Holly Ferguson to Leave SPS
Yes, it is true; governance leader Holly Ferguson is leaving on July 26th. She says after 11 years, she has "determined it is time now for me to seek other opportunities."
While I certainly haven't always agreed with Ms. Ferguson, no one can deny that she is an exceptionally bright person. It's always a loss at some level to lose smart people in our district.
However, this leaves Superintendent Banda another open space to fill at the top. It is important that he surround himself with people who share his vision and agenda.
While I certainly haven't always agreed with Ms. Ferguson, no one can deny that she is an exceptionally bright person. It's always a loss at some level to lose smart people in our district.
However, this leaves Superintendent Banda another open space to fill at the top. It is important that he surround himself with people who share his vision and agenda.
Comments
n...
SWWS
Based on the many emails on SPSLeaks, she has been (yay! past tense) part of the problem...
-skeptical-
Would prefer vacant to malignant.
To improve a system requires the intelligent application of relevant data .... Holly's SBARs were rarely designed to improve anything.
Nope, just hyperbole on your part. We consistently point out the good AND the bad. Some people just look for the bad.
Carmela Dellino is a wonderful administrator and will be sorely missed by the Roxhill community, though West Seattle on the whole will benefit by having her in an SPS Exec Director spot.
There are good admins and bad admins, and people who have had good experiences and bad experiences with both good and bad admins. The posts and comments represent that wide array of experiences. If you want a purely rah-rah SPS Admins blog, go hang out on Stand(down) for Children or League of (mis)Education Voters' blogs.
CT
I have tremendous respect for the SPS central office staff who aren't sycophants and who seem to (a) know something about their assigned areas and (b) recognize that the core of the District's work is in the classroom. Personally, of current SPS central office staff, Phil Brockman and Veronica Gallardo have earned my respect on both points. Prior to thier departures, Noel Treat and Becky Clifford earned my respect, particularly Ms. Clifford who had an uphill battle being an interim in a department that has been the District step child and having previously been tasked with being the legal compliance/ heavy for the prior two Executive Directors and the Manager before that. I have had respect for a few of the Districts lawyers who actually knew what they were talking about (even if they were defending decisions I didn't agreed with), but the smart ones seem to leave in the face of the crazy (including now Chris Williams, who is leaving the position that no one seems to be able to or want to stay in). I also have significant respect for a number of building administrators, the two who have been promoted to ED included.
That doesn't mean that I have to pretend that the JSCEE is filled with the best and the brightest, or even people who are mildly qualified to do thier jobs. Holly Ferguson climbed the ladder to power by lying and sucking up. I don't respect that.
ITK
It is GREAT news that he is leaving.
Parent
I wrote the following:
Holly wrote many School Board Action Reports that were factually incorrect and lacked logical conclusions. These SBARs should have simply said because "Staff wants it" as that was the only apparent reason.
To improve a system requires the intelligent application of relevant data .... Holly's SBARs were rarely designed to improve anything.
=== you wrote:
This thread is typical-- blog readers seem to think that all SPS administrators are horrible. Give me a break.
===
So how about you Giving us a Break ... site some specifics. There is nothing in this thread that supports your claim about blog readers stating "All SPS administrators are horrible"....... Try reading some of Holly's SBARs.
-- Dan
ITK, I'll disagree with you on that assessment. Becky Clifford has been an instrumental part of the problem during the time she spent as the SpEd Director (under the inept figureheads mentioned). She only underwent a miraculous transformation when she stepped into the interim role (and sought the permanent). I found her claims that she didn't realize all this illegal gatekeeping of services for SpEd students was going on, to be disingenuous at best. She was head gatekeeper.
Sped parent
ITK
Read the comments in "Superintendent Sinecure" or "King leaving..." to get an idea of why I find some comments unhelpful. How is it helpful to complain about someone whom is departing? Wish her well and move on.
IMHO
"While I certainly haven't always agreed with Ms. Ferguson, no one can deny that she is an exceptionally bright person. It's always a loss at some level to lose smart people in our district."
That hardly seems like it justifies a "typical blog . . .all SPS administrators are horrible" response.
But wait! 'If you can't say anything nice' wasn't complaining about Melissa. He/she specifically called out the blog COMMENTERS -- that is us folks (me, IMHO, Dan, etc.) Frankly, I thought there were some good (though grumpy) points to be made about both King's departure (given how clumsily he did it and his part in the Great Lowell Retaliation fiasco) and Enfield's departure (given how it played into the political shenanigans with the Board last winter and her "Cheshire Cat fade" for the last 3 or 4 months she drew a salary here). But for Holly? I understand that some have bones to pick (Dan in particular, as they faced off over a number of policy matters). But just as it is legal (but ungracious) to belch at the table, so it is legal (not against blog rules) to hurl last imprecations at people as they leave, but it seems ungracious and earns the blog a reputation that I think is undeserved, knowing the many commenters here who work tirelessly and with good will to improve Seattle's public schools.
HF's not pissy or anything
I'm one of those that works tirelessly for the good of our schools, but will gladly confess to a serious case of the snark. Based on her emails, Holly Ferguson had no problem with that either.
Yep. I've read all the emails posted on scribd. Re: Ms. Ferguson's departure, I have no problem saying what we say back home: Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
Holly is working as a legal consultant and is answering questions regarding whether or not school districts should authorize charter schools.
http://www.highlineschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=93&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=2381&PageID=124