Impatient Parents Analysis and Rationale

Ariana Gervasio
October 3rd, 2020
EAD-519
Dr. Summerville
Impatient Parents Analysis and Rationale

Part 1: Case Analysis
1. Brief summary of the case:

Ms. Lemming, the mother of a sophomore student, is demanding a meeting with the
principal because of harassment regarding her daughter. The receptionist lets Ms.
Lemming know that the principal is off campus, and she can see if the assistant principal
is available. The assistant principal, myself, agrees to meet Ms. Lemming after the
receptionist checked and briefed them on the situation. She expressed that she emailed
the geometry teacher last night where one incident had occurred but has not heard from
the teacher this morning. She then comes into the office after brief introductions. The
parent explains how this harassment has occurred in and out of class for over a week. The
harassment includes phone calls, text messages, laughing at her, and insults about
clothing. Ms. Lemmings is suspicious that this same boy, their neighbor, who mocked her
clothing, is responsible for the other portions of harassment. After listing to this worried
parent I express wanting to meet with herself, her daughter, and the geometry teacher. I
then ask for the availability to set up a meeting, but she explains that she does not have
time soon to meet. She explains that she expects this handled promptly and bothered by
this occurrence under a teacher’s nose. The parent then leaves abruptly as I explain I will
follow up when I have more information (Grand Canyon University, 2019).
2. Identify the issues to be resolved:

There are several issues here that need resolving. The main issue is to find out who is
harassing this student and how can we make it stop. Another issue would include the
teacher being unaware that this harassment is occurring within their classroom. Further,
there is an issue within finding a time to talk with Ms. Lemming again.
3. Stakeholders involved in the issues:
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 6

Stakeholders include Ms. Lemming, her daughter, the boy neighbor, other students who
were laughing, the geometry teacher, parents/guardians of all parties, myself as the
assistant principal, the principal, the receptionist, the school counselor, and the governing
board of the school district.
4. One or two existing laws or court rulings that relate to the issues:
Arizona State Legislature statue 15-2301 provides insight on definitions of hazing and
prevention policies. “Every public educational institution in this state shall adopt, post,
and enforce a hazing prevention policy. The hazing prevention policy shall be printed in
every student handbook for distribution to parents and students” (Arizona State
Legislature, 2020). Within the policy, it must include several aspects to be valid. We can
find these via the statue with the violations, prevention policies, and what an educational
institution would include.
5. District policies that relate to the issues:

We prohibit students from harassment on school grounds, school property, at a school
bus stop, on the school bus, at school-sponsored events/activities, and through electronic
devices or forms of communication. When the harassment occurs outside of school
disciplinary action can still occur when it results in substantial mental, physical, or
emotional negative effects on the victim while on at any school-related item or school
grounds. Disciplinary action may also occur when they interfere with the authority of the
school system to stay orderly. All types of violations will be reported to local law
enforcement. When harassment occurs the victim, student, parent, or staff member, must
report the situation to the principal. A verbal incident may be the first description of said
event; however, a written description is necessary. If a staff member fails to report this
may cause a suspension without pay or dismissal under Board Policies. The principal will
provide the harassed student with a copy of their student rights, protections, and support
services and contact the parents/guardians of the student. They require the principal to
investigate all reports and will use the Board Policies in conjunction with the situation.
No matter the outcome, the principal will meet with the involved students and
parents/guardians to discuss their findings. The District will maintain documentation for
not less than six years (Cave Creek Unified School District, 2001).
6. Possible solutions to the issues:

Some solutions would include passing the information to the principal for them to handle
the situation. Starting the investigation myself and determining the disciplinary action
based upon the Governing Board Policies.
7. The solution you chose to resolve the issues:

To resolve the issue in a timely manner, I would first report the information to my
principal and ask them for their clear for me to begin the investigation. The first thing I
would like to do is meet with all parties. This would include talking to the geometry
teacher, the daughter of Ms. Lemming, her other teachers, the neighbor along with the
students who laughed, and other students within the geometry class. With these
conversations, I can assess where the issues lie. I would also like to talk with our school
counselor about any information they may know and how we can help Ms. Lemming’s
daughter throughout this incident. One of my concerns is within the teacher either lacking
to report the incident or lacking to see what is happening within their classroom. To get
an insight into the situation, I would ask questions like what have you noticed with so-
and-so? If the information is not clear of who is harassing this student, my next step
would be to look at what these messages are and seeing if the phone numbers correlate
with any students. This may require the search through students’ electronic devices to
determine this information. Once I have enough information to determine who had done
the harassing, I would refer the guilty students to our student handbook. With this
behavior, I would recommend at least a five-day suspension of the students, if I would
like more days I would need approval from our superintendent. During this period, I
would be in contact with the parents/guardians of the students to inform them of the
investigation and any findings. After I have concluded my investigation and have come to
my action plan, I would discuss with Ms. Lemming whether that is in person or via phone
call. I would also suggest that I would like her daughter to talk to our school counselor
and that their office is always open if she needs to talk about anything. I would also like
to make sure that Ms. Lemming knows that even though she emailed the math teacher
that night, they are off the clock and still have 48 hours to answer your email. We could
also talk about schedule changes for her daughter, so she is not in the same classes as the
student(s) who are harassing her. Further, I would like to do some infrequent
observations of the geometry teacher’s class to make sure everything is running
smoothly.
8. Action steps (2-5) for implementing your solution, including a timeline for each step:
After the conversation with the parent, I would immediately talk to my principal. For the
conversations and investigation process, I would hope to have all of those conversations
completed by the end of that school-day. It would be my biggest hope to have a set
disciplinary plan enacted by the end of the school-day. If not, I would make sure that this
process occurred the next school-day. This would include talking to the parents/guardians
of the situation at hand is and what the outcome will be. The next school-day I would
make sure I talk to Ms. Lemming to discuss what we did and what we found out, I would
call before the school-day occurred because that seemed to be the only time she had.
Throughout the next couple of weeks, I would like to check in with the student’s teachers
to see if they notice any harassment. This would include also checking in with the
geometry teacher infrequently to determine where I can help them.
9. Potential moral and legal consequences of the solution:

