Case Study #5
ELCC Standard 5:
Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have demonstrated the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in a legal and ethical manner based on knowledge and understanding of Georgia and federal laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Georgia.
Title: “Be True to Your School”
Questions:
1. Does the administrator act with integrity by demonstrating behaviors that affirm and
communicate the importance of integrity and ethics in all interpersonal contacts?
2. Does the administrator model fairness and impartiality by being sensitive to student
diversity, community norms, values, and ethical considerations in interactions with others?
3. Does the administrator act ethically by abiding the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators?
Relevant Standards:
(5.1) Act with integrity by demonstrating behaviors that affirm and communicate the importance of integrity and ethics in all interpersonal contact.
(5.2) Act fairly by modeling impartiality, sensitivity to student diversity, community norms and values, and ethical considerations in interactions with others.
(5.3) Act ethically by abiding by Georgia law, federal law, the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators and the rules and regulations of the Georgia Department of Education and Professional Standards Commission.
(5.4) Act legally by applying federal and Georgia statutes and regulations as required.
Situation:
Mr. Smith was promoted to assistant principal (AP) at the same high school in a rural community where he had been teaching and coaching for 20 years. As the newly appointed AP, Mr. Smith’s primary role as an administrator was to handle student discipline. Mr. Smith quickly earned a reputation for being a firm, fair, and consistent disciplinarian who strictly followed the code of student discipline as dictated by school board policy in the student handbook. Three months into his tenure as an AP, he faced his first ethical dilemma. A senior football player and his cheerleader girlfriend were caught by a coach having sex in a school gymnasium bathroom. According to school policy, the students involved were to be suspended from school for 10 days for sexual misconduct.
The parents of the students who were caught having sex were both close personal friends of Mr. Smith. Upon informing the parents of the situation and the consequences of their actions according to the school handbook (10 days OSS), he was urged by the parents of both students to lighten the punishment and falsify the written report of their misconduct. The families of both students caught having sex were prominent members of the community. The father of the senior football player was a local attorney and the mother of the cheerleader girlfriend was a former ‘Teacher of the Year” at the local primary school. The families of both parents attended the same church as Mr. Smith and they were embarrassed by the situation and wanted to protect their children’s reputation. Prior to this event, Mr. Smith had caught a Hispanic girl and a Hispanic male having sex during lunch in an empty classroom and had disciplined them according to school policy (10 days OSS for sexual misconduct).
Mr. Smith listened to the parents of both students involved in the sexual misconduct. Realizing the political ramifications of this particular incident, Mr. Smith discussed the situation with his school principal before administering discipline. After the discussion, Mr. Smith administered discipline according to school policy. The football player and the cheerleader received the same disciplinary action (10 days OSS for sexual misconduct) as the Hispanic male and Hispanic female.
Answers to Questions:
1. Does the administrator act with integrity by demonstrating behaviors that affirm
and communicate the importance of integrity and ethics in all interpersonal contacts?
The answer is yes. Mr. Smith acted with integrity by administering school policy in a fair and
consistent manner. Facing politically challenging circumstances, Mr. Smith enforced school policy
and demonstrated his commitment to enforcing school rules in a consistent, fair, and firm manner.
This sent an important message to the students, parents, and the community at large.
2. Does the administrator model fairness and impartiality by being sensitive to
student diversity, community norms, values, and ethical considerations in interactions
with others?
In a previous incident, Mr. Smith held Hispanic students who were guilty of sexual misconduct
accountable for their actions according to school policy. By holding the students of prominent
community members accountable to the same standards as minority students, he sent a
strong message of fairness and impartiality to the local community.
3. Does the administrator act ethically by abiding the Georgia Code of Ethics for
Educators?
The Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators requires the demonstration of integrity and honesty in all
professional activities. If Mr. Smith had agreed to falsify, misrepresent, or omit information from his
investigation of the event, he would have been guilty of Standard 4 of the Georgia Code of Ethics for
Educators (Misrepresentation or Falsification). By accurately reporting the details of the event, Mr.
Smith acted ethically.
Evaluation of the assistant principal’s leadership style:
Based on the information collected, I would rate the assistant principal’s leadership style as “Proficient”. Mr. Smith faced a very challenging situation for a first year administrator. His personal relationships with local community members were tested by this incident. Mr. Smith demonstrated his integrity by enforcing school board policy in a fair and consistent manner regardless of race, personal relationships, or status in the community. By remaining neutral, he passed his first ethical test by doing what was best for the school and the student body as a whole.
Mr. Smith also acted in accordance with the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators. He chose to not falsify records at the request of close personal friends who were also prominent community leaders. Although he faced some criticism and political backlash at the local level, Mr. Smith’s reputation as a firm, fair, and consistent disciplinarian was solidified by this event. Although Mr. Smith faced many other challenging incidents as a school disciplinarian, he credits this one event for setting the tone for his success as an educational administrator.