Week $4$: Discussion B $>$ Video Case $-$ Making Changes in New Orleans' Most Troubled Schools

Assignment

After watching the video, please read the following case and post answers to the questions below on the discussions area.

Case

Read the following and post answer to questions below on the discussions area.

Making Changes in New Orleans' Most Troubled Schools

When Paul Vallas arrived in New Orleans in July $2007$ as the new public school superintendent, he had his work cut out for him. The city's schools had long been considered among the nation's worst. The state had threatened for years to take control as test scores repeatedly showed poor performance. There had been frequent changes in administration leadership, with an average of a new superintendent every $18$ months. When no one thought things could get worse, Katrina arrived in $2005$ and devastated the city's educational infrastructure. Floodwaters damaged many of the district's $124$ schools beyond repair. Records were lost. Families, teachers and students were displaced by the thousands, many never to return.

Amid the devastation, still evident in many sections of New Orleans, was an opportunity to rebuild the schools from the ground up$.$ From the moment Vallas took the superintendent job, he has been selling his vision of the future. $"$We cannot afford anything less than excellence," he says. With a mandate to turn around the Recovery School District, which contains the city's worst schools, Vallas is planning a massive redesign of the district's high schools.

The plan for Rabouin, the district's largest high school where historically only half of the seniors graduate, is to transform it into a school with a large international baccalaureate program. There, however, teachers have been too occupied with day$-$to$-$day concerns to think much about grand plans. For the first two months of the $2007-08$ school year, scheduling problems left students in the wrong classes. Students wandered the hallways during class, with teachers yelling at them to go to their classrooms. One first$-$year teacher described it as a circus atmosphere and a tense environment, where morale was plummeting. Her question to the education official visiting in January to survey teachers' morale was, "Where have you been? We've been suffering for months."

Vallas replaced Rabouin's principal with the school's assistant principal, a dynamic and strong leader who instills confidence in her ability. Teachers say the new principal has been much stricter in enforcing policies and backing up what she says with action$(1)/(2)$a refreshing and much needed change. More personnel changes may follow as all principals and teachers are evaluated. Vallas emphasizes that he will not parade principals in and out or get rid of lots of teachers$(1)/(2)$only those with high absenteeism$,$ minimal effort, low expectations of students, and lack of results.

As part of the new campaign for excellence, all district schools start the day at $8$ A$.$M$.$ and go until $4$:$30$ P$.$M$.$ All eighth and ninth graders will be in school year$-$round. Vallas set up a school, Booker T$.$ Washington, just for eighth graders unable to pass the mandatory state test required to move on to high school. With its population of "over$-$age underachievers," Booker T$.$ was plagued by behavioral problems that disrupted teachers and students who wanted to learn. This school in crisis needed a culture where learning could take place. Vallas hired Camelot, a private educational services provider, which placed personnel through the school to enforce rules and limit movement in hallways. Camelot employees first took an aggressive approach to restore order, then changed their tactic to get to know the students while enforcing discipline. Vallas knows it will take time to change Booker T$.\text{'}$s culture for good and raise performance of students who have demonstrated underperformance for years. While he is patient, at Booker T$.,$ as in all the district schools, he expects results.

Sources:

Discussion Questions

Please share your thoughts about these questions on the discussion area.

$$ How would you rate teaching according to the five characteristics that determine how motivating a job is$?$ What does the Rabouin High School situation show about the effect those in authority have on motivation and morale?

$$ What types of organizational structures does the New Orleans Recovery School District illustrate? How do these structures impact the schools?

$$ Does establishing organizational culture in a school present any different challenges than establishing culture in a business?