Noodling Around the SPS Website
Just so we all keep up to date, looking at the district website, it appears we now have four Assistant Superintendents.
The process of restructuring central office at the John Stanford Center has a near zero budget impact.
What? Cathie Thompson has a new job title and her old job is being filled by someone else. Don Kennedy was COO/CFO and now those jobs are split into two. Noel Treat isn't being paid more for his new workload? So that statement about zero budget impact is a little hard to believe but like most statements about money in the district, no data is ever given.
Also, I see they are advertising for not only Cathie Thompson old job, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, but also for the additional Executive Director job.
Also, just to keep up, the heads of Communications, Capital Projects and Human Resources are all new.
Did I miss anyone?
- Pegi McEvoy - Operations (interim)
- Robert Boesche - Business and Finance (interim)
- Cathie Thompson - Teaching and Learning
- Noel Treat - Deputy Superintendent (interim)
The process of restructuring central office at the John Stanford Center has a near zero budget impact.
What? Cathie Thompson has a new job title and her old job is being filled by someone else. Don Kennedy was COO/CFO and now those jobs are split into two. Noel Treat isn't being paid more for his new workload? So that statement about zero budget impact is a little hard to believe but like most statements about money in the district, no data is ever given.
Also, I see they are advertising for not only Cathie Thompson old job, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, but also for the additional Executive Director job.
Also, just to keep up, the heads of Communications, Capital Projects and Human Resources are all new.
Did I miss anyone?
Comments
Does appear rather clearly that Dr. Enfield is in way over her head and has surrounded herself with assistant superintendents that are equally if not more in over their heads. Business as usual at SPS, make certain people around you are ill prepared and incapable of adequately performing their jobs and you will not be threatened or revealed as unqualified or unprepared to function in your job.
At this rate and on the current path, the district operations are only getting worse...the sad part is that ultimately kids are being most harmed by it all.
She was the Deputy Supt. in Vancouver, WA (Evergreen), Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning in Portland, ORE. I believe she applied for the Supt. job in Bellevue before being tapped by Goodloe-Johnson for CAO here.
When do the training wheels come off?
This does not seem the most cost-effective way to run a District.
Members of the Board of Directors have failed in their primary role of policy making and supervision of the superintendent. The current members of the Board of Directors defer to the superintendent and other opportunistic educators regarding policy making; witness the public meeting 5/18/11 as Holly Ferguson presented homework, promotion and retention policies that came from principals and teachers. She was unable to answer substantial questions and was clear that these new, hands off policies were from employees.
The Board of Directors has not been supervising the one employee they are charged with supervising, and they are accepting policies created by employees. I do not know if there is a district in our country operating in such a backward and dysfunctional manner, but this is just nuts. At least these incompetent do-nothings are providing great campaign material for anybody opposing their being retained on the board; sadly, children continue to be harmed by these inept fools and it is going to take a good deal of work and time to clean up the mess being made of our public schools.
It is appropriate to have a promotion/retention policy to permit promotions or retentions to happen; the revised D 43.00 is modeled on the WSSDA policy and also reflects comments offered by individual principals, the High School Steering Committee and the Middle School Counselors Committee.
Note the "reflects" comments. So that is how policy is made. => Listen to some comments and make those comments policy.
Next is from the SB Action Report from Holly F. .. as Statement of Issue =>
By revising the overarching policy (D 43.00) and repealing the grade-span specific policies we continue to permit schools to promote or retain students, but remove the specific obligations and requirements that bounded schools and teachers.
==>
(translation)
The Board provides no leadership whatsoever through this policy.
and does so with a 7-0 approval vote.
-- Dan Dempsey
Chief Financial Officer as Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance
Chief Operating Officer as Assistant Superintendent for Operations
Chief Academic Officer as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
General Counsel as Deputy Superintendent
I don't mind the change in the titles so long as there is no change in duties, pay, or benefits.
BUT...
Let me make sure I've got this right.
In a time of unprecedented austerity in Seattle Public Schools, when the Board and the District Staff keep going on about cutting costs and keeping cuts away from the classrooms, the interim superintendent has added some new positions to the upper management.
Added: Chief Financial Officer as a separate position from the Chief Operating Officer. No question about that and I accept the rationale.
Added: Sixth Executive Director of Schools. No question about that and I do not accept the rationale.
Is there really any additional executive staff in Communications, Human Resources, or Facilities or are those re-titling of continuing positions?
