A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.
Name of Case Study: Favored Athlete
Questions the Case Study Answers:
1. To what lengths should an administrator go in order to keep community and school leaders happy?
2. How can an administrator ensure that ethical decisions are made regarding discipline of students?
Scenario:
Green High School, located in the Central Savannah River Area, boasts an athletic department with an enviable record when it comes to playing baseball. Academics at the school are highly regarded, but community leaders and school faculty are exceptionally proud of 9 region and 5 state titles that have been earned by GHS's baseball team. In particular, the team has celebrated the athletic and academic ability of one player who has played on the varsity team for his entire high school career. This player, Nick Barton, was also recently selected by the local newspaper as a Star Athlete in which he won a small college scholarship.
Nick's grades have been slipping in his statistics class during the past semester. He attended tutoring and peer-based study sessions to keep his grades up since he is required to pass all classes in order to play on the baseball team. Despite all of his extra work, Nick is really stressed out over an upcoming exam. He decided that drinking a beer at home one weekend when his parents were gone would do wonders to ease his stress levels. Nick seems to think that having that one beer did indeed help with his stress level, so he snuck a beer to school in his lunch bag and drank it after school. No one actually saw Nick drink the beer but rumors of the event eventually reached Nick's statistics teacher who reports the incident to the administration. Nick is summoned to the office by the principal.
Since Nick's consumption of the beer was not seen by anyone, Principal Dr. Harris’ first response was to have a heart-to-heart discussion with Nick. She explained to him that he had jeopardized his place on the baseball team because of the zero tolerance athletic policy regarding drugs and alcohol. Nick admitted to drinking the beer but promised to never drink again. Dr. Harris decided to keep the situation quiet after warning Nick about the possible repercussions. Later that same day, the statistics teacher came to the office and wanted to find out what punishment was to be implemented. The student code of conduct and the school's own athletic policy clearly outline violations and appropriate discipline for incidents involving alcohol. Since Nick admitted to drinking the beer, he should receive the appropriate discipline. When the teacher found out that Nick received no punishment, she inquired as to whether or not Dr. Harris’ decision was ethical. Since Dr. Harris's initial response was to not implement any punishment, the statistics teacher reminded Dr. Harris of the Educator’s Code of Ethics. The teacher suggested that the principal's career could be in danger if the situation were reported to the professional standards commission. Although she was disturbed at the thought of losing a star baseball player and putting a third straight championship year in jeopardy, Dr. Harris decided to suspend Nick from the baseball team.
Response to Questions:
While partners in education and community leaders are essential to the overall success of a school, a school administrator has a professional obligation to act ethically and see that all students are treated equally according to the Educator’s Code of Ethics. A clear school or district discipline policy that is regularly updated as needed would serve as a reminder to those who may make decisions that are not ethical in nature.
Discussion:
The administrator in this situation is at a developing level of proficiency with regards to ISLLC Standard 5. Although in the end she made the ethical and fair decision, Dr. Harris needed to be reminded of her ethical responsibility to make an appropriate decision regarding discipline. One would hope that if this situation ever occurred again, a strict adherence to policy would be the norm.