Mrs. Walker Case Study

Case Summary Mrs. Walker was hired as the new Lincoln K-8 principal. Mr. Silverman was the former principal of Lincoln K-8 and transitioned to the being the school superintendent. Mrs. Walker’s first challenge was changing teacher and aide schedules due to of being out of compliance with pupil accounting and Title One. Eliminating teacher breaks led to low staff morale and teachers complaining to the superintendent and school board. Mr. Silverman, the former principal, became frustrated with Mrs. Walker due to teacher complaints. He suggested that she be more visible in the school and try to connect with the staff and school board. The superintendent watched Mrs. Walker very closely and came to check on her several times during the school …show more content…
Walker to do her job, and the school board questioning if they made a mistake by hiring her. Neither seem to trust or support her decision making, instead she is challenged and scrutinized. There was no training or transition plan in place for Mrs. Walker, instead the superintendent compares her leadership style to his style. Bolman and Deal (2008) assert that when leaders do not understand their environment, they persist in their preferred style despite signs that they are headed in the wrong direction. The superintendent does not allow Mrs. Walker to fully lead Lincoln K-8. He is present at all times in the school, talking to teachers about Mrs. Walker’s performance. Mr. Silverman is in close contact with the school board and listens to their complaints without asking questions. He offers little encouragement or advice to Mrs. Walker, just to “walk and talk” the halls to stay visible. Eventually Mr. Silverman becomes unprofessional and angry with Mrs. Walker. He believes that her performance may have something to do with the fact that she is a woman. He sends her angry text messages and a parent situation and says that he doesn’t want to defend her any more to the school board. The secondary problem is the staff at Lincoln K-8 struggles to adjust to Mrs. Walker after she changed schedules and eliminated teacher breaks. This created low morale, resistance and complaints. Teacher breaks was a tradition that was removed …show more content…
Silverman reaches a tipping point and says that he does not want to defend Mrs. Walker to the school board any longer. His message is direct and forceful. When they meet in person he tells Mrs. Walker that her contract most likely will not be renewed because “the board just doesn’t like you” but that she has not done anything “bad enough to get fired.” Domination can occur in several ways, sometimes more subtle than others, but usually it is because the person in the power position feels like they have the “right to do so” (Morgan, 2006, p. 294). In this case, Mr. Silverman, felt like Mrs. Walker needed to be told what the board was saying about her performance and the