Assignment:
CASE OVERVIEW
In August, 2002, Melody Johnson, the deputy superintendent of the Providence, Rhode Island School District, was hastily appointed acting superintendent in the wake of the resignation of her predecessor and close colleague Diana Lam. Lam and Johnson together had embarked, over the previous three years, on an ambitious reform plan to upgrade the low-performing system. Despite some indicators of improvement, however, Johnson knew that there remained signi?cant resistance to the changes as evidenced, in part, by a bitter contract dispute recently settled with the system's teachers. This case describes the challenge facing Melody Johnson as she sought to gain rank-and-?le support for reform, in the immediate months after her appointment as superintendent in her own right. It focuses on speci?c steps that she considered to gain that support, without compromising reforms including, radically, a day in which classes would be cancelled so that she and others could address the teaching force as a whole.
Guide Questions
In your analysis and recommendation, be guided by the following:
1. How do you assess Diana Lam's strategy for bringing change to the Providence Schools? In what areas was she effective? In what areas was she ineffective?
2. What did Lam accomplish?
3. What are the critical challenges facing Melody Johnson as she assumes the role of Superintendent of the Providence School District?
4. How can Melody Johnson elicit leadership from within the Providence School District?
5. What should Melody say to the teachers when she meets with them "to celebrate teaching" and get them "on their feet" on December 10, 2002?