Mandy
Is there anyway to get a number or the enrollment data without it?
If you call the enrollment office, and choose to talk to a human from the menu, they can look it up for you. Or, at least they could 2 years ago when I did that for my incoming kindergartener.
--monkeypuzzled
Mandy
You should have a Student ID - even for incoming kindergartners. When you filled out your paperwork, you would have gotten a letter from the district confirming your enrollment at your Assignment Area school - it is on the back of the letter, upper left side before your child's name.
You can check online with that # and your child's birthdate.
Here's a link to check your assignment/waitlist rank.
http://tinyurl.com/4yoebss
I echo "monkeypuzzled" comment that you should do this now... there are always errors and getting on top of them sooner rather than later is good.
Good luck!
Parent at Lincoln
Since the discussion of the Promotion/ Non-Promotion and "Zero" interventions is on the table, I went to Harium's Blog => and here is what I found......
-------------------
This blog is open to invited readers only
http://harium.blogspot.com/
It doesn't look like you have been invited to read this blog. If you think this is a mistake, you might want to contact the blog author and request an invitation.
---------------------------
Harium said he stopped blogging because of new obligations at work and did not have the time to continue blogging. ..... So why has he closed public access to his old blog?
------------
I really do not believe he wants a lot of his previous explanations available to the public....... His written positions on the Promotion / Non-promotion policies certainly need to be concealed .... as they contradict portions of Holly Ferguson's Action Report.
Why is Harium running?
Why has Harium closed his blog?
What about transparency?
--------------------------
The Board is a complete disaster on so many issues...... Harium is now the poster child for disregard for the public.
--- Dan Dempsey
No, Noel is not acting as General Counsel. Ron English is until Noel comes back. Deputy Super is a new role as is Cathie Thompson's.
"Or, you could wait three days for the mail to arrive, and let that enrollment employee focus on the work that actually needs doing in the District, instead of responding to your impatience."
I'm sorry but she just asked a question about getting information. No need to be unkind.
Hm,I don't remember this letter, but I guess I'll look around to see if I've just forgotten it.
We didn't do early enrollment. Would we have received such a letter anyway?
I was kind of hoping my kid would just show up in the Source, since I already have a child enrolled with SPS.
No luck there, though the Source says new kids should get automatically linked to the parent's account.
If there's a problem, you should find out about it as soon as possible. If you wait, it may turn out to be very difficult to get ahold of anyone who can fix it. That's what happened to me. Transportation screwed up bus stop assignments massively and changed my daughter's bus stop to a strange neighborhood. I had to take afternoons off work for the entire first week of school to meet her bus that was dropping her off 3/4 of a mile from where she should have been. Since so many student's bus routes were screwed up and they only mailed them out a week before school we called Transportation continuously and were never able to get anything but a busy signal.
I have also observed that principals and Ed. Directors (and Superintendents) who were excellent teachers and principals have less need to micro-manage teachers.and principals. They expect the school staff to be competent (as they were)and when someone is not, they are ready to try to help fix the problem rather than blame and panic.
The lack of experience of Enfield keeps manifesting itself in many different ways. It continues to concern me that she never stayed in any job long enough to master it.
$$ keeps going to plug the hole in the dam
http://district.seattleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=98649492d30d6ba435abdb7de03b7ab1&pageid=172239&sessionid=98649492d30d6ba435abdb7de03b7ab1
signed a reader
Also in Sept start is a Director of Regional Support - whatever that means. hmmm...
C'mon School Board get real!!
I have recruited a strong candidate to oppose Ms. Carr in the upcoming election and hopefully each of the incumbents will be defeated in the primary in August. It will take a good deal of grass roots work, but I am confident that the concerned members of our community will rise to the challenge. There is too much at stake and the children of our city deserve so much better.
MGJ's Sup salary line goes to SE (but at less pay)
SE's CAO salary line goes to Cathy Thompson as Asst. Sup.
Don Kennedy's salary line goes to Robert Boesche (but at less pay) as Asst. Sup.
Ann Chan's "Chief Talent Officer" salary line goes to interim HR Ex Director.
Cathy Thompson's old salary line goes to new Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Bridgett Chandler's old salary line goes to new Communications Director (who better be making less for the quality being put out, sheesh!)
Savings: Patti Spencer-Watkins RIF'd from Communications, Bill Martin shown the door. Martin's work disolved among others, no more Director of Facilities.
