Mock Scenario

Gwen, a Special Education teacher at Peach Middle School, has been seeking a promotion to Special Education Lead Teacher for three years.  Each time she has applied, she has reached the interview phase, however she has never been selected for the role. 

After the last round of interviews, Gwen calls the principal.  As the principal and head of the interview committee, she would like some feedback on why she has not been given the opportunity to advance.  The principal is very open with her in sharing that her current performance as a teacher, has raised some concerns regarding her readiness to advance.  She is frequently late with submitting required paperwork and needs a lot of support to complete routine special education tasks.  There is also concern regarding her knowledge of compliance, which is imperative to be a leader in this area.  Upon receiving this feedback, Gwen becomes very defensive.  She wants to know specific paperwork that was not submitted on time and when this occurred.  She also wants to know why her “asking questions” is being used against her.  Finally she wants to know who feels she is not well versed in compliance.

The principal moves to end the conversation, as she does not feel it is productive.  Gwen then states, “I feel like I am being discriminated against. Only certain people get hired”.  This causes the principal immediate concern.  Gwen is African-American, female, and over 40 years old.  While the last three teachers hired to serve in the Lead Teacher role have been females, all have been Caucasian and all have been young.

• Do you feel it was appropriate for the principal in this scenario to provide Gwen with such open feedback?  Why or why not?  How might this feedback be used against her?
• If Gwen were to file a formal claim, would it have any merit?  Why? Why not?
• As a school leader, what ways could/ should the principal have protected herself and the school district as you worked with Gwen?
• Do you feel the laws related to employment discrimination, as discussed in the text, are applicable to our contemporary schools/ school districts? Why? Why not?
• Do you feel the laws related to employment discrimination, as discussed in the text, hinder employers?  Why? Why not?
• What (if any) changes would you recommend to these laws to address contemporary issues? Why would you recommend these changes?

1. 2-4 paragraphs
2. Cite evidence for the course readings or other scholarly sources to support your statements.  Use APA formatted citations and include an APA formatted reference section.