Select School Superintendent locally from within the community
Why don't we hire our school superintendent locally? Why not select someone who is already a respected member of the Seattle community -- maybe a beloved retired principal or community leader -- who already knows, understands and values our schools, parents, teachers and children? Maybe the superintendent should be elected directly by the voters instead of chosen by the 7-member school board. A local superintendent would not need to reinvent the wheel but would have a head start in understanding our schools and may more readily get parental buy-in for his/her ideas. The current national trend of hiring out of state superintendents who don't stick around very long is proving to be problematic. Plus, a local superintendent who will remain in the area after his/her tenure is up is more likely to be held accountable to the community for her/his decisions.
gavroche
shared this idea
2 comments
-
Bruce Taylor
commented
I love this idea if the person elected is bright, thoughtful, and asks difficult questions of the central administration. (Harium Martin-Morris.)
I hate this idea if the person elected is a tool -- a self-described cheerleader for district staff. (Cheryl Chow.)
I gave this idea one of my votes only because I'm a hopeless optimist.
-
dora.taylor
commented
It would have been invaluable if we had a superintendent who understood our neighborhoods, communities and our schools and the culture of these places, how we feel about them and how we relate to them.
To just come in and take a hatchet to our school system to try and save a few million dollars, the way it was done and how each school and community was affected shows that our superintendent did not understand our programs and how our communities are growing and not diminishing in numbers.
And now to say that (suddenly) the north end is over capacity when everyone knew that it was and that the central area of Seattle is growing which was reflected in the census bureau report that they purportedly based their decisions on and therefore some schools will need to be re-opened again reflects incompetency. Those decisions will now cause additional expense and more upheaval. Our students need to feel that they are rooted within a school and not have the sense that they will once again have to move and readjust to yet another environment.
For the superintendent to rif valuable staff and teachers when SPS knew that there would be over enrollment in the fall and yet hire additional administrative staff for her own office shows callousness and a lack of competency with her own chosen staff members including the CFO who determined the number of teachers to be rif’d and Brad Bernatek who heads up the department that is responsible for student statistics including enrollment and demographics.
Regarding the relocation plan, I am concerned that each student is provided with an opportunity to excel. We know that some schools are more equal than others. Before we decide on approving this plan, and we all have the power to do that, we need to ensure that all schools will receive the funding and support that they need to succeed.
This assignment plan is not a foregone conclusion as SPS would like for you to think. I sat in a meeting last night where Ron McGlone of SPS made it sound like it was when discussing the assignment plan. This is not and should never be a top-down decision.
.
We must ensure that this will not be an empty exercise in community input but that our voices are reflected in the final assignment plan that is voted on by the board.