Extra Ed Director is the outlyer, but then again, they could be using funds spend on having two principals at RB last year, or the money from other RIFs like PSW and Anna Maria De La Fuente and the other content managers.
These individuals may all be nice people, but expecting them to be able to adequately perform their duties is truly crazy. A school nurse becoming Director of Health and Security and now Chief Operating Officer, a member of General Counsel office becoming whatever Holly Ferguson has become, the lead General Counsel becoming Deputy Superintendent and the insanity continues....
(...)Savings: Patti Spencer-Watkins RIF'd from Communications...
Perhaps, but then the district conducted a "nationwide" search, using a search committee of 30-plus SPS staffers in order to hire Lesley Rogers of Strategies 360 from right here in Seattle to be the "Director of Communications."
(Seattle School District hires staffer from Strategies 360 – the political marketing firm that misused private student contact info to push ed reform agenda)
So at the very least, it's a wash, but I suspect Rogers is getting a tidy salary for her comm. director job at SPS during a major levy and election year.
And according to an earlier post on this blog, that makes her one of 5-6 employees on the SPS "communications/PR" payroll.
Why is SPS spending so much on PR?
Hands up if you'd rather the district spend that money on school counselors and teachers.
-- Sue p.
-- Sue p.
District Report Cards - $18,600
RSBDP Damage Control - $40,000
New leadership charm school - $3,000
TIF - $49,600
Total - $111,200
Except for TIF, the contracts were personal services contract awarded without competition. Under the new "improved" procedures (stemming from the SAO audit), staff must attest that the firm/contractor possesses unique abilities that no one on staff can provided. All the while five employees twiddle their thumbs in district communications.
Lesley Rogers - Head Person (formerly Bridgett Chandler)
Theresa Whippel - Media Relations (formerly David Tucker)
Robert Tedesco (appears to technology staffer, long time employee)
Admistrative Assistant
Patti Spencer Watkins gone, no replacement.
HMM
http://wwwb.thenewstribune.com/databases/school_pay/index.php?names=&schools=&districts=Seattle&sort=salary_annual&job_title=
----Grapevine
I don't know whether Pegi McEvoy, Noel Treat, etc. are doing good jobs or not -- but, on principle, I am not sure I agree with the proposition that people with professional training and or degrees in management can't/shouldn't be moved into management positions. In the corporate world, lots of folks who start out with fairly technical jobs turn out to have (or to develop) good managerial skills on the job -- and move on to successfully perform in management positions. In fact, some think that this (rather than MBAs or degrees in public administration) are the BEST way to develop/discover good managers. If you want someone to draw plans to build a bridge, you had better call on a civil engineer. But if you want someone to manage 20 civil engineers in an office -- they don't necessarily need a management degree. Maybe they are civil engineers with great people/problem solving skills. Maybe they are from the services/staff side -- but have that same skill set. One thing that IS true though, is that if you hire MBA/MPAs, you will probably pay a higher salary for the initials that they paid to get at some graduate school.
What, ALL, I really care about is:
1. Can they do a decent job -- or are we just promoting whatever warm body is available and a known quantity; and
2. Since we have NO MONEY, are we hiring the best person, for the most reasonable salary, we can find?
For all I know, McEvoy started as a nurse, got into "management," turned out to be (or learned to be) really good at: setting priorities, staying on (and keeping her reports on task, developing and living within a budget, setting and achieving short and long term departmental goals, etc., etc., etc. ALL of these are things that can be learned on the job.
The same is true of Noel. He has enough years at the county that he may well be a great person to perform the jobs he is now being asked to perform in a complicated and entrenched bureaucracy.
Again -- I can't defend their actual performance. I just think it is wrong to "scoff" at their placement just because they haven't spent years and dollars collecting degrees and titles elsewhere.
(Cont'd)
Hiring a furniture mover to be in charge of a multimillion dollar small works program, with absolutely no clue as to whether the person has assembled and managed ANYTHING was simply horrible management on Fred Stephens' part.
Since when did nursing somehow become dis-honorable? Need we have the corporate "national search" for people to come here and "steal us blind" (as another post so aptly put it)? Or may we recognize leadership within and promote it.
Lets get beck to judging people by their records and actions rather than by padded resumes and dazzling imperial pronouncements.
Both of these people are doing their best and don't deserve to be maligned by faceless snarks.
