Failure to Manage

The core mission of Seattle Public Schools is to educate students. The executives and managers in the District who are most directly responsible for the accomplishment of that mission are:

• Superintendent, Jose Banda
• Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Michael Tolley
• Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support, Shauna Heath
• Executive Directors of Schools, Marni Campbell, Carmela Dellino, Kim Whitworth
• Principals

I don't know about your workplace, but any organization with any kind of intentional management makes a periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the organization's efforts. The same can and should be expected from Seattle Public Schools.



For the schools, the School Report Cards are intended to fulfill this function. The report cards from a number of schools could be combined for the regions and there is a District Scorecard that compiles the data for the whole district.

There are others who have part of the management responsibility as well. They include:

• Executive Director of Special Education, Zakiyyah McWilliams
• Director of English Language Learners, Veronica Gallardo
• Manager of Advanced Learning, Robert Vaughan
• Manager of Native American Education, Arlie Neskahi
• Administrator of International Education, Karen Kodama

There are no Report Cards that tell about the performance of these programs. While there is some opportunity to disaggregate the school and district report card data for these students, that data alone does not speak to the specific goals of these departments. If the district had no goals for these students beyond the usual goals for all students, then the students would not be in these programs. The report card data does not really tell us about the progress children in these programs are making towards the unique goals for each of them. In fact, I am not aware of any reports that provide meaningful data about the performance of these departments.

That represents a grievous failure to manage. That's a simple fact. The absence of any assessment of the quality and efficacy of these programs constitutes an indisputable failure to manage the programs. How can the District make decisions based on data if there is no data?

The Board has a duty to oversee the district's management - not to meddle or micromanage, but to confirm that the management work is getting done. Given the poor documentation, rapid turnover at the executive level, and history of non-management, this duty carries more than ordinary weight.

Towards that end, the Board conducted a work session to review the management of two of these efforts - Advanced Learning and Native Education. The Board not only noticed the absence of reports on the quality or effectiveness of these programs, but throughout the department. Director Carr decried the absence of any meaningful metrics or benchmarks for the entire C & I operation. She noted the absence of Key Performance Indicators. Others noted the mismatch between objectives, measures, and targets for the department. It wasn't lost on them.


I expect Mr. Banda and Mr. Tolley to correct the deficiency this year without fail. They cannot be unaware of the problem. The absence of these reports are not only a violation of Board Policy 2090, but their absence reveals an utter failure to manage - a failure first by the five managers and executives, second by Mr. Tolley, and then by Mr. Banda. This failure to manage cannot be tolerated.