Questions for Board Members to Ask

As Michael DeBell, Cheryl Chow and Brita Butler-Wall visit Charleston and Philadelphia, here are the questions I would like them to ask:

Charleston

  • What are Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's interpersonal strengths and weaknesses? Please ask people with varying levels of power and influence this question, not just School Board members or community leaders. Parents from Charleston have made the following comments on this blog: "She is rude and she does not value parental input. Maria is not big on explaining her actions or her outcomes. Be careful in your selection." "Dr. Goodloe is an excellent individual and will lead Seattle school district to many victories as she has done in CCSD." "If Seattle offers her the position as super then get used to a type of public engagement that usually starts with the phrase 'We've already decided that, so let's move on.'"
  • How does Dr. Goodloe-Johnson deal with people who disagree with her? During the interview process in Seattle, she showed some disdain for the School Board members who hadn't agreed with her. Is this her usual method of dealing with disagreement? A Charleston blogger wrote, "Good luck to Dr. Johnson in whatever she chooses to do. I hope that in the future she stops lumping everyone that disagrees with her into the enemy camp."
  • How, if at all, does Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's lack of charisma and personal presence when speaking affect her ability to lead, inspire and influence others in the school district and across Charleston? Seattle desperately needs a leader who can effectively communicate a vision for Seattle Public Schools to both people in and outside of the school district, helping to unify the community around specific goals and generate funding and support for reform initiatives. Can Dr. Goodloe-Johnson realistically be expected to play that role?
  • How does Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's dislike of politics affect her work as superintendent in Charleston? (positively or negatively) From a recent interview in the Post and Courier in Charleston comes the following exchange between the reporter and Dr. Goodloe-Johnson on this issue: "...So the biggest growth, I think for any superintendent, especially for me, has been the political arena. And it's funny because I hear myself saying to people, 'This isn't about logic, this isn't about what makes sense, it's about politics.' And that's sad to me because that's not what the job's about. I don't think anybody came into education, including superintendents, maybe there are some but I haven't met them, that go into the superintendency because they love politics. ... It's the world we live in, but it shouldn't be how we make decisions for kids. So the biggest growth, really, is the politics of Charleston. Who's who, how they support what, and all those kinds of things.
    Q Favorite part of your job?
    A Visiting the schools, talking to the kids, talking to teachers.
    Q Least favorite part of your job?
    A The politics.

Philadelphia

  • Does Dr. Thornton give different answers to different people on the same questions in order to try to please everybody? During the interview process in Seattle, his highest value seemed to be getting everybody to like him. I discounted much of what he said and found myself rolling my eyes a lot, reacting to what I call the "bullshit factor." Someone on this blog, comparing the two candidates said "She [Dr. Goodloe-Johnson] was honest, and didn't have to continually proclaim how good she is and at the same time try to act modest. That's the one thing that bugged me about Thornton. 'I'm good, I'm not the best, but I'm one of the best'. That says to me that he's working way too hard to convince us that he's qualified for the job."
  • Was the no-bid contract ethics violation a single event in his professional history, or does Dr. Thornton have a pattern of unethical behavior? Thornton's boss, Paul Vallas, said at the time the ethics violation was reported, "'You can't accept anything from anyone doing business with the school district,' he emphasized to reporters. 'At the very least [Thornton and Chivis] should have recused themselves. With the trip and the contract being awarded there was a violation of the ethics policy, a serious violation....'Any department head or administrator should be paranoid about the ethics policy. They should not only be afraid to violate the ethics policy, they should also be afraid to appear to violate the ethics policy.'" How can Vallas or Thornton explain what happened and why they both are trying now to minimize its importance? The Board says they are looking for a superintendent who "Inspires trust and confidence, models integrity." Does Dr. Thornton really meet that profile?
  • How much experience and skill does Dr. Thornton have with fiscal management? Since Dr. Thornton has never been a superintendent, or even an Assistant Superintendent, is he ready for the job of being a superintendent of a large urban district facing serious financial challenges? Has his visionary educational approach created budget problems? Does his work as Chief Academic Officer extend beyond the boundaries of educational decision-making and programming into other management work? Or does Vallas and his staff handle the vast majority of the financial, capital and other district management issues.
  • What is Dr. Thornton's relationship with business and his beliefs in privatization in public schools? During the interview in Seattle, Dr. Thornton claimed that while privatization (charters, Edison schools, and other models) made sense in Philadelphia, it didn't make sense in Seattle. Does he really know enough about our district already to make that statement, or was he just playing to the crowd? In Seattle, Dr. Thornton interrupted an answer to an audience member's question to say "Hi, Jane." I was baffled by that until later when he made a point to again call out the fact that he knew Jane already and to gush about how wonderful Jane and Microsoft have been to Philadelphia schools. Is that how Dr. Thornton typically acts around business people? Does he bend Philadelphia schools to meet business agendas, or just seek business support for his own vision of quality schools? And, given his previous ethics violation, is his relationship with business seen as too cozy?

