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ABSTRACT Title of Document: A PORTRAIT OF SCHOOL DISTRICT CRISIS MANAGEMENT: LEADERSHIP CHOICES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY DURING THE SNIPER SHOOTINGS OF OCTOBER 2002 Brian Joseph Porter, Ph.D., 2010 Directed By: Professor Hanne B. Mawhinney Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education and International Education The actions of two assailants who shot and killed 10 people and wounded three others, including a student, in the region around Washington, D.C., in October 2002, provides the backdrop for a qualitative study of the emergency response by school district leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland. The study explores and describes the experiences of the district’s superintendent and a group of leadership staff, including the author as a participant researcher, and two elected officials and a union president who contributed to the decisions and actions. A non-evaluative study, based on portraiture in the form of case study, the narrative report provides often minute-to-minute detail of the events of the case and a unique perspective of crisis management and decision making at the school district level. The study revealed aspects of the case regarding implementation of an emergency response plan, involvement of principals, management style, political extremes, and phases of the crisis. The study also illuminated targeted objectives for decision and actions, including a central focus on mental health and communications. The study reflects a subject area that is largely overlooked in the research of education leadership. Implications from the study are that school district leaders need specific training and experience necessary to manage a crisis, make decisions under crisis circumstances, and improve their performance through practice. The study identifies licensure for school district leaders as a way to attain a standardized level of competency in crisis management and decision making skills. The study also provides an entry point for further research in educational crisis management and decision making. In particular, the study explores a unique blend of research encompassing critical tasks in public leadership during a crisis, complex transformational processes among the components of a school district’s social system, and expectations of high reliability in organizational environments that support mindfulness and expertise. A PORTRAIT OF SCHOOL DISTRICT CRISIS MANAGEMENT: LEADERSHIP CHOICES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY DURING THE SNIPER SHOOTINGS OF OCTOBER 2002 By Brian Joseph Porter Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Dr. Hanne B. Mawhinney, Chair Dr. George L. Marx Dr. Carol S. Parham Dr. Patricia M. Richardson Dr. Thomas D. Weible © Copyright by Brian Joseph Porter 2010 ii Dedication This study, which spanned nearly five years and many personal and professional crises and triumphs, is dedicated to my wife, Gail Joann Lupton Porter. I owe her everything. iii Acknowledgements I am grateful to my friends and former colleagues within the Montgomery County Public Schools for their support and encouragement in the completion of this study and to those who accepted my invitation to participate by offering their recollections about a unique chapter in the history of the school district. I am also indebted to the many people, including students and faculty within the College of Education, who offered their guidance and suggestions. In particular, I am grateful to two “critical friends,” Judith Bresler and Kitty Porterfield, who provided valuable analysis and perspective. Among the most patient and encouraging of the faculty are the members of the Advisory Committee for this dissertation study. They include Dr. George L. Marx, a professor emeritus who is a former vice chancellor of the University System of Maryland; Dr. Carol S. Parham, associate dean of the Graduate School and former school superintendent; Dr. Patricia M. Richardson, professor of practice and also a former superintendent; and Dr. Thomas D. Weible, professor and associate dean of the College of Education. I received the benefit of their insights and their support, and I am grateful. Probably the most patient person on the planet is Dr. Hanne B. Mawhinney, whose role as my advisor over the past eight years enabled me to progress at my own pace and in my own time. She was also my teacher, and I gained the deepest appreciation for the study of education leadership from her. I am most grateful for the insights, guidance, and friendship she provided me. iv Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction of the Portrait ............................................................................... 1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 1 Context of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1 Problem ....................................................................................................................... 4 Framework .................................................................................................................. 6 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 8 Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 10 Question .................................................................................................................... 11 Context of the School District ...................................................................................... 12 Public Events ............................................................................................................ 14 Participants ................................................................................................................ 15 Significance............................................................................................................... 16 Limitations ................................................................................................................ 17 Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Literature Review for the Portrait .................................................................. 19 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 19 Context of Crisis Management ..................................................................................... 19 Advance Preparation ................................................................................................. 20 ‘Social Systems’........................................................................................................ 22 Legacy of Fire Drills ................................................................................................. 26 Responsibility for Care ............................................................................................. 28 Post-Columbine Era .................................................................................................. 30 Incident Command .................................................................................................... 32 Federal Guidance ...................................................................................................... 34 Funding Requirement................................................................................................ 36 Mental Health Concerns ........................................................................................... 39 Welfare of Children .................................................................................................. 41 Lack of Preparation ................................................................................................... 43 Context of Crisis Decision Making .............................................................................. 44 Not the Ideal .............................................................................................................. 46 v Rational Decisions .................................................................................................... 47 Sensemaking ............................................................................................................. 49 Limited Time ............................................................................................................ 52 Problem Solving........................................................................................................ 55 Opportunities............................................................................................................