Principal Announcements (But What About Rainier Beach HS?)
The district has announced another round of principal/assistant principal appointments. (I'll list those below.) But what about Rainier Beach HS? When we last left them, both of their current co-principals, Dr. Robert Gary and Lisa Escobar, were leaving to go to other posts (Interagency and Viewlands, respectively).
Nearly every other school who has been searching for a principal as far back as RBHS has found one. It's not for lacking of trying because they did form a search committee and did interviews starting back in early April. But they still haven't announced a principal appointment.
I've served on a principal search committee and it was very structured and, of course, that because you need to be completely fair to each applicant. Same questions, from the same people, etc. The district did an initial screening search to find candidates who would meet the criteria - both from their resume and the screening - to be a principal for SPS.
The main focuses for the committee were these:
Then an e-mail came from the district stating they had to send forward the other 2 candidates because there had to be 3 (I recall this being the case when I was on a search committee and it seemed false because we didn't get that many candidates anyway).
You can imagine that the differing qualities of the rounds made these parents uncomfortable about the process.
They have testified to the Board about this and they have repeatedly asked via e-mails when an announcement would be made. All they seem to get is a lot of vague answers.
Here's what else the PTSA said:
We were told that we had to have a Principal in Place by the end of June, now Dr. Enfield is dragging her feet. We have forwarded our top candidates. The first choice applicant has made it through the District's screening process and even has a background in IB, yet Dr. Enfield is holding up the process.
It is odd that it has taken this long. It is important for a school to know who their leader is before school ends. It would be great to be able to introduce him or her before school lets out. I have to wonder if they had fired Martin Floe, would it have taken this long to find a replacement for him?
The new appointments (some of these may be repeats):
Mr. Colmus was the Founding Principal of KIPP TRUTH Academy in Dallas, Texas, one of 99 KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Schools across the country. Before opening KIPP TRUTH, where he served as principal for seven years, Mr. Colmus completed the KIPP School Leadership Program.
Nearly every other school who has been searching for a principal as far back as RBHS has found one. It's not for lacking of trying because they did form a search committee and did interviews starting back in early April. But they still haven't announced a principal appointment.
I've served on a principal search committee and it was very structured and, of course, that because you need to be completely fair to each applicant. Same questions, from the same people, etc. The district did an initial screening search to find candidates who would meet the criteria - both from their resume and the screening - to be a principal for SPS.
The main focuses for the committee were these:
- IB Experience
- Experience working in HS with a Diverse Demographics
- Strong Creativity and Vision
- Community Oriented
- A Collaborator
- Good fit for RBHS
Then an e-mail came from the district stating they had to send forward the other 2 candidates because there had to be 3 (I recall this being the case when I was on a search committee and it seemed false because we didn't get that many candidates anyway).
You can imagine that the differing qualities of the rounds made these parents uncomfortable about the process.
They have testified to the Board about this and they have repeatedly asked via e-mails when an announcement would be made. All they seem to get is a lot of vague answers.
Here's what else the PTSA said:
Rainier Beach is a Transformation School. We have passed the first phase of the IB Application and will begin the second phase this Summer. A Principal is needed to keep this moving forward.
It is odd that it has taken this long. It is important for a school to know who their leader is before school ends. It would be great to be able to introduce him or her before school lets out. I have to wonder if they had fired Martin Floe, would it have taken this long to find a replacement for him?
The new appointments (some of these may be repeats):
- Erika Ayer as the new principal for Daniel Bagley Elementary School.
- Anitra Pinchback-Jones becomes principal of Rainier View Elementary
- Kristina Bellamy-McClain as interim principal at Emerson Elementary.
- Amber Jenkins will be an assistant principal at Franklin High School.
- Jim Slaid will be an assistant principal at Ballard High School.
- Meghan Geddes will be an assistant principal at Garfield High School
- Carol Coram will be an assistant principal at Denny International Middle School.
- Dan Golosman will be the assistant principal at Bryant Elementary.
- Dr. Neil Gerrans will be the assistant principal at Lawton Elementary
- Steve Colmus will be the assistant principal at Gatewood Elementary School.*
- Lisa Clayton will be the assistant principal at Pathfinder K-8.
- Sarah Morningstar will be the assistant principal at TOPS K-8
- Jeanne Kuban will be the assistant principal at Kimball Elementary.
*Uh oh, look at this:
Comments
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040205&slug=charter05
reader too
The SPS HW policy has changed so that individual schools set their own HW policy. The proposed attendance policy is more punitive and allows for less flexibility, plus it is being removed from Board review to become a "Superintendent Policy."
