School Consolidation Case Study Essay

I am providing an analysis of School Consolidation and the Politics of School Closure Across Communities by Zorka Karanxha, Vonzell Agosto, William R. Black, and Claudius B. Effiom, Published (2013). This case study highlights the concerns with school closures and the management of such circumstances. This case presents a merger between two schools in the state of Florida. In this case the Roosevelt Neighborhood School, with a population of 800 students the serves predominantly African-American and Latino students was merging with Scott Middle School, a magnet school two miles east of the Roosevelt Neighborhood School. Scott Middle School serves 600 students who are predominantly Caucasian. The case presents the complexities associated with the
How does everyone involved make this a smooth transition for all? How do you ensure equal right for all stakeholders involved, parents, students, teachers? What problem arises from how teachers are chosen to teach at the school that remains? Whose interests were primarily considered throughout this merger? What could Principal Jones have done differently to maintain loyalty to all stakeholders? What could the district have done differently to ensure equity for all? Exploratory questions presented by the authors of this case are: How might aspects of a principal’s social identity factor how collaboration unfolds between the school and its surrounding communities? As principal, how would you have collaborated with community groups, leaders and organizations? What are some strategies and tools a principal (Who is new to a community) can take to know and communicate with the communities served by the school(s)? How would you assess the cultural needs and assets of the students prior to consolidation? What cultural knowledge might have informed Principal Jones’ actions? (Karanxha, Agosto, Black & Effiom, 2013, p.37 &