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Understanding School Personnel Management
Patricia Wooten
EL 5753
American School of Education
William J. Smith, Ed. D
March 13, 2021
Understanding School Personnel Management
Introduction
School personnel management refers to the school’s activities that revolve around good recruitment, development, and human resources utilization. The school personnel involves all the people who have responsibilities in school; they include the board of education, superintendent, principal, teachers, cleaners, kitchen staff, security personnel, and doctors, among other people (Master, 2014). The school board is responsible for making most of the critical decisions and solves significant challenges in school. Moreover, the head of the school personnel is the administrative personal headed by a principal responsible for allocating teaching responsibilities to teachers and evaluating their performance (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). For instance, Mrs. Wright is a non-tenured teacher, and there are complaints that she has been discriminating against Julia, who is a student in her class, like a drug addict in front of the whole class. An act that Julia’s parents are not happy with, and they need an explanation.
Review of Case Study Continuation and Prompts
Julia’s case is an example of discrimination that most students face while in school, leading to poor performance because they feel left out in class. As a principal, I am responsible for looking into student discrimination claims in the school (Tenuto et al., 2016). Julia’s parents came and raised a claim after Julia’s outburst that their sixth-grade daughter was facing discrimination from her teacher Mrs. Wright who is part of my team of non-tenured teachers (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). Julia’s parents complain that Mrs. Wright, who is one of the school’s best students, sends their daughter out of class because she thinks that Julia is a drug addict. The act of separating Julia from other students affects her mental growth and class performance. After the meeting with Julia’s parents, I realized that Mrs. Wright was always acting superior to other teachers. She could do what pleases her despite the directives that I had given her concerning Julia’s case.
Additionally, I took the opportunity to analyze Julia’s case by following the necessary documentations of state rules and regulations to guide decision-making after compiling results. The district procedures of handling discrimination in schools are competent since it has been reviewed and approved to make concrete decisions (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). However, my investigations revealed that Mrs. Wright was innocent of the accusations levied against her according to the district policies concerning teachers’ contracts. Mrs. Wright will only face legal charges concerning other non-discriminatory behaviors such as rude responses to teachers, going against school work ethics, and making irrational decisions (Master, 2014). However, if my investigations proved that Mrs. Wright was guilty, she could face several charges according to the state policies, which would affect her job. Moreover, the school knows few contracts and constitutional rights of teachers, and I would guide in creating awareness of staff legal rights.
District School Complaint Procedure
The district has set regulations and policies that help conduct enough investigations concerning all grievances concerning discrimination in school. Therefore, I had to follow a few steps and documentation of the district to guide me in making the final decision concerning Julia’s case. The procedure involves three significant actions: filing a complaint, decision & appeal, and appeal to the school board.
Filing a Complaint: – The first step of the grievance procedure is filing a complaint with the equity coordinators or the responsible superintendents (Master, 2014). The grievance will be filed within the first 30 days after becoming aware of such complaints and get the necessary assistance from the equity coordinators in doing so (Hansen and Zirkel, 2018). The district provides that the investigations begin within fifteen working days, and it will include a stepwise procedure, which includes, but not limited to, the following legal process:
I will request the complainant to produce a written statement that describes the grievance.
I will also request the individual named in the complaint to provide a written declaration.
Next, I would request any named witnesses to provide a written testimonial for the case.
I will further interview the complainant, respondent, and witnesses to get full details.
Additionally, I will give a chance for any other relevant information for the investigation.
Collection and review of documentation deemed relevant for the case for deeper insight like section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination.
Lastly, I will work with the equity coordinators for sixty working days to issue a report.
Decision and appeal: – The second step after receiving all the facts from both parties is to make a report with details of the decisions made after closing the complaint. The investigation revealed that Mrs. Wright was innocent of discrimination. The parties will have a chance to appeal whenever they feel that the final decision is unfair. I will accept the detailed appeal in a written document and present it to the superintendent and the equity coordinators (Hansen and Zirkel, 2018). Additionally, I will look into the case for thirty days alongside a team of coordinators. We shall amend the decision, affirm, reverse, or direct it to the equity coordinators to seek more information. Lastly, I will get the processed decision and notify the respondent, complainant, and the school board within five working days.
Appeal to School Board: – I would give the complainant a chance to appeal to the school board if the superintendent’s decision was not satisfactory within five working days. However, the school board will have the option of deciding whether they will hear the appeal or not based on the weight of the matter (Hansen and Zirkel, 2018). However, the board’s final decision does not prevent any of the parties from seeking redress through federal law or state agencies according to the constitution. Lastly, any instances of revenge against a person will be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures according to federal law.
