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Enfield Interested in Bellevue Job
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Well, that didn't take long. Details at Seattle Times. Discuss among yourselves.
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Anonymous said…
Suddenly, everything is very clear.
PAL
Anonymous said…
Much easier gig across the lake to the east I would imagine.
Oompah
Anonymous said…
... and similar money.
The leave the Bellevue supe took in December coincides pretty closely to Enfield saying she wouldn't stay on as supe of SPS. Who thinks Enfield's foolish enough to leave a bird in hand for a dim prospect?
same money, easy commute, better class of people... what more could a girl want?
Anonymous said…
What would be the questions I might ask if I was on the Bellevue School Board...
1. What do you think of Arne Duncan's goals, means and methods? 2. What was your greatest success at your last job? 3. What was your greatest failure at your last job? 4a. What has been your average tenure at your last (fill in the blank for quantity) jobs? 4b. Why did you leave each of those jobs? 4c. Do we have your permission to speak frankly and openly about your work with each of your last (fill in the quantity) employers? 5. How long might we expect you to stay in this position should it be offered to you?
Add you questions to the list and send them on to Bellevue!
If the Bellevue Board values truthfulness and integrity, they would take a careful look elsewhere...
mitt said…
The most telling statement in the article: "Since then, Enfield has impressed many in the Seattle community, including the district's labor unions." How sad. Mr Knapp, in his praise of Enfield, was way out of line and did not speak for most of us in the union. He kissed up to the TFA superintendent, thereby undermining the teaching profession. Such reckless statements as his have consequences, such as being repeated in a Seattle Times article in support of a TFA superintendent. Labor unions are impressed with the TFA superintendent? I don't think so.
Second time's the charm? Bellevue didn't select her the last time she applied. Will the teachers and parents in Bellevue's School District want another Superintendent with a resume full of short-term commitments, a Harvard Supe training connection and previous ed consulting interests?
Just google Martin Floe at Ingraham and you will see what I mean.
David said…
All makes sense. Susan Enfield is seeking a much easier job at a smaller city with very high test scores. Definitely not as prestigious as the position in Seattle, but a lot easier and a lot easier to come out of looking good.
Can't blame her choice, which is a personal choice of lifestyle and career, but it is also true that she is also self-selecting out of the hard work required to be the superintendent of a major city. Seattle needs someone who is ready to work hard, and it is good that she decided now that she would not be able to make that commitment to our city.
Anonymous said…
The less we talk about this subject, the better. Girlfriend & BFF's are all about exposure. Don't feed the beast.
Now, back to things that matter...WSDWG
Anonymous said…
The first thing I want to hear from the next SI is: "I don't know."
I pray we never again hire someone with a pre-packaged agenda who thinks they have all the answers, yet has no experience or track record of success or effectiveness.
I also pray we hire someone who knows the SI job is hard, often thankless, and has the moxie and guts to lead a diverse group forward together.
We have not had an SI with any leadership qualities since Stanford. He had his critics, but he inspired and improved the district's reputation more than any other SI in decades. Maybe it was because he genuinely cared and tried to make a difference, instead of padding his resume while driving a sweet BMW or Lexus & hooking up his cronies to the district trough.
WSDWG
Anonymous said…
Could there be a silver lining, in that LEV, Stand and TFA will now recalibrate their sights onto Bellevue, and leave Seattle alone?
Christmas might come early this year!
WSDWG
Anonymous said…
I should follow my own advice better. But my point is not to speculate about the hows and whys, but move onto the opportunities that lie ahead with a new SI, rather than grind axes or feel jilted or bothered by feelings that our departing SI has arguably "upgraded." Whatever. We want somebody who wants to be here. Let's start the dialogue about what we want for our next SI. WSDWG
Anonymous said…
another newsflash. Duggan Harman new CFO or whatever. Eh.
Mr Ed
Anonymous said…
That must be because he's done such a great job overseeing the carnage and destruction of SPS over the last 19 years...Oh my!....signed, Missus Ed
Now Duggan can afford a second Harley Davidson, while kids go without school counselors as they will likely cut more of the building budgets to fund his 18K raise from last year and his new one soon to be announced.
The new district motto ought to be
"Success for Mr. Harman and everything less for Seattle school children"
Um, not sure how one can claim that Harman has been overseeing things for all those years and at the same time acknowledge he's just been promoted to the top spot where he finally is overseeing things.
Me, I think it was a good move. Given that he's worked closely with Bob Boesche since Bob joined in interim status last Spring, he's been well vetted by Bob. If Mr Boesche didn't have complete confidence in Duggan, he would not have been promoted.
