Power Structure Analysis of
Hamlet Elementary School

Ima Sample
7B:285 Summer, 200x

Introduction

Hamlet Elementary School in rural Hamlet, Iowa (population 679), is the smallest school in the Leonine Community School District. Yet an examination of the formal and informal power structure of the school community reveals a vast, multi-faceted, and active network of people who, with a great deal of pride, take on the responsibility for providing top-notch opportunities for its families and students. This report will examine several key groups that rise to prominence in the area of school/community relations. It will explore the shared activities, interactions, and values that tie these groups together, identify the leadership of these groups and the overall group, and discuss the ways in which these groups work together and the effect that that has on the school community. The report will offer an explanation as to how it is that this network came to be such a productive, empowered entity (one might use the above quotations as a preview of this matter). The report will also identify key elements that still remain relatively disconnected from participation in the power structure.

As a means of investigating the power structure, Powers’ "reputational technique" was employed. Five individuals who are considered to be "knowledgeables" were selected on the criteria of their time in position, amount of contact they have with others in the school community, and the amount of observation they have of others in the school community. The knowledgeables also represent a range of positions at Hamlet Elementary. The knowledgeables were each asked to nominate five persons who they believe would be helpful if one were attempting to implement a school/community relations project, and explain why they selected them. Anyone who was nominated more than once was also interviewed and asked the same question. The results gathered comprise the groups identified, and are represented on the attached sociogram.

Section1: Seven Key Groups in the Realm of School/Community Relations: Relationships Within the Groups

This section will examine the inner-workings of each group. For more detailed background information about each member, refer to the attached document entitled, "Background Information about Each Nominee as Sorted by Informal Group Membership".

Group A: The "Dedicated to Children, Hard-Workers"
This group is made up of five teachers at Hamlet Elementary, and two parents. One major tie that binds this group together is the high amount of interaction that is shared by spending lots of time in the same, small school building (the two parents are regularly in the building, as one is the Cub Scout Leader whose troupe meets at lunchtime, and the other is employed by the Hamlet Learning Center). But merely occupying the same space does not, in itself, make this an informal power group. In addition to the high level of interaction between group members, there are many shared activities that result in the members having shared values and beliefs. Each one of these group members was nominated by a knowledgeable due to their participation in multiple "above and beyond" type projects at Hamlet. Be it serving on a committee which organizes the school carnival, serving on the building Site Council, carrying out school fund-raisers, or staffing the sixth grade camp-out, these individuals contribute far more than the average teacher or parent. These shared activities have created a bond between these people. They are able to identify with each other as people who are willing and proud to go the extra mile for the children of Hamlet Elementary.

At the heart of this group I have identified long-time resource teacher, Sheila Besource. As a resource teacher who serves children in all grade levels, Sheila has the opportunity to work with everyone else in the group on the most regular basis, thus giving her the highest number of interactions, and making her very aware of everything that goes on in the building. She is a main line of communication between group members. Sheila has a number of resources (resources being defined as whatever is of value in the community). Those that nominated Sheila unanimously mentioned her ability to talk to a wide range of people on a wide range of topics. She is someone that people feel comfortable around.

Group B: "The School to Community Liaisons; Resource Finders/Allocaters"
This group plays a vital role in the Hamlet Elementary power structure. The group is made up of two grant program directors, a grant writer, and the school district at-risk coordinator. They serve as a link between the school and community, and they are responsible for a great deal of the resources that allow Hamlet to offer so many programs and services to its families. The four members of the group share the activity of teaming up together to write grants that provide this funding. They are all very aware and in touch with collaborative agencies in the area that provide services, such as United Action for Youth, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the 4-Cs, and many more. A great deal of interaction takes place amongst this group as they communicate with each other to find creative ways of finding funding, providing programs, and matching families to services. Two of the members, Kris Director and Jessie Newdirector, have offices next to each other at Hamlet, and both share much common work time together during the day. In addition to the high amounts of shared activity and interaction, the group is also tied together by the shared belief that solutions to difficult problems are out there, and finding them is what they do best.

The leader of the group in Kris Director, director of the Hamlet Learning Center. In accordance with Powers’ assertion that power actors generally have access to needed resources, Kris is able, through her grant, to provide the Hamlet Elementary community with materials and funding. Because she is responsible for allocating the money, she is frequently approached by many teachers with ideas and requests. This puts Kris in a position of power to use her decision-making skills to accept or reject proposals.

Group C: The "Ball-Association" Parents
The four women that make up this group share many activities, interactions, and values. They are all residents of Hamlet. Each has children at Hamlet Elementary, and at least one of those children is a boy that participates in the Hamlet Ball Association (little league baseball). The twice-a-week in the summer baseball games, played at the park in the center of town, represent major social gatherings in Hamlet. Many students participate in the games, thus many parents are present. In addition to watching their their lil’ sluggers, the events are a forum for discussing points of interest and concern. Much of the talk revolves around school occurrences.

In addition to being prominent presences at the ball games, these four women are all active in the school, serving as room mothers, members of the P.T.O., and Site Council. The women were all nominated based on the idea that they could be counted on to volunteer time and organize the community around a school/community relations project.

Teresa Cone appears to be the leader of this group. She is the most active of all of the women, and she is widely respected by all for being kind, capable, and hard-working.