I mean really, Brent Jones insisted on being called "Doctor Jones" but told few his Phd was in zoology. Besides putting him in line for the Districts HR Department, what difference does it make.
Judge him by his performance and enjoy his working elsewhere.
Ms. McEvoy has not demonstrated a high degree of skill and ability for effectively managing a staff or being able to adequately serve as the Chief Operations Officer for the largest district in our state. She has demonstrated a loyalty to the opportunistic educators in headquarters and a willingness to support business as usual (i.e. dysfunctional culture and mismanagement).
Likewise, Mr. Treat may have spent years in county government but did not have experience or demonstrate any management or supervisory ability. Dr. Enfield also does not possess a background or experience that would demonstrate an ability to effectively serve as a superintendent; the poor decision making and inept actions on her part, not to mention the need to create executive positions to support her, reflect this rather clearly.
Pardon me for not wanting these 'good' people to be allowed on the job training for these high level positions during which time children in our schools are harmed and more damage is done to our district.
Pick any well run district in our state or on the west coast to form a hiring committee for the positions to which I refer, require these individuals to apply for these positions and I assure you that they would not be selected...in fact they would most likely be screened out of the pool of candidates. A problem that persists, and one I was trying to reveal, is that the process for filling these positions was sorely lacking and it was merely cronyism and favor trading that led to them being elevated to where they now sit consuming taxpayer dollars for nothing.
In case you were referring to me as a 'faceless snark' that is attempting to malign these fine individuals that you know, this is not at all the case and ample evidence exists to support the reality.
The COO and Deputy Superintendent have not established a record for effectively performing duties and having responsibilities that would warrant their current positions. For too long headquarters has engaged in promotion and appointment of individuals that end up over their heads and fail miserably. If it weren't for the fact that the lives and future of children in our schools are on the line, I may not be so passionately opposed to allowing 'good people doing their best' to stumble along and collect taxpayer money.
Others may be comfortable allowing business as usual in the district and support the mismanagement of our schools by 'good people' doing their best to do their jobs, but for the sake of the children I will not lower my standards or expectations. As I know firsthand and very well, the vast majority of directors and managers in headquarters should not be in the position they are in wasting millions of taxpayer dollars every year.
This is extended to the rubber stamp Board of Directors that continues to defer to headquarters bureaucrats and the interim superintendent.
"Noel worked for King County for 13 years. Most recently, he was the Deputy Director for the King County Facilities Management Division. He previously served as a Senior Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Section Head for the Prosecutor’s Real Estate and Transportation Section. He has also worked as the Policy and Government Relations Officer for the King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks. Prior to his work with King County, Noel was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington."
So far, I think he is up to the task.
I stand by my statement that he and others that are in positions beyond their ability, background and experience would not be considered for such positions in ANY OTHER district. Or perhaps it is just that Seattle Schools are so much more advanced or forward thinking and successful than other school districts.
Don't worry though, we got our eyes on him.
I think you have misinterpreted what I said. I don't think you need the kinda degrees and fanfare that MGJ and Don Kennedy came with (thanks "national search firm")to take necessary steps to restore common sense to a severly dysfunctional organization that has gone to seed under the former regime.
There is a crisis, lets not quibble over the size of the container, just hand me a bucket.
Leadership is leadership even if your hands are dirty or you are just a nurse.
I'm no fan of the system, far from it. I justr think these two don't deserve cheapshots when they are doing their best in an emergency.
I generally agree with you (at least far more often than not), so maybe I am just wrong here. But here is what I think -- You may be right that, with their resumes, these folks would not be hired elsewhere -- and it would not make me unhappy if I felt that before their promotions, there was a wide search process and an attempt to get a deep, rich candidate pool -- but, where leadership is concerned, sometimes very solid leaders do, in fact, come from within -- or from unusual sources. So the fact that these two might not rise to the top in a nationwide search for their posts does not throw me for a total loop (though it is a valid concern). MGJ looked pretty darn spiffy on paper, and was a Disaster Extraordinaire! A "leader" can go through an awful lot of organizations, collecting titles and a list of "accomplishments" they can "spin," and be really and truly dreadful. We all should know.