Some schools aready have uniforms. Then there's TFA...
So why is this article about charters and not about formalizing a process to open new alt schools? And why is Colmus at Gatewood and not at the New School (I believe they may be looking for a principal?) or possibly reopening a West Seattle K-5 as an alt school? Do charter advocates really not know alts exist, or do they see them as too community driven (chaotic?)? Has anyone out there ever asked?
Every person who comes from charter schools is not evil, is not aiming to take over our system which admittedly could use more attention to students who are underperforming. When I read your blog I hear cries for helping those who are behind with interventions. I have read plenty on various programs and this is what KIPP does so well. I read on here the complaints about TFAers only sticking around for 2 years. Here is a man who was at his KIPP school for over 10 years. Please give people a chance and don't assume everything is an evil plot to take over our broken system!
hope it works for Gatewood
Yes, many here want support for INDIVIDUAL students who are struggling (just as many want support of INDIVIDUAL students who need more challenge in a particular subject) but my understanding of KIPP does not support the contention that this is what they do.
From their website:
"Over 80 percent of our students are from low-income families and eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program, and 95 percent are African American or Latino."
And this:
"a track record of preparing students in underserved communities"
Soi KIPP isn't looking at individual students, as I (and others) would prefer, KIPP intentionally locates its schools in ghettoes, and treats all of its students (grouped by KIPP economically and racially into generalized packets of "underserved" students) as if they are struggling and need KIPP's supposed magic (and, Anonymous 2:08, or Hope It Works for Gatewood, I'd like to see your sources for the claim that KIPP does this well.)
Some of us here on this blog would prefer that ALL students are served, struggling or not. Some of us recognize that students are not African American or Latino or White or Asian but just complicated children. Not poor, not wealthy, not this, not that, but each a unique individual.
So KIPP is not what I want to serve struggling students. I want all public school employees serving every student in every school.
I meank, what does KIPP mean when it says students are "underserved"?
Do they mean that some kids live in situations of poverty? Do they mean some schools don't serve the kids? What do they mean by THAT? Isn't that merely another version of teacher-bashing? Or another version of "publics don't serve students, but we can!"
I call BS. Show me the data that shows KIPP serves every student, from struggling in a subject or two all the way up to 4.0 in every subject; Kenyan/Oregonian/Scotch/German and Peruvian/Alabaman/Italian/Mexican; Son of recentluy laid off, daughter of generationally poor, grandson of old money...
Show me the research that KIPP provides all levels, "serves" all students, provides deep and enriching opportunity...and I might find KIPP a more attractive option.
And by the way, evil is your word. Don't assign motives or words to people who don't use them. I have never called anyone who works for education - not LEV, the Alliance, the Gates Foundation, not even TFA, evil.
Susan, before the whole Ingraham issue, I had worried they would transfer Floe to RBHS and an assistant principal at Garfield with IB and APP experience to Ingraham.
That makes sense except that when he was 'fired' they made it clear he would NOT be relocated in the district. Who the heck knows what they had planned.
Furthermore the students of Rainier Beach High School deserve more. After all the transition they have experienced throughout the school year, the least the district can do is openly communicate to the RBHS community who their next principal will be. How are we to increase enrollment when the school technically has no Administration in place?
Appointed/interim Superintendent & elected Board members seeking re-election,
I ask you to examine your core values as leaders in this district and decide if you are really part of the solution or part of the problem. Clearly immediate action is required on your part with regards to naming a principal for Rainier Beach high school. We started this process 10 weeks ago, April 7th to be exact and have two days remaining in the school year but to date no one has been presented as the leader of the school.
Board members,
The interim Superintendent is your only employee and let me remind you of Seattle Public Schools motto: "Every student achieving, everyone accountable" and that includes YOU. I expect you to hold the interim Superintendent accountable for the duties YOU appointed her to perform.
For the life of me I can't begin to comprehend how and why a decision has not been made. If an interim Principal is the plan then they have wasted a number of folks time, effort and energy.
This would not happen in the NE. Despite the districts blatant lack of attention, focus and resources for Rainier Beach we are servicing students from one of the most diverse zip codes in the nation, with 73% free and reduce lunch, 13.3% Special Education, 18.7% Transitional Bilingual. There is also a significant language and cultural challenge in approaching and engaging families.
Imagine if the district gave Rainier Beach High school a big hug and embraced the school in the same manner as Cleveland and Chief Sealth.
IB is a great opportunity for future students but for current students the IB program would only service 20% of students...what about the other 80%? This all makes me think of the "rumblings" about the school closing, then re-opening after the partial building remodel and just in time for the IB program to bloom but for who?
