IN : Analyzing Logan Elementary School's Data The foregoing are excerpts from interviews conducted by the school's principal, Nancy, with parents, faculty, and employees at an elementary school:

1. Prepare a presentation for Nancy using the information you've gathered. Take note of the interviewee's grade level, position, and tenure. 2. Consider reorganising the records. When you first looked at the results, did you see something different? Which process do you believe was the most efficient?

3. How can you organise Nancy's input session? What topics will you present, and why would you do so?

Logan Elementary School is a residential elementary school with six grade levels located in a middle-class district in the southwestern United States. It's a big school of five wings with six or eight classes in each. Wings A and B are for grades 1-3, while wings C, D, and E are for grades 4-6. The school was designed in the late 1980s, but it was recently repainted in vivid colours and adorned with three intricate murals thanks to funds collected by the Parents Association.

You've been asked to assist the principal in improving partnerships within the school's teachers and employees as an organisation leadership practitioner. The school has 38 full-time faculty members, eight part-time staff members, and a part-time librarian. Nancy Mestas, the school's principal, has two years on the job and aims to strengthen partnerships among faculty and employees, as well as continuity in approach among teachers at each grade level and the school's partnership with the city. In the last year, she's been through a lot of shifts.

You decided to hold one-week discussions with teachers, students, and parents in order to get a greater understanding of the school's problems. You negotiated with interviewees that all conversations would be recorded secretly and that details would be exchanged exclusively in summarised form, with quotations being shared only where a particular person could not be named. You have a conference with Nancy set for next week to present the data and get input.

Monday has arrived.

"Nancy has done an incredible job with the children. She's joined us outside for recess or physical education events a number of times to root on our kickball players. 'Miss Nancy,' as they name her. I've never seen students behave so badly in front of a principal." (Grade 5) Teacher

I understand Nancy's need for us to all have the same collection of books and equipment, but that's not how I've always done things at this school. I've been here for nine years and have always had the freedom to choose my own books. Nancy must realise that this is a part of the classroom's independence." (Grade 3-Teacher)

"Meetings of the faculty are usually fruitful. It's a great way to meet new people and unwind after a long day at school."

(Grade 5) Teacher

"Nancy should do a great job at ensuring the faculty meetings are attended by a diverse group of people." (Grade 4) Teacher

"Last year's first parent open house was an excellent concept. The monthly bulletin is no different." (Parent of a child in Grade 6)

"Working in Nancy's theme has been a breeze. She's pleasant and welcoming." (I've been on staff for 3 years.) "The majority of us were not contacted when she requested Jaime to choose a Grade 3 reading book. That seemed unjust to me, and Nancy seemed to dismiss our protests. I understand her need for continuity, but there is a smarter way to go about it." (Grade 3-Teacher)

"Nancy is incredibly helpful to us. She's attended every one of our grade-level meetings and shared a wealth of resources with us from her time as a fifth-grade instructor. She seems to be aware of the difficulties we encounter." (Grade 5) Teacher

"Nancy has been incredibly helpful to the team." (Two-year tenured staff member)

the second day of the week

"The current grade levels in the district have become somewhat inconvenient. We were just informed a couple weeks before the start of the school yeardidn't Nancy know?and we had to rush to follow the revised standards. I had two weeks to fully rework my September and October schedule. Nancy didn't seem to be sympathetic in the least. 'We just ought to be agile,' she just told." (Grade two teacher)

"Faculty sessions seldom appear to include any of the issues that worry me. They're static because inflexible, and we can't put up new subjects until we've booked time on the schedule two days ahead of time. Stuff happen from time to time, and you just deal with them." (Unknown teacher)

Some of the improvements I've seen in the last year have inspired me. The latest monthly newsletter for parents is really appealing to me. It provides me with information about Sarah's activities at college." (Parent of a child in Grade 5)

The addition of voice mail as a way to reach the teachers if I have a concern about my son's homework has become a useful communication tool." (Parent of an infant in Grade 2)

"Nancy hasn't been approachable to me in the past. I attempted to contact her many times to express my reservations about our textbook collection, but she was too preoccupied to meet with me." (Grade 3-Teacher)

"Nancy has been a pleasure to work with in the workplace. Compared to the previous principal, this one is a big step forward." (Five-year staff member)

duration)

The attention seems to be centred on upper-grade instructors. In our wing of the campus, we seldom see Nancy." (First-grade teacher)

"There's no doubt about it: Nancy has favourites." (Grade 3-Teacher)

Wed.