Seattle School Board Members

While traveling this week and during their discussion of the finalists on Thursday, I'd also like DeBell, Chow and Butler-Wall to ask themselves and their colleagues on the School Board the following questions:

  • Are we settling for a "good enough" candidate because of our desire to hire a superintendent before our Board terms expire? Commenters on this blog have talked about choosing between these finalists with phrases like "Well if we only have these two to choose from..." and "so whoever it is, we're going to have to make the best of it." Commenters on other blogs have talked about the candidates as "pretty good second tier candidates," saying that the best superintendent candidates wouldn't consider the job in Seattle until after the Board election happens.
  • What criteria did we use, either explicitly or implicitly, beyond what was listed in the superintendent profile document, to choose the two finalists from the 11 candidates presented by the search firm? And should we share the criteria with the public? Both finalists are pushing a standardized curriculum and assessment system. Did you filter out candidates who did not? Both finalists are in districts with Edison schools. Did you filter out candidates who were opposed to any type of privatization?
  • Going forward, can we put the district's (and therefore the children's) best interests before our own? When and how will we involve the mayor and other city leaders who have criticized us in the superintendent hiring process? Should it be before we make and announce a final hiring decision? Would choosing Carla Santorno as the interim superintendent and delaying the hiring decision until after the School Board elections in the fall better serve Seattle Public Schools in the long run?

Comments

Beth Bakeman said…
Just found out that the School Board members already visited Charleston today.

A couple of questions: How much did it cost to change the trip from the scheduled time frame next week to this week? And what's the hurry?

Also, how much do the Board members expect to learn during a scripted tour with media watching? Please tell me Board members also had individual meetings with community members in private!
I'm more worried about Dr. Goodloe-Johnson. Maybe there's more dissent about her out there because she's a superintendent?

Dr. Thorton's ethics? The fact that this is about the only thing that anyone has found on him in this area says to me that he had one lapse in judgment.

He did state, and I think it true for both candidates, you just don't get to the point in your career (where they both are) and not have some baggage. It's the nature of their work and the fact that what they do has a political element. We all know we don't agree on everything or every course of action so there's bound to be some friction. The hard question is, as Beth asks in her questions, are these people flexible, willing to see others' points of view, willing to be collaborative?

As far as Dr. Thorton's fiscal background, I know more about his than hers. At least I know he is charge of the $100M worth of grants for his district.

Beth's questions to the Board are spot on. Who (or what elements) got filtered out? We'll never know. The Board had the right (and may have) told Ray & Associates certain traits they would not want to see in a candidate.

I know that Carla would not have wanted to even serve as an interim superintendent. She's really devoted to the work she is doing right now. I do not think it would have been better to wait until after the election because (1) how do you know you would get better Board members and (2) you'd be getting people who would have almost zero district experience. I'd rather have people who know this district well than people who walked in the door five minutes ago.
Beth Bakeman said…
It's not so much that I think we'll have better Board members in the fall. Rather it's that with so much Board turnover likely, the Board that is hiring this superintendent won't be the same Board that is working with this superintendent.
Beth Bakeman said…
A blogger in Charleston responded as follows to my questions:

"You've asked some great questions. The 12:17 am poster above has answered at least one of them. Other than that, I believe those questions would most accurately be answered by people whose lips are sealed during this process.
According to one news reporter, the visit was staged. Its too bad they didn't go by Brentwood Middle, one of the schools she closed and "reopened" under a so-called A Plus Program. That school has received national attention as well. I was a substitute teacher there. Even last year, after the "reopening", teachers (and many children) weren't safe. Social promotion is alive and well(and accepted among top educators) in Charleston. Do you have that problem in Seattle? I believe we can educate EVERY child. Someone should ask Dr. Goodloe-Johnson what her thoughts on social promotion are."
Anonymous said…
Why do you keep saying the board members bumped their East Coast trips up to this week? It was planned this way all along, to coincide with our spring break.
Beth Bakeman said…
If so, that's news to the press in Charleston (who reported the "bump up"), to Cheryl Chow who explained why the trip timing was changed, and to the people in Seattle who watched the superintendent finalist interviews during which Cheryl Chow said the trip would happen the week of April 16th.
Charlie Mas said…
This is from the Times:

During a press conference, Goodloe-Johnson was asked how she would respond to a parent who said the district is institutionally racist and a principal who said white people make her nervous.

She said: "You need to have conversations about that because people's perceptions and what they say are real to them. My job is to find out why they feel that way and ... work to correct the issue if there is an issue. But you cannot take away how people feel."

Asked whether she would fire the principal, Goodloe-Johnson replied, "I think that would be very unfair to automatically fire someone without having a conversation about why they would say that. Now, I would be a little worried if someone said African-American people make me nervous. I'd say, now tell me about that ... . I think you need to understand the reason. Maybe it's not the right job, maybe it's not the right fit. You can't be a leader and have some groups of people make you nervous."


So, according to Dr. Goodloe-Johnson, the possible situation in which a principal says that people of a certain race makes them nervous has different consequences depending on the race that discomfits them. If White people make you nervous, then we need to address the situation that makes you feel that way. If African-Americans make you nervous, then you need to get another job.

Did I read that right?
Anonymous said…
For a clarification of the previous question check the web on the case involving a teacher at Brentwood Middle School in North Charleston. The teacher's name was Elizabeth Kandrac and she won a suit against CCSD for the abusive working environment that was maintained by CCSD officials. Goodloe-Johnson's responses to the press are very telling as she explained away the validity of the complaints raised by this teacher.
Anonymous said…
Check the local newpaper and television reports on the Kandrac case for what was actually said by CCSD officials and others. You can skip the neo-nazi and hate groups on the web that picked up on it after the fact for all the wrong reasons.
Anonymous said…
One of the things that makes this all so awkward is that there is often a double standard - and African Americans generally seem to hold the moral high ground, such that any challenge or question, like Charlie's, is considered racism.

A pretty reasonable-sounding parent in Danny Westneat's Q&A session said "I don't want a White principal deciding what she (her child) needs as a Black child"

Imagining someone saying, "I don't want a Black principal deciding what my White child needs" - is quite a stretch.

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