Key Assessment - Faculty Issues Related to Gender (ELCC Standards 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, 6.2,6.3)
You are an elementary principal, and your faculty is all female, except for the physical education teacher. As you work with your teachers on the development of curriculum and lesson plans, you begin to notice a subconscious prejudice about expectations for students depending on gender.
When you observe classes, you notice that boys are called upon more in science lessons, and that they typically take the lead in the labs and experiments.
You also notice that girls are called upon more frequently to answer questions in reading lessons. As the teachers lead the discussions about the reading selections, the teachers express an obvious opinion about gender roles in the family.
If you had not looked at the calendar, you would think that you were in the fifties as indicated by some of the comments made by the teachers about the roles of moms and dads in discussions and stories about families. You also notice that boys and girls are disciplined differently at recess.
Some of the aggressive behavior that boys exhibit is not tolerated if the girls exhibit the same behaviors. The teachers seem to dismiss the boys' behavior as "Boys will be Boys." But they are quick to criticize the girls by saying; Young ladies don't act that way."
Although you have a very dedicated and collaborative faculty, you realize that they are most likely influencing student success based on gender. As you look at the state test scores, you notice that boys score significantly higher in math and the girls score significantly higher in reading.
You could dismiss this as typical of the interests of boys and girls at this age, but you strongly suspect that your faculty members might unknowingly be contributing to this achievement gap.
As the principal of the school, what would you do? Write a seven page paper explaining in detail the process, strategies, and changes that you would implement in addressing this challenge.
You must include a clear and comprehensive rationale for each change and strategy and must utilize a collaborative and trustful decision making process that will sustain a positive learning environment with high expectation for students. Please align your plan with ELCC Standards 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, and 6.2 which are specified in the Rubric.
ELCC Standard 5.1 is especially important in that it focuses on the importance of the leader and his/her abilty to promote the success of every student by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner to ensure a school system of accountability for every student's academic and social success.