Group D: Retired Residents with a Commitment to Children
This group consists of three women (all in their 70s or 80s) who, at one point in their lives, worked as media secretaries or associates at Hamlet Elementary. The women are all residents of the town who, according to Sandy Sweelo (long-time secretary of Hamlet Elementary and nominator of all three) "know everybody in Hamlet". Mrs. Sweelo refers to the women as "sweet little old ladies", and selected them because of their knowledge of the community, desire to work with children, and their former employment connection to Hamlet Elementary. Currently this group is fairly underused as a resource at Hamlet. They have not, to this point, participated in the power structure from a decision-making, actively helping standpoint, yet Mrs. Sweelo nominated them with the idea that they have the potential to be extremely valuable.

Group E: Official Positions of Authority in the Community
This group consists of three members, all parents of current or former Hamlet students (parent that were very active on committees, volunteering,...), and all are holders of official positions in the community. Kathy Etwo is the mayor of Hamlet. She was nominated three times in the interview process. One of her nominators summed her value to a potential school/community relations project up nicely by saying, "she can talk the town council into anything". Tim Ethree is a town councilman, and is also teacher at another school in the LCSD, thus allowing him to be considered a "friend of education". Carol Eone is the Director of Community Relations at Hamlet Bank, a major financial institution in the Leonine area which contributes a great deal of resources to schools. These three individuals are grouped together because of their shared belief that the town and the school can and should be partners, and because their official positions enable them to act on this belief.

Kathy Etwo is the leader of this group. As mayor, she commands a great deal of respect, and possesses the resource of having much influence.

Group F: Regency and Lake Ridge Trailer Courts
This is a group which I include in the power structure not because of its participation in it, but because of its mere presence. The two trailer courts combine to send 120 students to Hamlet Elementary (approximately 40% of the student body). The great majority of people interviewed made a similar comment. They said, "I’d want to have someone from Regency or Lake Ridge, but I’m not sure who that would be". This indicates that the power actors in the Hamlet Elementary community are aware that any move they make in the area of school/community relations must include the trailer courts, but it also indicates that no one from the trailer courts has particularly emerged as a leadership presence. Families from the trailer courts participate in the end results of community relations projects (many families utilize the Family Resource Center and the Hamlet Learning Center), but they are not in on the ground floor of such initiatives. Thus, I conclude that Regency and Lake Ridge are very important institutions to Hamlet Elementary, and an area to focus on in the future must continue to be ways of involving those parents in decision-making processes.

Group G: "The Hub"
The final element of the Hamlet Elementary power structure is its principal, John Hub. Mr. Hub is the leader of the overall structure, but not in the way that one might assume. Powers states that informal power structure leaders are typically not those that hold the formal positions of power, which Mr. Hub does, yet Mr. Hub employs such a facilitative approach and empowers people around him so much, that one often forgets (or at least is not intimidated by) the fact that he hold the official, formal position of power. This is a point that will be elaborated on later in this report.

Background information on nominees

Section II: Relationships Between the Groups

The quotation by Smith and Piele used in the introduction regarding the effectiveness of "power flowing in multiple directions" is very applicable to the ways in which the Hamlet Elementary power structure works. Keeping in mind that Groups D and F (retired ladies and trailer courts) are somewhat on the periphery, the other groups all fulfill vital roles, and rely on each other to provide different "pieces of the puzzle". Group A (the hard-working, in-building folks) provides the creativity behind many new ideas, and knowledge of student needs and of best teaching practices to meet those needs. Group B (the grant-getters) contributes the ability to secure funding to make those ideas a reality. Groups C and F (the Ball Association parents and the official positions of authority) serve to take the products the school has to offer and bring them to the people of Hamlet. They provide a volunteer force for many initiatives, and work to make sure the town rallies behind what the school is trying to do. Group G (Mr. Hub) is was given the nickname of "The Hub" in this report because his role is to be an advisor/overseer of all that gets done. His opinion and connections are so greatly valued that most everything is bounced off him before things happen.

Section III: Why it Works

As mentioned earlier in this report, John Hub leads in a facilitative manner. For over twenty years, he has fostered an environment of openness, caring, and respect for all people—students, parents, teachers, and community members. Because of the way he truly empowers those around him, many people are compelled to use their energy and creativity to do things for the school. The result is a web-like effect that multiplies as more people and organizations get involved, get to know each other, and become comfortable at Hamlet Elementary.

A prime example of Mr. Hub’s leadership style is that of the beginnings of the Hamlet Learning Center. It began with members of Group A and Group B wanting to apply for a "Twenty-first Century Schools" grant which would supply the funding for the center. Naturally, the group approached Mr. Hub. He was initially skeptical, and felt like perhaps Hamlet had too much going on at the time to take the idea on. However, he recognized that the groups were passionate about the idea, so he backed them. The grant was secured, and the resulting Learning Center has turned into one of the most comprehensive service providing institutions imaginable in an elementary school, expanding the base of those involved with Hamlet Elementary, and increasing the community feel of the building.

Conclusion

Indeed the "synergistic, mutual power-flow" that Smith and Piele describe is in full effect at Hamlet Elementary. The result is a school in which many people feel like they are important to Hamlet, and Hamlet is important to them.