I do wish there wasn't the job title inflation, a district our size does not need to have all these assistant superintendents, but that's neither my decision nor Duggan's.
Duggan's narrow approach to district budgets - cut a little here, add a little there through incremental budgeting - HARDLY demonstrates he is a big picture kinda guy.
Please do not put Mary Kay Lipstick on a pig of a budget.You must not be paying attention to the over expenditure on central administration. The district spent about 18 million dollars more last year on central admin. than any other district in the state would spend if they ran Seattle public schools.
He just ran Seattle schools into the ground. Now it is OK? He continues to do so. Look at the numbers. He has been doing a lousy job for years and helping take money away from the classroom with his 18k raise which came at a time when others were cut; THAT directly impacted students. That is a form of abuse in my opinion. The opinion is based on facts.
KG, to what extent were those his decisions? In a subordinate position, he has to please his bosses. There may be something to be said for someone who knows where the bodies are buried, especially in Seattle Schools where accounting tricks to hide problems in one program or another are the norm.
I blame the superintendent and the board for giving the administration raises, not the individuals for accepting them.
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read). end of update Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board. To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up. But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18. Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18. Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program. The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Comments
PAL
Oompah
The leave the Bellevue supe took in December coincides pretty closely to Enfield saying she wouldn't stay on as supe of SPS. Who thinks Enfield's foolish enough to leave a bird in hand for a dim prospect?
--speculatin'
1. What do you think of Arne Duncan's goals, means and methods?
2. What was your greatest success at your last job?
3. What was your greatest failure at your last job?
4a. What has been your average tenure at your last (fill in the blank for quantity) jobs?
4b. Why did you leave each of those jobs?
4c. Do we have your permission to speak frankly and openly about your work with each of your last (fill in the quantity) employers?
5. How long might we expect you to stay in this position should it be offered to you?
Add you questions to the list and send them on to Bellevue!
Oompah
Mr Knapp, in his praise of Enfield, was way out of line and did not speak for most of us in the union. He kissed up to the TFA superintendent, thereby undermining the teaching profession. Such reckless statements as his have consequences, such as being repeated in a Seattle Times article in support of a TFA superintendent. Labor unions are impressed with the TFA superintendent? I don't think so.
Bellevue Ed Association: Beware. TFA will follow.
Bellevue Schools Deserve a Full-Time, Committed Superintendent
Quick!
Hide your popular principals!
Just google Martin Floe at Ingraham and you will see what I mean.
Can't blame her choice, which is a personal choice of lifestyle and career, but it is also true that she is also self-selecting out of the hard work required to be the superintendent of a major city. Seattle needs someone who is ready to work hard, and it is good that she decided now that she would not be able to make that commitment to our city.
Now, back to things that matter...WSDWG
I pray we never again hire someone with a pre-packaged agenda who thinks they have all the answers, yet has no experience or track record of success or effectiveness.
I also pray we hire someone who knows the SI job is hard, often thankless, and has the moxie and guts to lead a diverse group forward together.
We have not had an SI with any leadership qualities since Stanford. He had his critics, but he inspired and improved the district's reputation more than any other SI in decades. Maybe it was because he genuinely cared and tried to make a difference, instead of padding his resume while driving a sweet BMW or Lexus & hooking up his cronies to the district trough.
WSDWG
Christmas might come early this year!
WSDWG
Mr Ed
The new district motto ought to be
"Success for Mr. Harman and everything less for Seattle school children"
Me, I think it was a good move. Given that he's worked closely with Bob Boesche since Bob joined in interim status last Spring, he's been well vetted by Bob. If Mr Boesche didn't have complete confidence in Duggan, he would not have been promoted.
I do wish there wasn't the job title inflation, a district our size does not need to have all these assistant superintendents, but that's neither my decision nor Duggan's.
Please do not put Mary Kay Lipstick on a pig of a budget.You must not be paying attention to the over expenditure on central administration. The district spent about 18 million dollars more last year on central admin. than any other district in the state would spend if they ran Seattle public schools.
He just ran Seattle schools into the ground. Now it is OK? He continues to do so. Look at the numbers. He has been doing a lousy
job for years and helping take money away from the classroom with his 18k raise which came at a time when others were cut; THAT directly impacted students. That is a form of abuse in my opinion.
The opinion is based on facts.
I blame the superintendent and the board for giving the administration raises, not the individuals for accepting them.
I do blame him. he told staff that were going to take furlough so they could give him an 18k raise is Bull---t.
He said understood what it was like to do more with less.
Yeah the Board is at fault and do not do their jobs but that statement shows contempt for other employees.