"It's a lot easier to keep up with what's going on at school these days than it was before. The parents newsletter, which is published once a month, has proven to be a valuable resource." (Parent of a child in Grade 4)

"When Nancy visits my classroom to read to the students, they are delighted. She has always made herself available to me and our class." (Grade 5) Teacher

"Nancy and I have a great working friendship. I've spent a lot of time at this academy, and I believe she recognises that. My other regret is that she has a habit of forgetting to remind us of adjustments (such as the lunch plan last week), which may trigger issues." (I've been on staff for 8 years.)

"In regards to the reading textbook problem, I believe Nancy could have been more forthcoming with us." (Grade 3-Teacher)

"I'm not sure how much Nancy communicates with the superintendent or someone else in the district office, although I believe it would be beneficial if she did. We used to have a lot of clout in the district because our students were so good, and that would come in handy during budget season." (Grade 4) Teacher "I wish the district had provided us with more resources to help us cope with our school's current math requirements." (Grade two teacher)

"Occasionally, I wonder, "Who is Nancy?" I don't believe she really realises I teach here, save for faculty meetings and memos." (Grade two teacher)

Tomorrow is Thursday.

"As the librarian, I'm only here a couple days a week, but I admire Nancy's attempts to involve me in faculty meetings and handle me as though I were a full-time employee." (I've been on staff for four years.)

"It's uncomfortable and awkward in our faculty sessions. Just about half of the people in the company are interested in taking part. I usually don't get any value from them." (Mr./Mrs./Missing/Missing

3rd Grade

"Nancy is doing a decent job in general, but I believe she should have done a better job fighting the district over the revised guidelines and helping us to meet them.

a little extra cash" (Unknown teacher)

"This year, Nancy diverted our arts funds to the Grade 6 students, so I won't be willing to do my spring painting project as I have for the past six years. That was incorrect, in my opinion." (Grade two teacher)

"Nancy is very friendly and understanding of our needs. It's good to know she's by my side." (Grade 6-Teacher)

"Nancy's method of assigning teachers this year seemed to me to be unequal. My preferences were not taken into consideration until I expressed them. I'd never taught a combined class before, and it's been a lot of extra work with no help." (Grade 2/3 Teacher)

a mixture of

"During the first open house, I had the chance to speak with both the principal and my son's instructor. While I have not used the voice mail feature, I do read the monthly bulletins on a regular basis." (Parent to a first-grader)

Tomorrow is Friday.

"Meetings of the faculty are well-organized and managed. Unfortunately, I don't believe everybody takes part fairly. Nancy sends out an agenda a few days before the conference, which is convenient for me so I know what to anticipate and how to plan." (Grade 6-Teacher)

"The deficit is my only gripe. And construction paper is beyond our means! All we do is to promote the current academic guidelines, and all extra money for field trips or other programmes has been eliminated as a result." (Grade 5) Teacher

"Nancy's plight is understandable. We wanted to slash the budget around the same time that we had to satisfy brand different district standards, which was difficult. I wish she was more assertive about her lobbying efforts on behalf of the district." (First-grade teacher) "Because of my daughter, I've had a couple of one-on-one meetings with the principal, and I've considered her to be really approachable."

(Parent of an infant in Grade 2)

"I left Kelly's teacher a voice mail a few days ago, but I haven't received a response. That isn't really helpful, in my opinion." (Parent of a child in Grade 3) "The quarterly parent newsletter that the instructor sends home is something we've noticed on occasion. It is possible that it would become more common." (Parent of a child in Grade 3)

"Nancy has strong expectations and is very demanding, which motivates her employees to work hard. I believe she should involve us in any of the emails sent to all of the teachers so that we are aware of what is going on as well." (I've been on staff for 3 years.)