Discussion of the Outcome
My investigation results showed that Julia’s teacher was innocent of discrimination against Julia, but she was guilty of other non-discriminatory actions. Despite her devotion to the school and good teaching skills, Mrs. Wright is an arrogant teacher who does what she pleases despite the directives that I give her as the principal. I reviewed her profile and realized that her actions were because she was raised in a family of divorced parents who used to argue a lot, thereby affecting her social ethic characters (Master, 2014). Additionally, her profile indicated that she has poor communication skills and she expects other teachers to read her mind, and sometimes she does not communicate at all. Moreover, Julia’s teacher has a character of making other people feel dumb since she always doesn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to point out the wrong deeds of a person (Tenuto et al., 2016). Additionally, my investigation revealed that Mrs. Wright is critical since she criticizes people and never praises any good deeds.
However, the distrust rules and regulations are stringent on the mentioned non-discriminatory actions of Mrs. Wright in the school. Therefore, there are some few actions according to the school policy that I would take against Julia’s teacher for her unpleasant attitude towards other teachers, students, and general staff (Master, 2014). First, I would advise Mrs. Wright to seek advice from the school counselors concerning maintaining positive interactions with other people alongside fighting her experiences (Tenuto et al., 2016). In the meantime, I would consider the district requirement of terminating her contract with the school to serve as an example for other non-tenured teachers to uphold good work ethics. The school district constitution does not protect most of Mrs. Wright’s actions because they are unethical, especially where many people interact (Master, 2014). However, if Mrs. Wright were a tenured teacher, I would give her a temporary suspension until further notice to give her time for self-refection and behavior change.
Consequences of Discrimination If the Allegations Were Valid
The school district has regulations against teachers who discriminate against students. The rules are set because discrimination leads to reasonably low grades of the students, resulting in poor district mean scores (Tenuto et al., 2016). Additionally, Julia might be written up for unimportant activities when the teacher signs her out frequently than others (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). The district regulations on teacher misconduct mandate me to issue unpaid leave to Mrs. Wright after affirming that she was guilty of the accusations levied against her by Julia’s parents. The duration of the unpaid leave will be dependent on the reaction and reaction of Mrs. Wright and the commitment to changing her attitude to conform to the proper work ethics (Master, 2014). Additionally, I would consider suspending or terminating the contract with Mrs. Wright. According to the school district’s constitutional requirement, this would mean that her services would be no longer needed in the school because her discriminative actions do not make her fit to teach students (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). Furthermore, Mrs. Wright will face the dilemma of resigning from her duties because she is no longer fit to deliver services as a non-tenured teacher or stay and risk her contract dishonored.
However, I will have to consider some of the rights that Mrs. Wright has to ensure that I work according to the school district regulations’ requirements. Some of her right include the right to hearing and statement of reasons that allows them get an opportunity get a hearing before termination of her contract according to the fourteenth amendment clause on teachers rights (Chambers and Erausquin, 2018). Additionally, Mrs. Wright has the legal right of non-discrimination from colleagues as a non-tenured teacher because her actions could make other people keep a distance from her thereby disintegrating her from the teachers` associations. Moreover, Mrs. Wright has rights covered in the Due Process Clause that provides that no state should deprive any non-tenured teacher of liberty, life, or belongings without due process of law (Master, 2014). However, her rights differ from a tenured teacher since a tenured teacher cannot be relieved of her duties through contract non-renewal because their contracts are renewed automatically.
Contract and Constitutional Rights of Teachers in the School
The faculty in my school is aware of few rights and contacts. The teachers are aware that they can be dismissed because of neglect of duty, incompetence, immoral conduct, insubordination, and many more accusations (Tenuto et al., 2016). Another right that teachers are aware of includes denial or revocation of teaching certificates due to some actions such as violation of ethical standards, and misrepresentation, among others. Moreover, the teachers are aware of their freedom of expression and association, academic freedom, practical and technical due process rights, and protection against unreasonable searches and appropriations (Master, 2014). It is evident that the school staff is not aware of many of their rights and contracts, and it is sensible that I find ways of enlightening them. First, I would draft and send important messages concerning tenured and non-tenured teachers` rights. Secondly, I do a review to ensure that all the staff, volunteers, and board members understand their constitutional rights (Master, 2014). Moreover, I will engage the school media to help facilitate awareness of all staff’s freedom and rights. Additionally, I would opt for a practical session where all staff will have the opportunity to participate in rights exposition. Lastly, I will evaluate the overall success of the efforts towards making the school personnel aware of these rights.
References
Chambers, B., & Erausquin, J. (2018). Race, Sex, and Discrimination in School Settings: A Multilevel Analysis of Associations With Delinquency. Journal Of School Health, 88(2), 159-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12589
Hansen, K., & Zirkel, P. A. (2018). Complaint Procedure Systems Under the IDEA: A State-by-State Survey. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 31(2).
Master, B. (2014). Staffing for success: Linking teacher evaluation and school personnel management in practice. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(2), 207-227.
Tenuto, P. L., Gardiner, M. E., & Yamamoto, J. K. (2016). Leaders on the front line—Managing emotion for ethical decision making: A teaching case study for supervision of school personnel. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 19(3), 11-26.
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