SLLA Standard Three

A new assistant principal at an urban high school with a standard zero-tolerance policy has aided in initiating a program to enhance school safety by encouraging students to report potential threats to school security; shortly thereafter, a student reports seeing another student displaying a handgun in the locker room. The assistant principal quickly investigates the issue and discovers the gun is a fancy cigarette lighter.

Which of the following should be the assistant principal's next step?

A substitute teacher is also a parent of students at West Point High School, complains to the new principal about a stained area of the floor in one of the girls bathrooms. She is concerned the stain is mold and represents an unsanitary and unhealthy condition. She is very angry and insists the floor tile be replaced immediately.

What is the first step the principal should take to address the concern about a health issue in the girls' bathroom?

Ms. Jansen is a first year third grade teacher at Red Rock Elementary School. The principal has received multiple complaints from parents about the lack of control in the classroom and its impact on student learning. Ms. Jansen frequently sends students to the office during the day for minor disciplinary infractions. The following actions have been identified as steps which could help Ms. Jansen with her classroom managements skills.

I. Develop a scheduled plan for Ms. Jansen to be observed and coached by an experienced teacher.
II. Conduct follow-up observations of Ms. Jansen's class after several weeks of peer observations.
III. Conduct classroom observations of Ms. Jansen's over a two-to three-day period.
IV. Arrange a one-on-one meeting with Ms. Jansen to explain these concerns.

The Putnam County School District has planned a renovation of the library media center in the high school, with a projected completion date for the start of school in September. In midsummer it became clear the project would not be completed until a few weeks into the school year. Because the library media center in centrally located, parents are concerned the construction poses health and safety hazards to students. The parents have presented the principal with a petition to delay the start of school until the renovations are complete.

Which of the following is the principal's most reasonable response to the parent's petition?

The school nurse informs the school principal that four students have become ill after eating lunch in the cafeteria. The principal could reasonably respond to this situation by doing which of the following?

I. Contacting the local radio, print, and tele-media services to report on the situation at the school.
II. Calling the students' homes that evening to ask about their condition.
III. Alerting the cafeteria staff to a possible problem wit that day's food or food preparation.
IV. Asking the school nurse to examine all students who ate in the cafeteria that day.

The principal of a high school undergoing a major renovation has two letters on his desk. One is from the president of the student government complaining about the construction crew and their harassment of students as they try to pass to classes. The second is from the construction foreman reporting students are ignoring posted safety signs and cutting through work areas. In response to the two letters, the principal's best course of action is to...

A school district decided to dismiss students early due to inclement weather. Of the following strategies, which ones would best result in parents being aware of the situation and thus being able to plan accordingly?

I. Notifying the local radio stations
II. Initiating a phone chain
III. Posting information on the school Web sites
IV. Sending a note home with each student

Mr. Roberts is the director of curriculum and instruction in a suburban school district. The superintendent has asked him to focus his attention on first-year teacher Ms. Bing, who appears to be struggling to deliver instruction and maintain order in her classroom.

The interactive approach taken by Mr. Roberts is contrary to the traditional top-down pattern of supervision used in much of the United States educational system. According to research, this traditional model can be psychologically dissatisfying to teachers because teachers research, this traditional model can be psychologically dissatisfying to teachers because teachers....

Mr. Sullinger has recently been appointed principal in a school where a combination of events has left the faculty with critically low morale. Difficult economic times have forced major budget cuts, the teachers have been involved in an extended and bitter contract negotiation, and the former principal ran the school in an autocratic manner for many years.

During a team meeting attended by Mr. Sullinger, teachers express their frustration over having to be extremely frugal with their teacher supplies and how it has negatively impacted instruction. The teachers request more money to purchase important supplies to support instruction. Which of the following responses by the principal conforms tot he most acceptable leadership practice?

A school district hires an outside consultant to perform an audit of the high school's instructional and disciplinary programs. The results of the audit have been presented to the school principal. Which of the following methods is the most appropriate first step in developing a plan to address the areas of weakness identified in the audit?