You and RBHS kids are in a tough place. You are isolated. You don't have parents with abilities to picket, show up at board meeting and fill out the comment section on this and othe media sites. If the discussion was centered on an issue at Ingrahm, Lowell, Lawton, or Wedgewood, there would be over 100 comments by now.
And that is the rub. I hope you can get others at your school to speak up and post at RVP and this blog. It is easy to be ignored when you are invisible. It hurts to write this because I came from similar demographics and it is a bitter thing that 40 years later, we still fight the same battle.
Whatever the district's plans (short and long term) may be, you deserve answers to your questions.
-looking for answers too!
Lots of smart folks that write in here, what do you suggest to help RBHS folks get some answers?
-ps mom
Try to make media contacts and share your story. Go to election functions and director coffee's when they have them.. leave voice mail messages for the directors. Contact tangentally relevant people at the district because they have to forward your email to the powers that be since the decision rests with them. For example I would email the TIF person, the LAP person, communications head, head of human resources, the person in charge of school transformations. Emphasize that it is critical that a new principal meets with staff and families BEFORE summer break so that he/she understands the community better as he/she works on getting ready for the next year. If this doesn't happen, demand that teachers get a stipend to meet w/ the principal when ever he/she is appointed. Good luck with this. I recommend contacting the AS#1 community for support since they have a long history of successful battles against the district. There is an equity commmittee at the school that that also has a lot of contacts. Good luck!
This bears saving, Anon 9:00's post:
As a parent of a Rainier Beach student, I do not understand why this process of hiring a new principal has taken so long. Historically, schools in southeast Seattle have been neglected and this is another example. The students, teachers, parents deserve more. This is a blatant disrespect to leave us in limbo not know what will happen next. The school district is trying to sabotage RBHS. There is no sense that the district wants RBHS to succeed. I can assure you this would not happen at Garfield, Roosevelt, Ballard, Ingraham etc. The arrogance and lack of support from the district is appalling. If there was not disparities amongst all schools we would not be in this position. I demand answer before school is out.
Please contact Parents Across America - Seattle
seattle dot paa at gmail dot com.
We are a small but noisy group and we have been following your story. We believe in community and family input in school decision-making, and ONLY in reform that has been shown to work, long term.
If you have found a qualified principal you like, you should have him.
He was the individual who the district changed the first scheduled round of interviews for. We were not impressed by him, nor were the students who got to interview him as well. Furthermore Mr. Colmus's resume and application made no mention that he was a former SPS employee... I wonder why. Good luck Gatewood!
It is about hard work and sweat equity. This is a community in need of solid foundation first. Kids need a SAFE place to learn, they need an INFORMAL IEP that their teachers/counselors can used to help guide what these kids need from the first day they enter the doors to the day they leave. It is not about how many adults you can stuff in a building, but how well those adults serve these students (and are they allow to do so).
It should come as no surprise that SPS is having a tough time finding a sane, principled, experienced, and competent educator who want to take on a school that conveniently has served as Ed Reformer's poster child for all that has gone wrong in public education. This school needs a dedicated principal who has the heart and mind to stand and deliver and not disappear in a year or two. This school needs a principal that will put the interest of the students first and not that of his/her superiors. That is a very tough shoe to fill.
-ps mom
Maybe you need to attend the Superintendent's town hall meeting being held today at South Shore, en masse.
Joint Town Hall with Superintendent Susan Enfield and Mayor Mike McGinn
6/21/2011 (5:30 PM - 7:30 PM)
reader too
Please if you care about education come tonight to Southshore and wear orange and blue becuase what is happening to RBHS is a travesty and when they are done with RBHS they will move on to another victim.
What is this in reference to? What boundaries got changed?
The district is slowing overstuffing schools that work like Garfield, Lafayette and Lowell. It will slowly strangle those schools.
RBHS has been left slowly twisting in the wind for years and years. Build them a wonderful performing arts hall and given them no performing arts curriculum. (The district knows who to ask - Roosevelt has an outstanding program, both academically and performance-wise.) Broadway Bound Theater tried to come in but did the district truly support their efforts? The Technology Access Foundation tried to come in with an idea that the district could have done a LOT more to support and help the community see its benefits. It did not.
What is weird is that RBHS has never called for big initiatives like IB or STEM. What they want is a solid school with interventions and supports for their students AND the rigor you might find at any other high school. Why is this so hard? Why put in two principals and the SE Initiative, neither of which helped?
When will the district listen to the parents and community about what RBHS needs?
