The Prince and the Principal (A)

Roger Shouse, Darryl Ford, Paula Kleine-Kracht, and Susan Ryan
Copyright 1993 Center for School Improvement, University of Chicago
(Note:  The following version of this case is taken from  "Case Studies in Educational Administration," edited by Katherine K. Merseth, 1997, Longman Publishing.)

It was mid-December and Betty Tyler sat alone on her living room sofa, under the light from the nearby Christmas tree.  A year before, the flickering glow might have warmed her heart, but now it seemed an inconvenience barely thwarting the cold night It was just a year ago, Tyler remembered, she had been ready to begin an exciting new career as principal of the Florence Elementary School.  Now, she wondered if her career as a principal was near its end.

Tyler prided herself on not giving in easily.  She recalled an incident that had occurred several years earlier, act the end of her twelfth year teaching kindergarten in a Chicago school.  She and her principal had been engaged in an ongoing professional dispute that had finally become unbearable.  Rather than obey unacceptable directives from her principal, she had threatened to quit.  "You can't," said the principal.  "I happen to know that you just bought a new car!" But Tyler was not bluffing.  "I'm not a woman you can say can't to, she realized.  She submitted her resignation the same day.

For the next several -years Tyler worked as a sales representative for an educational publishing company, a job that sent her to as many as a dozen schools a day.  She'd become a keen observer, able to sense the mood of a school within moments of entering the building.  And as she observed, her knowledge deepened, not only of the interactions among students, teachers, and administrators, but also of the contributions that she could make to improving schools.  In her mid-forties-an age at which many professionals "settle in" and look towards retirement-Tyler decided to put her knowledge to use.  She returned to teaching and took the Chicago principal's exam.  That was two years ago.  She began her new career teaching seventh and eighth graders for a short time, but, once again, she felt frustrated by an unsupportive principal.  If she wanted to work in a school that was run well, she thought, she would have to run it herself.

FLORENCE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Tyler first visited the Florence Middle School, on the south side of Chicago, shortly after being appointed the new principal.  It was mid-year.  Her assignment would begin in a few weeks, at the beginning of the second semester.

Tyler was visiting the school on a bleak winter day.  Entering the building, she was immediately struck by its dismal interior.  The school's hallways were dark.  Instead of holiday decorations, the walls were adorned with graffiti and litter.  Students ran by, laughing and making noise.  An angry teacher shouted at them to stop.  She was not comforted coming in from the cold.  The Florence School looked to be a "dark, depressing mess."

Arriving at the office, Tyler asked to speak with Mr. Anthony, the Assistant Principal.  The secretary, Mrs. Potter, told Tyler that Ralph Anthony was meeting with some parents in the "Parent Room." With directions to the Parent Room, Tyler retraced her steps down the hall, all the while looking for anything that might contradict her earlier impression of the school.  When she arrived at the Parent Room, she found several people lounging in front of a television, enjoying a soap opera, coffee, and snacks.  One was Anthony, who looked at Tyler suspiciously and asked, "Can I help you?" After Tyler introduced herself, he responded tactfully, but seemed cold and uninterested.

Ralph Anthony had long hoped, to become Florence's principal, and everyone had expected . him to fill the position when the previous principal retired.  However, he had twice failed the principals' exam, the second time by a single point.  Discouraged, but determined to obtain a promotion, he had begun the current school year as the acting principal.  Tyler was told by her district superintendent that Anthony might be a reluctant partner.

Tyler began her principalship as planned, in January, with Anthony as her assistant.  She scheduled a teachers meeting for 7:30 a.m. on the morning of her first day.  Tyler wanted to begin on the right foot with the faculty supporting her.  Her agenda was set and Mr. Anthony agreed to formally introduce her.  Unfortunately, at 7:30 a.m.', two thirds of the staff were still missing.  Anthony told Tyler "We can't Wait too long.  We got classes to teach." The assistant principal brought the meeting to order five minutes later.  At 7:45 a.m., teachers were still trickling in, many with coffee, doughnuts, and fast food breakfasts.  The latecomers seemed to attract more attention than the new principal.  Tyler was trying to get through her agenda with doors clicking open and shut, coffee slurping, and bags rattling.  For Tyler, this was the limit.

'Look people!" she spoke forcefully.  "Leave your food alone, and put your
 coffee down.  You know 7:30 means 7:30, and I would appreciate your cooperation.

The room fell silent and Tyler felt embarrassed.  This was not the right foot Tyler had hoped for.  After all, only seven or eight people out of thirty were causing problems.  Still, the teachers' behavior only reinforced her first impression of Florence School.  This school was dismal in more ways than one.

