An Ethical Situation
by Colleen Dill
Setting: Lee School District is one of the largest school districts in the state of Texas.
Heyer Middle School is one of Lee's seven middle schools and serves seventh- and
eighth-grade students. The school is 57% African American, 39% Hispanic, 3% White,
and 1% Asian. Eighty-two percent of the students are economically disadvantaged.
Approximately 120 students are in the school's ESOL program. Assume you are the
principal at Heyer Middle School.
Scenario: There are four assistant principals. One of them, Mr. Floyd, came to the school
with you eight years ago. The other three assistant principals have been at Heyer five,
three, and two years. Mrs. Stamp, who has been your assistant at Heyer for three years,
was previously a teacher who worked with you when you were an assistant principal at
another campus. The two of you have become friends over the years.
Mrs. Stamp is the assistant principal in charge of the ESOL program at your
campus. She is paid a stipend for this responsibility.
Each year, according to federal law, a campus Language Proficiency Assessment
Committee (LPAC) must meet to determine the level of English proficiency of each
ESOL student. The committee members must be one school administrator, one ESOL or
bilingual teacher, one parent of an ESOL student, and one other person. Each person on
the committee must sign a completed form that delineates the LPAC's decisions. This
form is then sent to the District Coordinator of Secondary ESOL Programs. There is a
deadline that must be met, and it is Mrs. Stamp's responsibility to get the paperwork to
the district on time.
Mrs. Stamp chooses to delegate the majority of her LPAC responsibility to the
school's ESOL teachers. This has caused problems. The ESOL teachers have come to you
and voiced their concerns: They do not feel that they have been adequately trained to
properly complete the paperwork, and Mrs. Stamp does not include them in the training
sessions offered by the district. They have also said that Mrs. Stamp does not always
speak to them respectfully. They are not the only teachers who have complained to you
about Mrs. Stamp's evident lack of respect for the staff.
The completed LPAC form is due to the district office today. At lunchtime, one of
the ESOL teachers, Mrs. Lingual, asks to speak with you. She says that this morning Mrs.
Stamp brought the LPAC form to her classroom and asked her to sign it on the line
designated for an ESOL teacher. Mrs. Lingual complied.
Mrs. Stamp then commented, "This form must be turned in to the district today,
and we do not have an ESOL parent available to sign it."
Mrs. Lingual did not comment. Mrs. Stamp then pulled out another LPAC form,
pointed to the parent's signature, and said, "I wonder how hard it would be to copy that?"
Mrs. Lingual said she remained silent.
"Do you think you could?" asked Mrs. Stamp.
"Not me!" snapped Mrs. Lingual.
Mrs. Stamp then took the papers and left the classroom. As soon as the bell rang,
Mrs. Lingual went across the hall and told her partner ESOL teacher, Ms. Multi, what
had happened.
Later that same day, Mrs. Stamp brings you the completed LPAC form -- with a
parent signature -- for you to sign. After you sign the form, it will go to the district office.
Questions:
1. Do you sign the form without comment?
2. Do you question Mrs. Stamp about the parent signature?
3. How does your friendship with Mrs. Stamp affect your decision to question her
behavior in this incident?
4. Who else, if anyone, will you need to question?
5. When you meet with Mrs. Stamp, she claims she has done nothing wrong. She insists
she gave the form to Mrs. Lingual, and Mrs. Lingual returned the form to her later with
the parent signature. What do you do now?
6. Will you notify the district ESOL coordinator that you suspect Mrs. Stamp of forgery
and tell her the form will be late?
7. What do you tell the other ESOL teacher, if anything?
8. Will Mrs. Stamp's behavior affect your friendship with her? How?
9. What could you have done to avoid this situation?