CASE STUDY ANALYSIS 1

Case Study Analysis

Christina Hernandez, Ivan Kihara, Marla Morales, Claudia Perez, Daniel Siller

University of Texas at El Paso

Case Study Analysis

For our case study we selected a local public school by the name of Mary Hoge Middle

School for our research. The person we interviewed with is the Vice Principal of the school,

Gerardo Carranza. The main reason we did this interview is because we wanted to gather more

information on how a school system operates. We wanted to know the school`s processes, the

types of decisions they make on a day to day basis, and the kind of results they receive. Also, it

was interesting to know and learn the processes they are using in order to prevent the spread of

COVID-19.

We began the interview by asking about the specific set of skills necessary to flourish in

this area of work. We did so in hopes of gathering information about the interviewee’s specific

work experiences. This would work as a guide to the information they were able to provide us

with as well as the point of view of which we were receiving the information from. As expected

with a job within the education field, it came as no surprise that extensive teaching experience is

necessary. Apart from the necessary experience, Mr. Gerardo Carranza made a point of

mentioning the need for other skills such as knowledge of the law, understanding of the

“district's goals and academic initiatives, and the plan by which it is going to achieve those

goals.” This knowledge and understanding would serve as an outline that an employee should

adhere to.

As per the answers received during this interview, it was suggested that a certain level of

communication is imperative to be a member of this organization. This was inferred by two

specific comments. The first being the need to know the contact person at the District Office “in

case you do not know the answer” which leads us to believe that this workplace not only

encourages communication between colleagues, but that it understands the need to be inviting of
Case Study Analysis 3

questions. The second comment emphasizing the need for communication skills is within this

comment where he is speaking of further skills deemed vital for the success within this

workplace. “You also need to know how to interpret data and relay that particular information to

the staff.” This indicates that this job calls for a variety of skills both inter/intrapersonal and data-

based, but most importantly those within communication.

What is the chain of command? What method is used when reporting major decisions to

your superiors? We felt that it is very important in understanding the chain of command at this

workplace considering we all want to be future educators. In general, the chain of command is to

be followed and never disobeyed. The chain of command is what keeps the workplace aligned

with policies and structure. In the midst of this structure, there are effective methods of

communication that may facilitate reporting major decisions to the chain of command.

Unfortunately, our interviewee responded vaguely to both questions stating their campus

principal is the leader and approves all decisions.

As with most workplaces the expertise of each member differs greatly. This range of

strengths and weaknesses cannot be ignored and must be addressed accordingly, for the

workplace to function correctly. The statements given from Mr. Carranza supports this belief that

weaknesses must be dealt with in a manner that would encourage professional and personal

growth. He goes on to say that, “when addressing weaknesses, it is imperative that [we] provide

guidance/training for the individual. [We] have to provide opportunities for the individual to

succeed/grow and become a leader. High expectations should never be compromised.” This

statement summarizes just how much this company takes into consideration the betterment of

their employees. They strive for employees to improve within the company and their future

endeavors.
Case Study Analysis 4

We wanted to further explore teamwork, organizational hierarchy, and employee

relationship development within the school facilities. The goal was to see if the school had a

good operating team, or whether they accomplished more through teamwork than individual

work. The school has been successful throughout the years, and basically their quality for

success is pretty simple. The school's success is determined by how everyone collaborates and

ultimately achieves student success. Everyone has a role, but everyone is a piece of the puzzle.

Everyone's role is just as important. The great thing about it is that every single individual has a

quality role and in order for the school, as a whole, (to accomplish what it ultimately sets out to

do, everyone has to do their job every single day. If this is done the system operates effectively.

How do you address an employee who has had a formal complaint filed against them?

Do you have a process to follow? If so, please explain your method for addressing this type of

situation. The main purpose of this question was to see how good/bad the school was treating

their employees when they had a complaint against them. If the answer was a positive one by

connecting the dots we could see that the school was working effectively, because if they treat

their employees concisely, the same will be true for their students. If there is a complaint about

an employee, the principal needs to know the nature of the complaint. Every administrator is in

charge of a department and as a result, the administrator in charge of the department will need to

meet with the complainant first to review and validate such complaints. Second, the

administrator in charge will meet with the employee in order to share the information. The

administrator and employee will come up with a solution/plan of action. Third, the administrator

will contact the complainant of an agreed solution/plan of action. If the complainant is not

content with the plan of action, he/she has the option to speak with the campus principal.
Case Study Analysis 5

For our final question, we decided to ask Regarding the ongoing issue of COVID-19, how

has your campus handled the situation? How were you prepared for changes that had to be

made? Were employees briefed? Any new training required? What safety measures are being

taken? We felt like this question was a very important one to ask given the current circumstances

of all that is going on in the world. The school’s overall goal is to make sure that every student

succeeds academically, so this question addressed the new challenge of the school having to

close its doors to its students while at the same time having to ensure that all of its students'

needs were being met. A very difficult task due to current circumstances happening all the

sudden. Mr. Carranza informed us that the campus had to modify many things in order to ensure

that all staff members were on the same page to guarantee that the end goal of student success

was being met. He also let us know that the school district has sent out a new Distance Learning

Packet that contains not only what is expected of employees when working remotely from home,

but also new grading criteria for determining how students pass or fail for the school year.

One of these modifications was a change from daily, face-to-face department meetings to

meeting online via Zoom, an internet service that allows you to hold video conference meetings,

once a week. Another modification that presented a challenge was the transition into online

learning. The students at this particular campus had already used a service in many of their

classes called Google Classroom prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, making the transition to

mainly using this form of learning fairly easy. However, this posed two challenging questions:

What about students who do not have a computer, but have internet access at home? What about

students who have neither a computer nor internet? For the students who have internet access at

home, but no computer, we were informed that the school was setting up times that allowed for

students to check out Chromebooks from the library. As for the students who do not have
Case Study Analysis 6

internet access at home, they were given scheduled pick-up times to go by the campus and pick

up academic packets. These packets contain information and work that is similar to what is being

posted on Google Classrooms.

To conclude, may of us often comment about how a school system operates, while not

understanding that it is a complex institution. A school is not merely an institution that

contributes to the learning process of students, in fact, it is much more.School systems are also

responsible for student behavior, the health of a community, and critical crisis response. The

outcome of this study was impressive, as many questions were answered and much knowledge

was gained about public learning institutions.