TAKING STOCK

After her outburst at the teachers' meeting, Tyler made a conscious decision to refrain from making any comments or taking any action for at least three weeks.  She wanted to hold back and observe the situation at Florence more closely.  Tyler's observations showed her that the school had an unclear curriculum, outdated and poorly used materials, and a staff that was largely resistant to change or innovation.  She often overheard teachers ridiculing their students behind the kids backs and to their faces.  Corporal punishment was not uncommon.  Many teachers kept paddles and taped-up rulers in visible places in their classrooms as an ever-present threat.  "Order,” rather than "learning, seemed the watchword at Florence.

The staff, however, seemed anything but orderly.  Tyler noticed that teachers had no assigned duties outside of teaching.  Some spent their free time, and even class time, gossiping or engaging in private business activities with other teachers.  The principal noticed other traits as well. Teachers argued over parking places and seats in the lunchroom, in spite of the fact that there was a distinct "pecking order" within the Florence faculty.  A group of eight or nine teachers reigned at the top, controlling the culture of the entire school.  And, as Tyler continued to "lay back and observe," she began to think this group, lead by Ralph Anthony, might be trying to undercut her power.

The principal's suspicion was confirmed when she tried to. become involved in the process that deter-mined the use of ECIA (Education Consolidation and Improvement Act) Chapter One funds.  ECIA expenditures had to be approved by the Parent Advisory Council and Anthony strongly encouraged Tyler not to attend the Council meetings.  His implicit message was, 'You stay in your office and let us worry about taking care of business!"

Betty Tyler was incredulous at Ralph Anthony's attitude.  She wouldn't consider not participating in such important decision making.  Tyler knew her school was scheduled to submit a needs assessment to Central Office, and, as yet, there had not been an adequate exploration of how the money should be spent.  Tyler was not surprised when she discovered that the "power clique" already had a plan for the money.  Ralph Anthony and his group wanted to buy a new mimeograph machine, upgrade the parent room, and continue to pay for a "School Community Representative."

But, as far as Tyler could tell, the Parent Room was little more than a TV room and the School Community Representative was one of the people who, more often than not, could be found sitting and watching soap operas.  And though a case could be made that a mimeograph machine was a reasonable request, it was low priority for Tyler.  The school needed to upgrade its curriculum, buy new materials and supplies, motivate students and teachers, and improve the quality of instruction.  To were a mimeograph machine meant more work sheets and less creativity and innovation.

TAKING ACTION

One of Tyler's own priorities was to find more computers for the school.  After only a couple of months, she had already obtained a small grant to renovate the computer room; a forgotten space that was never used.  She had also provided in-service computer training for teachers.  She didn't know if she could persuade the Parents Advisory Council that computers were critical learning tools but she was going to try.

The new principal also tried to persuade teachers to take part in Florence's needs assessment and to make more of an effort to improve the school, generally.  She organized committees around curriculum topics and instructional questions and held weekend retreats for them.  She tried hard to foster more teacher participation in policymaking, which she hoped would lead to better instruction and a more productive e educational environment.

As the spring progressed, Betty Tyler watched her activities increasingly threaten the traditional power structure of the school. it was not just the core group of eight or nine teachers that she had to worry about.  By her conservative estimate, nearly a third of the faculty, some who had been at Florence since it opened in 1961, were firmly fixed in their views and agendas.  And if the rest weren't openly hostile to change, they were generally apathetic.

Tyler's tenure at Florence was evolving into a lonely search for support-from adults.  A large number of students were eager to support their principal.  Betty loved children and her natural instincts were to try to develop a warm-, trusting relationship with them.  Children at Florence seemed starved for attention and Tyler responded as best she could providing countless hugs.  Anthony's predecessor had spent his last years coasting to retirement and little had been done to ease the local effects of violence and poverty.  The middle class Black neighborhood of 1961 had finally given way to the violence of gangs like the Blackstone rangers.  Over the years, the school had come to coexist in a neighborhood of knives, guns, gangs, and fights and had done little to help Florence students feel safe.

For a time Tyler despaired for Florence students.  They seemed to have, "no hope, no dreams, no aspirations." She was especially worried about gang problems.  School doors were not locked during the day, so students and nonstudents went in and out, unsupervised.  Kids roamed freely around the neighborhood and often broke into yards and homes.  Teachers refused to monitor the playground saying, "It's not my job " and students often failed to return to school after recess.  Bottles and remains of cigarettes and joints littered the playground.  Tyler finally began supervising the playground herself and students presented her with a big pole that she could use to keep the "bad kids" in line.  She tied flowers and yarn to it, used it as a baton, and marched around the playground with the children.  By giving attention that had never been given before., Tyler felt that she was winning many students over.

