Gracious Farewell from Dr. Enfield
KOMO-tv news did an interview with Dr. Enfield. It's quite interesting. Probably the most intriguing (and yet confusing) statement for me:
Q: Why are you leaving Seattle?
A: "I wanted to go somewhere where I could be more actively involved in the work. The size of Highline allows me to do that. And it felt like the right time personally and professionally for me to make a move."
Q: Why are you leaving Seattle?
A: "I wanted to go somewhere where I could be more actively involved in the work. The size of Highline allows me to do that. And it felt like the right time personally and professionally for me to make a move."
Comments
ready for a mature individual
Well, actually, I found that "the work" is actually pretty hard and I was in over my head in SPS.
Sue in Zen Field
Mr White
She wasn't "actively involved" because Greer and Morris were working the marionette strings.
Dr. E is not MGJ. She was much better. Though the decisions (of hers) that I disagreed with are legion, she DID reverse on Martin Floe (and subsequently get him out of the clutches of Bree); she was (I have been told) heavily involved in reversing or tabling/killing the high school science alignment that would have killed successful but nonconforming BHS and GHS programs; she DID allow L@L to stay together as a K-5 cohort after the initial bad decision to peel off just the 4th and 5th grades (and after the worse decision to ignore the problem of overcrowding until it reached the panic stage -- but much of that was her predecessor). She did much to place competent people in downtown administrative positions that had lacked them under MGJ (although not in the area of teaching and learning, alas).
I hope that Highline works out well for both her and them -- and that she takes away valuable learning experience from her time here and grows into an effective and able administrator there. Education is such hard work when there is no money (which is now). It is so much harder when the leadership at the top is not up to the task (which is what we had with MGJ -- Sherry Carr's inexplicable opinions notwithstanding).
Yours is a thoughtful response. Of course I disagree. Enfield benefited from millions in Alliance bucks to further "the Work". She had Noel Treat, Holly Ferguson, and the old guard (with the exception of KSB) watching her back. She stonewalled the board on all the disruptive sh*t that hit the fan. She agreed to a central office "transformation" that IS consuming money and energy from schools and their function.
Yeah, she bit off more than she could chew, as this grid of SPS "priorities" discussed at the last board retreat would show. That's what happens when the uber-micromanagers on the board, and the downtowners get involved. Where is Teaching and Learning on this grid? (use fullscreen or download it to view) The only things related to T&L are the "achievement gap" and "student growth" elements.
As for the "fare the well, my fine fellow" sentiment, my relief that Enfield is leaving is tempered by my anxiety for Highline and its many disadvantaged students.
S parent