The College of Education

Announces the Final Examination of

David A. Stephens

for the degree of

Doctor of Education

October 8, 2015 at 2:00 pm

123 Ball Hall, University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

Biographical Sketch

Bachelor of Science, Education, University of Memphis

Masters Degree, Educational Leadership, Trevecca Nazarene University

Advisory Committee

Reginald L. Green, Ed.D., Professor, Leadership, Committee chair

Larry McNeal, Ph.D., Professor, Leadership

Duane M. Giannangelo, Ph.D., Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Louis A. Franceschini III, PhD, Research Associate II, Center for Research in Educational Policy

Courtney E. Fee, Ed.D., Adjunct, Leadership

Major Field of Study

Leadership and Policy Studies

Period of Preparation: 2011 – 2015

Comprehensive Examination Passed: 2013

An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Processes And Procedures Used By The Transition Steering Committee To Implement The Report of The Transition Planning Commission To Merge The Memphis City Schools And Shelby County Schools

Abstract

The Memphis City Schools (MCS) and Shelby County Schools (SCS) completed a historical merger July 1, 2013. Memphis City School system was a large urban school district and the legacy Shelby County School system was a smaller, mainly suburban school system. The Memphis City School Board surrendered their charter in December of 2010 starting the merger process. Guiding the merger process, the Tennessee Senate approved Tennessee Public Chapter 1 on March 10, 2011 creating a 21 member Transition Planning Commission (TPC). The TPC was charged with creating a transition plan to submit to the Shelby County School Board for approval.

The superintendents of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools created a Transition Steering Committee (TSC) to operationalize the TPC merger plan. This study investigated the processes and procedures used to merge the Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools from the perspective of the members of the Transition Steering Committee. This study examined the TSC’s implementation of the merger plan and how they vetted and operationalized the Transition Planning Commissions recommendations.

This ethnographic case study relied on interviews of members of the TSC, the researchers notes, since the researcher was a member of the TSC, along with TSC documentation. The findings discovered regarding the processes and procedures used by the TSC: The members of the TSC felt the work was challenging but in the best interest of children, the members of the TSC were able to set aside personal differences to ensure the work was completed in an effective and efficient manner, TSC members perceived the processes and procedures as valid and fair, leadership is critical to the effective development of the new organization, cultural differences need to be addressed if the two organizations are to work together, and merging two large districts is time consuming and requires expertise by those involved.

The historical significance of this merger warrants documentation of the processes and procedures used to merge the two districts.   The findings from this study offer firsthand insight for educational leaders who are contemplating or involved in the merger process.