Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2017 Exploring the Implications for Educational Leadership: A Case Study of Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory High School Julie Lynn Frey Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Frey, Julie Lynn, "Exploring the Implications for Educational Leadership: A Case Study of Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory High School" (2017). Dissertations. 2801. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2801 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright © 2017 Julie Lynn Frey LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO EXPLORING THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF CRISTO REY ST. MARTIN COLLEGE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAM IN ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION BY JULIE L. FREY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY 2017 Copyright by Julie L. Frey, 2017 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Loyola University Doctoral Committee beginning with my chairperson, Dr. Lorraine Ozar. I acknowledge that our journey began together with a dissertation almost complete, and despite the large obstacles present, your grace and commitment ushered me through to completion. Thank you for taking a chance on a student you did not know. Thank you for your honesty, your encouragement, and your unwavering support. Thank you Dr. Leanne Kallemeyn for your time and invaluable expertise. Thank you for always answering my questions and your continual guidance. Thank you Dr. Michael Boyle for your time, your honesty, and your wisdom. Your instruction was invaluable. Finally, thank you Dr. Marla Israel for starting me down this road. Thank you for always encouraging me along the way and for being my friend and mentor. I am forever in your debt. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with all the leaders, teachers, board members, and students at Cristo Rey St. Martin High School. I would like to thank all of the participants for their honesty and generosity. Most importantly I would like to thank the principal for allowing me to invade his world. This research would not have been possible without your knowledge and voice. Finally, thank you to my biggest supporters. Sarah, Bill, Jason and Phil, you believed when I did not and you never stopped pushing and encouraging me. I am honored by your friendship. iii DEDICATION To my family… First to my parents, for raising me to believe that I can do anything and for raising me to understand that my place in the world is to do great things in the service of others… To my children, for your continuous encouragement and unending belief in me as a mother, student, and educational leader. You make me proud each and every day. You are my greatest accomplishment…To my sister, for listening, encouraging me, and supporting me without interruption, you are my hero. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. x ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ........................................................................ 1 Reporting the Achievement Gap in Illinois ............................................................ 3 Leadership and the Achievement Gap .................................................................... 4 Description of the Case ........................................................................................... 5 The Mission Effectiveness Standards ................................................................... 10 Catholic Schools National Standards and Benchmarks ........................................ 12 Purpose and Research Questions .......................................................................... 14 Research Design.................................................................................................... 16 Case Selection Process .......................................................................................... 19 Data Generation Tools .......................................................................................... 19 Data Generation .................................................................................................... 20 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 21 Validity ................................................................................................................. 22 Strengths and Limitations ..................................................................................... 22 Summary ............................................................................................................... 23 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 25 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 25 Leadership ............................................................................................................. 25 Authority that Informs Leadership............................................................ 27 Types of Leadership .................................................................................. 29 Transformational leadership ......................................................... 29 Catholic Jesuit leadership ............................................................. 30 Moral leadership ........................................................................... 32 Leadership and Ethics ............................................................................... 33 Leadership and Student Outcomes............................................................ 36 Leadership and School Improvement ....................................................... 37 Leadership and Race ................................................................................. 39 The Achievement Gap .......................................................................................... 41 History of the Achievement Gap .............................................................. 42 Trends in the Achievement Gap ............................................................... 45 Why Did the Gap Narrow? ....................................................................... 48 v Why Does the Gap Persist?....................................................................... 50 Life experiences and conditions that are associated with school achievement, and how they differ for White and Black children ............................................................................... 51 School factors that may affect the achievement gap ..................... 52 Why do we Care? ...................................................................................... 53 Social justice in education ............................................................ 55 Equity and Social Justice in Leadership ................................................... 57 Catholic Education ................................................................................................ 58 History of Catholic Education in America................................................ 58 History of Catholic Education in Chicago ................................................ 65 Catholic Education Philosophy ................................................................. 68 National Catholic School Standards ......................................................... 72 The Cristo Rey Network ....................................................................................... 76 A Brief History of the Jesuits.................................................................... 76 The History of the Cristo Rey Network .................................................... 77 Cristo Rey’s work-study model .................................................... 80 Cristo Rey’s guiding principles and mission ................................ 81 The impact of the Cristo Rey School on student outcomes .......... 85 Summary ............................................................................................................... 88 III. RESEARCH METHOD.............................................................................................. 91 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 91 Research Method and Design ............................................................................... 93 Case Study Approach ............................................................................................ 94 Participants ...........................................................................................................