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Kennett Consolidated School District: Case Study

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In the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, lies the town of Kennett Square. While it is a part of two school districts, the downtown area is located in the Kennett Consolidated School District. Like with all districts, there are intricacies that make Kennett special. The students are the essence of any school and those that attend affect the climate and culture. Another group of important people in the building is the teachers and administrators that help the school function every day. There are many moving parts in an educational system, and the way they come together tells the story of a school.
According to the Kennett Consolidated School District (2007), “the mission of the district is to provide a quality education that increases the achievement …show more content…

There have been some changes to how involved the administrators are in terms of student involvement and walkthroughs that are much more frequent than they have been in the past. This has affected the school climate in that students are becoming more comfortable with administrators, since they are present more in the classroom. In interviewing the head principal, Dr. Hritz, he said that a supportive atmosphere in the school is very important to him, so he models this by being as supportive as he can be to students and faculty. He implemented a new program this year called “Kennett PRIDE” which encourages positive behaviors and leadership qualities in students. Setting the stage for a positive environment is an integral part of any school, and Dr. Hritz has made that a goal of his (personal communication, January 8, …show more content…

Although the same rubric is used for teacher observations, evaluators can differ in their style of rating and what expectations they have for the teacher. This causes an inconsistency between the evaluation of teachers in the same building, let alone in different districts. There are parts of the rubric that are up for interpretation, so there is no way for all evaluations to be scored in the same way. This evaluation can also put a lot of pressure on a new teacher who is unsure of what is expected and may not feel completely comfortable within the job as a first year teacher. A “needs improvement” rating should not be considered unsatisfactory if the teacher is willing to improve and work towards goals set by him or her or the

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