Potential moral and legal consequences could refer to parents/guardians of the harasser(s)
disagreeing with consequences because some actions were on school property. Here, I
could argue that it then became relevant in school and changed the performance and
education experience for other students.
Part 2: Rationale
The Rationale for an Impatient Parent
With impatient parents, it is important to be patient, kind, and flexible within their needs.
A leader needs to act based on data to provide the safety of all students. I can only make choices
based upon the evidence that comes from an investigation and the Governing Board policies.
Any administrator needs to reflect professional ethics, promote social justice, and collaborate to
influence high expectations.
Professional Ethics
The solution I chose reflects professional ethics, holds integrity, and is fair. Being
professional means holding the values of the school and students’ best interests in the highest of
regards. Safety is the number one for all students, whether that is physical or mental. I can hold
integrity through this plan since I followed the Governing Board policies and communicated
with my principal on the steps to proceed. By talking to all parties in the situation, I gave each
person the ability to speak their truth and make matters fair.
Promoting Social Justice
Every student needs to be safe and feel safe for them to learn. By handling this situation
in a timely manner, this shows the importance of mental health. This goes along with connecting
the school counselor within the situation to provide services for this student during and after the
situation has occurred. Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, PSEL, standard five-
section a states, “[b]uild and maintain a safe, caring, and healthy school environment that meets
that the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student” (National Policy Board
for Educational Administration [NPBEA], 2015, p. 13). As the assistant principal, I brought
these thoughts into place by responding quickly and providing additional resources that could
help in the future.
Collaboration
Talking to one another is a vital need to come up with the best solution possible. By
talking to the principal first to start the investigation, I can imagine when they come back, we
can work together to complete the investigation and come up with the best solution. PSEL
standard one section c states, “[a]rticulate, advocate, and cultivate core values that define the
school’s culture and stress the imperative of child-centered education; high expectations and
student support; equity, inclusiveness, and social justice; openness, caring, and trust; and
continuous improvement” (NPBEA, 2015, p. 9). It is vital to incorporate these values within our
school by practicing what we preach. We cannot expect our students to act or perform better
without supporting their mental needs.
Conclusion
In this situation, it is important to be prompt so further harassment does not occur. The
mental safety of our students is a top priority. Decisions made should incorporate set procedural
safeguards and Governing Board policies to address the situation correctly. Therefore,
administrators must be flexible and vigilant to provide a safe learning environment for all of their
students.

References
Arizona State Legislature. (2020). 15-2301. Hazing prevention policies; definitions. Arizona
State Legislature. Retrieved from https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?
docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/02301.htm
Cave Creek Unified School District. (2001). Policy Manual and Administrative Regulations.
Arizona School Board Association. Retrieved from
https://policy.azsba.org/asba/PrintViewer.jsp?printCollection=0
Grand Canyon University. (2019). Case Study Impatient Parents. Grand Canyon University
Student Portal. https://lms-grad.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.lc?
operation=loggedIn&classId=4173d704-1275-4f8c-8fda-
a51202bf086c#/learningPlatform/class/syllabus.lc?
operation=getClassOutlineIUView&c=prepareClassOutlineForm&fromOtherPage=true&
t=coursesMenuOption&folderContentId=4c42a35f-da32-4c4a-a7db-
dc59ac04aa2a&classId=4173d704-1275-4f8c-8fda-
a51202bf086c&tempDate=1601783217180
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for
Educational Leaders. Retrieved from http://www.npbea.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf

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Ariana Gervasio

October 3rd, 2020

Impatient Parents Analysis and Rationale

1. Brief summary of the case:

2. Identify the issues to be resolved:

3. Stakeholders involved in the issues:

© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 6

5. District policies that relate to the issues:

6. Possible solutions to the issues:

7. The solution you chose to resolve the issues:

9. Potential moral and legal consequences of the solution:

The Rationale for an Impatient Parent

influence high expectations.

Promoting Social Justice

help in the future.

without supporting their mental needs.

© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Page 5 of 6

Arizona State Legislature. (2020). 15-2301. Hazing prevention policies; definitions. Arizona

State Legislature. Retrieved from https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?

Arizona School Board Association. Retrieved from

Student Portal. https://lms-grad.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.lc?

Educational Leaders. Retrieved from http://www.npbea.org/wp-

© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Page 6 of 6

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