A Case Study: The Servant Called to Lead as Head of School of a PK-12 Private Faith-Based School in North Central Florida

The purpose of this single, holistic, instrumental case study was to understand the servant leadership characteristics of a PK–12 leader from a private, faith-based school in North Central Florida, influencing employee job satisfaction. For this study, servant leaders were defined as those who serve with a focus on the followers, whereby followers are the primary concern and the organizational matters are peripheral. Servant leadership theory guided this study and began with the writings of Greenleaf, who desired leaders to serve their followers first and then lead. The central research question guiding this study asked, What is the qualitative influence of servant leadership on stakeholders? The study took place at Chapel Academy (pseudonym). In this PK–12 private, faith-based school, a criterion-based sampling was selected from Chapel Academy stakeholders for both interviews and a focus group. Data collection included interviews, a focus group, and documentation analysis. All data were member-checked, analyzed, and coded for themes. Research revealed five key central themes of 1) Sensitive Servant, 2) Future-Focused, 3) Followers First, 4) Thorough Thinker, and 5) Christ-Centered. Results align with current research affirming servant leadership's influence on school climate.