SLLA Ethical Leadership

A teacher at Longhorn Elementary School uses his private social media account to talk about the 5th and 6th grade students who take band at his school. He calls the students “band geeks". Many members of the school community see this comment and are shocked, reporting it to the school principal. The first thing the principal should do is:

• Report the teacher to HR and put a letter in his file.

• Invite the teacher to meet with you and discuss the impacts of his social media post on the community, while reminding the teacher of his professional and ethical responsibilities.

• Send a letter to the parent community apologizing for the behavior of the teacher.

• Ask the teacher to remove the comment on social media.

An elementary student breaks his arm over the weekend. The parents contact you first thing Monday morning concerned about how their child will be able to complete their work. You address the parents’ concerns by letting them know that their child’s services are covered through:

• The Due Process Clause

• The Americans with Disabilities Act

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

• An Individualized Education Plan

A staff member has been using their school computer for a side business during school hours. Several teachers have come to you with concerns. Your first course of action is:

• Discuss the concerns with the teacher, and remind the teacher the school computer is to be used for school business only.

• Set up a meeting with all of the teachers involved to learn more about the situation.

• Bring the topic up at a staff meeting.

• Put the teacher on an Improvement Plan for the remainder of the year.

The administration in your school is committed to make a transformative model of multicultural education. Which of the following would be the best approach to achieve this model?

• Incorporating a range of cultural perspectives in the curriculum.

• Creating a diverse committee made up of families.

• Starting an annual cultural celebration that promotes diversity of the student population.

• Contacting well-known speakers to discuss culturally responsive education.

When working on students’ classroom placements the administrator should look at specific requests from parents and:

• reply to each parent request, noting any biases toward specific teachers.

• honor each request to maintain positive relationships with parents.

• accept each request to avoid conflict with these parents.

• utilize these as one of the many factors considered in student placement.

The school administrator receives a letter from a parent of a home schooled student asking whether the student can participate in an upcoming district Mathematics competition. The administrator should

• refer to board policy before communicating with the parent.

• determine an appropriate fee to charge the student for participation.

• refuse the request because there is a limit on the number of participants.

• grant the request if the student has passing grades.

Which of the following factors will have the greatest impact on communication and working relationships when the school administrator sends e-mails to teachers and staff?

• The length and syntactic complexity of the emails.

• The subject line, opening, and closing of the emails.

• The daily and weekly volume of the emails.

• The timing, content, and tone of the emails.

There is a diverse student group made of many different cultures and languages. The Principal wants to ensure teachers are using culturally responsive assessment approaches. The best way for the Principal to ensure assessments are equitable is to:

• use various formal and informal assessments.

• gather student feedback and review prior to administering assessments.

• provide students opportunities to practice a variety of tests and practice test-taking skills.

• create assessments that mirror the types of questions and approaches used in state-mandated standardized testing

There was a racially charged fight at a local high school where students felt the police were more aggressive towards one demographic group. As Principal, how would you move forward to help start the healing process?

• Create opportunities for students to share their thoughts with staff

• Create a committee that includes students, staff, and community members to look at possible supports and programs and make recommendations.

• Bring in someone from the county to talk to students and staff at an assembly

• Do a needs assessment in the community

The annual holiday concert is coming up and several parents come to you upset about the upcoming school-wide celebration. They feel that it makes students that do not celebrate traditional holidays feel left out and uncomfortable. They do not want their child to participate in the sing-along and are calling for the cancellation or a change in the current programming or they will share their story with the Superintendent and media. Should you excuse the children, cancel the event, or make changes? Give your rationale for your choice and the factors you considered to make your decision.