This article explores tracking and its effect on African American students at Highview High School, a racially and socioeconomically diverse, first-ring suburban school. Mary Johnson, a White assistant principal, is troubled by the existence of racially identifiable course enrollment patterns and knows that meaningful change will only occur if a…

This case addresses a typical context faced by a new urban principal. Under the former principal, the school had several years of average academic success. Consequently, the superintendent appointed the new principal to significantly improve the success of the highly diverse elementary school. Although the new principal has been well trained and…

The clash of values between the principal and the community has political ramifications for how policies are developed and implemented. This case study describes a situation in which an African American principal in a White-dominant but increasingly diverse rural school district tests the limits of a community by enforcing a tardy policy for the…