More troubling to me are your claims that -- in their positions -- they have not shown themselves to be competent leaders at their posts. If true, this is far more damning, but I can't figure out if it is true. Here is why I am struggling:
1. Huge problems. In answering the survey today, I had to confess that outside of specific teachers and principals, I cannot think of much that the district is doing well. Some of that is ignorance. I may just not know where the stars twinkle brightly. But much of it is because nothing DOES seem to run well. HR? Nope. Facilities? HAH! No. Major constructions projects? Not really (GHS overruns, etc.) Enrollment? No, though there are pockets of competence. Advanced Ed? No, and getting worse. Statistics and Testing? No, and getting worse. Coaches and consulting teachers? Please! No. Special Ed? A lawsuit waiting to happen. Curriculum? Absolutely terrible decisions. We have paid fortunes for dreck.
2. No money. Audits cost money. Nationwide searches cost money. Bringing someone in who has no clue where bodies are buried costs money. We have less with each passing day, it seems.
Really -- where to start? I honestly don't know where Pegi, Noel, and Dr. Enfield should start (though avoiding large new holes like the Ingraham debacle would be one good spot). Clearly, I am not the person for these jobs, because I get bewildered just trying to think of where to begin (with no funds -- including the money to do a forensic or any other audit -- unless the Gates's wanted to help out on that project). You seem so certain -- but I confess, I am not.
Moreover, I don't even know how much time is needed to make a dent in cleaning up the fiasco that this District has become, particularly as new dragons continue to hatch from eggs left behind by MGJ (like the capacity problems that are now becoming more evident and critical).
I guess what I wish is that we had a better board -- one that would tell the interim Superintendent what they want cleaned up first, at what cost, and in what time framework. I think DeBell, KSB, Carr and Meier could do this (with Betty acting as a truth vs. BS barometer), if they were inclined -- but at least the latter two are not.
I appreciate your comments and believe we may have some points on which we agree, but we agree on many things and certainly the most important issues. Addressing the problems that have plagued the Seattle Public Schools for too long. These problems are systemic and will take time and work on many fronts to resolve. As these problems have persisted for so long there is urgency to truly moving towards resolution; millions of taxpayer dollars continue to be wasted and more importantly thousands of children are harmed.
It appears the most realistic and expedient way to begin will be replacing the members of the board that do not support a forensic audit. I believe the only member of the board that would support this is Betty Patu, providing her more members on the board to support this crucial first step is important. Pressure the current members of the board to support the audit as well, some may come to realize the necessity for truly moving forward.
The costs and time involved in conducting a forensic audit will be significant, but even during the limited and reduced funding we currently face does not mean the audit is unaffordable. No consideration is being given to this truly bold action, and therefore the manner in which it would be done and paid for has not been given a chance. State support, philanthropic support and creativity by district officials (obviously not those in power currently) are just the beginning of how we should determine how to put this into action
The principals and teachers are setting district policy and the Board of Directors allows this, headquarters administrators and directors dismiss the idea of a forensic audit. How much longer will the good people of Seattle permit this insanity to reign at district headquarters? How many more millions of dollars will be wasted and thousands of children harmed before we end business as usual in headquarters? It has been at least eight years and counting; it may be challenging and costly but a mere pittance in comparison to what is at stake.
Check out the Public Disclosure Reports and see that Don and his wife (along with law firms who have made millions from District coffers), Shan Mullin (father of Charter spokesman Steve Mullin, 'wingman' for the Spady group), developers like Matt Griffin, etc., are already lining up with checks in hand (Peter M. so far, but its early).
Apparently, these folks are quite satisfied with the last 4 years at SSD and want to keep the momentum going (toward the bottom) and wait for the "new" superman.
We must turn out this board and we should stop bickering between ourselves and hit the trail or the checkbook to do all we can, TOGETHER.
Mr. Ed
"The principals and teachers are setting district policy and the Board of Directors allows this, ..."
And the answer is? Of course, more power in the hands of Ed.D. Central.
Never mind the repetitive exhortations repeatedly delivered in carefully repeated ways that adhere repeatedly to the best pedagogical methods of repetition that are essential to a properly planned and scaled repetition of successfully repeated learning content.
No, never mind that. It's the hubris-filled belief that those mere pesky teachers down there -- way down there among the ants, can you see them? -- need to be more tightly reined in, and over all of them bestride the giant powerful minds of the Ed.D's to keep them from getting too frisky and showing initiative and departing from the hallowed dicta of Ed.D. Central.
No imagination, but who needs that? Color me skeptical of Ed.D's.
-Steveroo