THE FIGHT

Tyler couldn't rely on Anthony and found more and more of her time being spent on disciplinary issues.  The principal was running up and down the hall, breaking up fights, having long talks with the perpetrators in her office-it all left her drained.  Often, the police had to be called.  On one occasion a student hit her.  Tyler responded by pressing charges.  On another occasion, a fight broke out across the street from the school.  Students were attacking each other with chains.  Tyler grabbed her "baton," ran outside, separated those involved, and marched them back into the school.  Parents and police were called and a "flare up" in the school office ensued.  A group of parents began criticizing Tyler because the police were brought in.  Anthony joined the complaining parents.  Betty Tyler couldn't believe this reaction.  She had the police brought in so children would be safe.  But the parents wouldn't hear her.  Their complaints escalated and Tyler "blew up." She told the parents to "Be quiet," and told Anthony to "Go home now."

The next day, despite Florence's open campus policy, Tyler placed students under "house arrest," and directed all teachers to supervise their students during lunch.  Teachers opposed this decision and many in the “old guard' attempted to use the PTA to overthrow Tyler’s "house arrest" policy.  The PTA consisted of ten teachers and eight parents.  Many of the parents were former students of the PTA teachers.  If anything, they represented the informal power structure that Tyler could not seem to budge.  Not surprisingly, the PTA voted to reverse the 'house arrest" decision but Tyler held her ground.  By letter, she reminded the group that the PTA was not an authorized governing body.  The letter was copied to the district superintendent.  Betty Tyler decision held.  And teachers grumbled over their "lunch duty” the rest of the year.

By June, Tyler thought she might be beginning to build a small power base.  There was a small group of teachers that she could regularly rely on.  Tyler encouraged this group and others to attend the summer's city-wide Administration Academy.  She hoped the Academy would inspire a sense of leadership and ownership in her teachers.  But the word was out-don’t do anything that might make Tyler "look good." Only four teachers attended the academy.

MAKING A NEW START

The following August, Tyler, and the four Academy teachers met daily at the school.  They scrubbed away graffiti, painted the main hall, and decorated every wall and bulletin board.  They had a new, energetic agenda to implement at Florence and the first "bullet" was the school's appearance.  When teachers arrived on the first day of school, they were offered a variety of new teaching materials, most of which came from the Administration Academy.  Tyler again wanted the first staff meeting to set an optimistic, cooperative tone.

It was not to be.  From behind the podium, Tyler immediately sensed the hostility.  Anthony was sprawled in his chair at the back of the room, with his arms folded across his chest, and a slight smirk on his lips.  In the middle of the room, a large group of teachers sat sideways, talking to others seated behind them, making no effort to hide their disregard for Tyler.  Tyler didn't want to lose her temper.  She made her announcements, made some remarks about the new year, and adjourned the meeting.

When she returned to her office, Tyler was confronted by the building union representative and eight other teachers, each ready to hand in a completed grievance form.  How, she wondered, had they had time to fill out grievance forms on the first morning of school?  It was, she saw clearly, organized harassment.  When she left the office, she saw Anthony removing a hallway bulletin board display.  "The teachers complained about this," he said.

From September through December, Florence was a war zone.  Tyler stepped up her classroom observations and began preparing files on teachers she considered incompetent or insubordinate. in turn, teachers, aided by the union representative, stepped up the barrage of grievance forms.  The district supervisor, Mr. Brantley, who had hired Tyler on the basis of glowing reports from one of his advisors, tried to encourage Tyler to find a solution.  Over the phone he told her, "Betty, you've got a serious problem.  Now I know how teachers are and I know what you've tried to accomplish at your school.  I appreciate it tremendously.  But your teachers are working hard to run you out of there.  They've complained to the Superintendent about you.  Some parents have also complained.  Do you understand the position we're both in?  Now listen Betty," Brantley went on, "there must be some teachers at the school who are on your side.  I suggest that you get with those people and try to turn things around."

"I've tried," she explained.  "But there are only seven or eight I can work with anymore."

"No, no.  You don't understand.  Your job could be at stake.  Listen, go to the library and find a dusty, old book called The Prince, by Machiavelli.  Read it carefully.  After you've read it, I want you to mobilize your seven or eight good teachers.  Don't wait until after vacation, start now!"

Sitting on her sofa in the glow of the Christmas lights Mr. Brantley's words echoed in Tyler mind.  A well worn library book, a list of teachers' names and phone numbers, and Tyler's telephone lay around her.  It was late in the evening, but perhaps not too late.  Could she solicit support from these teachers?  Betty Tyler looked down at her telephone and wondered.

CASE PREPARATION QUESTIONS

1. Critique Betty Tyler's performance during the first year of her principalship.  What would be your entry plan for Florence?

2. Describe the culture of the Florence School from the point of view of the staff, the principal, the parents? What concrete actions would you employ to change this culture?

3. What lessons does this case hold for the professional development of teachers?


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