributing the GTEP manuals and holding the training sessions on the GTEP. He stressed, throughout the whole process, how important it is to follow all the guidelines that are required not only by the state, but by our local administration. Each teacher was assigned a primary evaluator, but almost every classroom was visited once by each administrator. Teachers, through grade level meetings, were presented with “walk-through” criteria and the BLT began the process of monitoring fellow teachers, including the observation of teaching styles, standards being posted, student work being posted, and teachers being “involved” in the learning process. After meeting with the BLT and taking suggestions, the plan was altered so that specific teachers were not always monitoring the same teachers; if I was monitoring a certain “team”, they knew what I was doing when I walked past their door and they altered their behavior. With the alteration of the schedule, the walk-throughs became more effective, thus providing more accurate information. If a teacher was found lacking in an area, the teacher was personally made aware of the situation and an effort was made to help them correct the problem. In addition to that, though, emails were sent as reminders to all employees of not only the rules and requirements, but also of the mission of the school….that we are there for the students and that we must always give our best. There were times when those emails would irritate those who are following the guidelines, but at least the guidelines were known and enforced.
2) How does the school strive to provide a free, quality education to every student?
There are times, as educators, that it is difficult having some students in the classroom, but every student deserves to have an opportunity for that education; not all will take a school up on receiving it! Every effort is made by AP Barry to ensure that all students are scheduled correctly. He worked very closely with the special education department co-chairpersons in ensuring that the facilities that they needed were in place, that the employees required were in place, and that the students were in the proper educational settings. With all the changes in the special education programs both federally and within the state, it was very important that all of these are taken into account when finding placement for the students. Since AP Barry came from one of our non-performing schools, he knew most of the students that came from his previous school. This could have been a double-edged sword for both him and the students had he not acted fairly and ethically. AP Barry presented an excellent model in treating the students without prejudice. These students were in a new setting and thus deserved a new start. However, if the same behaviors became a problem, he would help the teacher/team with solutions that were effective before. While this practice may not have always been popular within our school, they were effective. Some students were given a new chance and have been very successful in our school; others have reverted to “old habits” and we have worked with AP Barry to find better ways to work with them. With AP Barry’s help, we have about 30 students who are on daily checklists that must report to a mentor daily to present their checklists. The behavior and academic performance of these students has increased and the behavior issues have decreased. In this way, every student wins because the teacher’s time is not taken up in discipline, thus providing more instructional time in these classes.
3) How, as an administrator, do you treat all teachers fairly and ethically?
I think, for AP Barry, this year was probably easier than the successive years will be. I know, as a teacher who often teaches the same students two or more years (in rotating Connections classes), there are some of those who pull our heartstrings, those we often have conflict with, and those that are such good students, we would take them home with us. As humans, we tend to follow the “Golden Rule”: Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is easier to deal with those who are the “model” students. However, as educators, we have to learn to treat all students as fairly, not necessarily as equally, as we can. Administrators have to do the same. While we may have a more personal relationship with some teachers, we have to keep the personal relationship out of the professional relationship. When I stated that this might be easiest for AP Barry this year, I meant that all teachers were “unknown” this year. During the next few years, different relationships will have developed and that can sometimes muddy the waters, so it may become more difficult to keep the distance needed. In observation over the last years, I have noticed, though, that administrators often go to the same core teachers when results are needed. One example from this year, including AP Barry, involved the creating of teams for the next school year. Our principal has worked diligently with our BLT over the last five years and has given the chore of team assignments to the BLT. There were many discussions about the team assignments in three different meetings, often stating that this person couldn’t be with that person, this person always gets what they want, etc.. Unfortunately, everyone cannot get what they want; AP Barry finally took the helm and set about having the BLT create final teams based on “core” teams and then had the BLT add in the additional teachers as they fit. After three meetings, we were final able to reach a “consensus”. While everyone is still not happy, we could agree that the team assignments were what were best for the students, not necessarily what we, as the teachers, wanted. In addition, even though AP Barry may not agree with your position, he will listen to your complaints. There are some issues that he can work out and some in which he has no lee-way. He will not make promises that he can’t keep and if he knows nothing can be done about it, he will tell you that and he will explain why it cannot be changed.
Grade of Administrator:
Based on the fact that I have only observed AP Barry for the current school year, I would rate AP Barry as Proficient. As stated in the above scenarios, he is able to treat both the students and the teachers fairly and ethically through my observations. I do not know whether, over the next few years, these observations will continue as personal relationships begin to enter into the professional ones. I do no think that they will, but time will tell. I feel that AP Barry strives to provide clear and concise expectations and then to determine if those expectations have been met. In doing this, he treats each person as an individual, attempting to meet their needs so that things are not necessarily equal, but that they are fair and ethical. I tend to think this will continue and improve as his experience continues.