Or is it to be run into the ground so we can start these "transformation" schools and RBHS will be the first high school.
RBHS is not failing because of the students or the parents (everyone is accountable, yes, I get that). It's failing because it has not been managed well by the district.
So good schools are having issues and some low-performing schools get largely ignored. Again I say, if RBHS had the new building, Cleveland would be the one not being helped.
"if RBHS had the new building, Cleveland would be the one not being helped"
Why are all of the RBHS teachers leaving?
Why is it that the one math teacher who wants to stay got pushed out?
I'll be at Southshore tonight to hear it all.
Rainier Beach will be her eldest child NSAP HS after next year. My friend is afraid. She fears that the school is not safe. She fears that the academics are weak. She fears that her daughter who is very smart and has lived a restricted family life because their neighborhood is not so safe, will stray with the wrong crowd and loose her sight for college and scholarships. She wants her daughter to go to Garfield HS. She needs some good reasons to send her eldest to Rainier Beach.
-ps mom
Rainier Beach high school located on Henderson and the corner of Seward Park Avenue S. directly across the street from the lake and million dollar homes and condos IS A SAFE SCHOOL. It is the surrounding environment that needs to be "cleaned up". The media and the district loves to paint this image of Rainier Beach being this mad/crazy/scary place however the city and the district failed to provide a full time officer to be present on the corner of Rainier and Henderson. This is supposedly one of the most notorious corners in the city. It has been compared to 23rd Cherry but with the new remodel at Garfield came a full time officer to reinforce that the community would not stand for "riff-raff" near their school.
Trust me I am all to aware of the families who work night and day and cannot afford to miss even an hour of work to spend at Rainier Beach but I challenge them, you and the media to walk into the hallways of Rainier Beach high school then go stand on the corner of Rainier and Henderson it is night and day. Let me remind you there is both a K-8 school (South Shore, that I love) located on the corners of Rainier and Henderson as well as an Alternative high school (South Lake) located on Rainier Ave S and Cloverdale (I think)that for whatever reason do not get the same negative publicity. How strange.... We are actively trying to set the record straight on how safe the school is. If the district and the city was truly serious about this issue they would provide a full time officer to assist.
"The media and the district loves to paint this image of Rainier Beach being this mad/crazy/scary place however the city and the district failed to provide a full time officer to be present on the corner of Rainier and Henderson."
The City is always going on about how to support schools. Well, the areas surrounding our schools are THEIR turf and if it brings issues to the schools, then they should address it.
http://seattlecrime.com/2011/03/16/three-men-show-up-to-rainier-beach-hs-looking-for-shooting-witnesses-assault-security
--Mid Beacon Hill mom
I believe you when you say Rainier Beach is a safe school. I think what my friend wants is another Garfield at Rainier Beach. My friend and her children will agree with you about South Shore. She is a protective mom and thus far, her kids have managed to stay out of trouble and do well in school. But she has also seen other members of her family making wrong choices and suffer bad consequences. She wants the best for her children just as I do living here in the northend. So how do we get there? I think picking the right principal would be a start.
-ps mom
Dear Rainier Beach High School staff and community:
Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dwane Chappelle as principal of Rainier Beach High School.
Mr. Chappelle will bring energy, leadership and commitment to his role as Rainier Beach principal. He joins Seattle
Public Schools from the Arlington Independent School District in Texas, where he served as an Assistant Principal.
Mr. Chappelle has been in education for the past seven years and also served as Assistant Principal in the Plano
Independent School District, where he was also the Dean of Students. Mr. Chappelle started his career as a special
education teacher for the Richardson Independent School District in Texas. He received his principal certification from
Texas Women’s University, his Master’s in Secondary and Higher Education from Texas A&M and his Bachelor’s degree
from Grambling State University.
Mr. Chappelle also worked as a juvenile detention officer for Dallas County, helping detained youth and developing
programs in academics, group projects and life skills.
Mr. Chappelle said he considers it a privilege to serve the students and staff of Rainier Beach High School, as well as the
community. Within the next two weeks we also plan to announce an Assistant Principal for RBHS. I am confident that
with a strong team in place at Rainier Beach High School, we will see significant improvements.
I want to thank the work of the principal selection committee for interviewing candidates. For those of you who have
not yet had a chance to meet Mr. Chappelle, he starts next month and he is eager to meet all staff, students and
community members. Also, Executive Director of Schools Michael Tolley will work closely with Mr. Chappelle to ensure
every student at Rainier Beach receives an excellent education.
Sincerely,
Susan
Susan Enfield, Ed.D.
Interim Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools