Leadership Profile for SPS Superintendent (Updated)
Update 2:
The actual HYA presentation was embedded in the agenda (but I don't think it was there when I first looked.) It is NOT different from what the directors received (or so I am told.)
Update 1:
I watched the entire portion of the meeting about the Leadership Profile presented by HYA, the Board's chosen search firm. (It's from the beginning of the meeting to about the 1:10:00 mark.)
Topp, Briggs, Rankin, Sarju were in-person and the others - Clark, Mizrahi, and Hersey - were there virtually.
Julia Warth, Board administrator, gave the first information and spoke about community engagement. There were:
- In-person sessions
- Virtual sessions
- Focus groups and single language sessions
- Online survey
- Emails, Let's Talk, phone calls
- Social media, website, individual outreach by community leaders
HYA facilitated 36 engagement sessions.
At the focus groups, participants were asked:
- What do you, as a stakeholder/constituent, value regarding the schools? What strengthes of the district do you desire to retain and build upon?
- What are the issues this District currently faces, and as importantly, will be facing in the next 3-5 years?
- What are the personal and professional characteristics you and your community expect a superintendent to possess?
I'll have to go back and look but are these the same things asked at the community engagement sessions?
Topp said the Board will be engaging with community when the Leadership Profile is available and details on that are to come. The profile will also be shared with applicants.
Warth then turned it over to HYA lead, Micah Ali.
The survey had 3,526 respondents; it was open May 23,2025 to August 4, 2025. The overwhelming number of respondents were SPS parents, followed by students and then SPS employees.
Survey: Common Desires of Respondent Groups
- 62% - Preparing students to be ready for the next grade, and ultimately, college and career ready.
- 62% - Hiring and retaining quality teachers and administrators
- 55% - Providing a safe environment for students and employees
- 35% - Ensuring a well-rounded experience for all students
- 33% - Addressing students' social and emotional needs
Ali said families and communities in "the system" want the next superintendent "to drive systemic change within the system and break through barriers." I'm not sure I see that from the above items.
Priorities Consensus from the focus groups.
- Ensuring fiscal health
- Providing personalized instruction for students
- Addressing achievement and opportunity gaps
Mr. Ali made an interesting statement:
"The system bending to provide support to students as opposed to the system bending to support adults and adults' needs and desires."
He continued:
Developing the Desired Characteristics
HYA Associates triangulated data from multiple sources to arrive at a set of desired characteristics for recruitment and selection of the next Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.
Even when conflicting, contrasting, inconsistent, and contradictory desires are reported (which is normal when surveying and talking to disparate groups), common themes emerge that are important to most constituents. The work of HYA Associates is to find where consensus exists.
Desired Characteristics
- Equity Driven and Student Focused
- Financial and Operational Expertise
- Communicative, relational, and authentic
- Visionary and courageous changemaker
- Experienced and Accountable
I find this something of a puzzling list but I may have another post where we can examine this more carefully.
Ali said "They are interested in someone who can move the system, push the system."
I was quite surprised when Ali concluded that this was the "draft" of the Leadership Profile. I am baffled how long this is all taking.
He asked the Board for comments/questions.
Rankin
What has been posted publicly because "we have the more detailed draft." Topp said that detailed draft has been posted. (I checked and right now it's not at the announcement of the Leadership Profile nor the Superintendent Search webpage. I'll try to get someone to send it to me.)
Rankin continued on that "this was completely unsurprising to me which is not bad at all." She went on that the Board has to "support that person doing that and to not back off and get derailed and spend four months talking about 10% of our students on an operational issues that should be handled at a staff level and not in the Board room."
I hate cryptic remarks like that. I might guess she means HCC or Option schools but who knows?
Mizrahi
Curious from HYA and you've done this around the country. I agree with Director Rankin, there's a lot to agree with in here, but I imagine community members aren't ever going to say we don't want someone with those traits. "What things stuck out to you all that are very specific to Seattle."
Ali
"I will say there has been a tremendous push for an outsider."
One thing that all would agree upon is to respect the uniqueness of each community. He said he has learned that there is "a nomenclature that exists, words and phrases that are used in SPS and in this community." "They want someone who understands the challenges and brings forth remedies."
He did not name the particular words or phrases that he found to be within the Seattle Public Schools communities.
Hersey
If Micah could speak to the perspective of information.
Ali
The data must drive the discourse. Many families are crying out for enhanced and augmented support for their child and believe that a new superintendent, particularly one from the outside, can deliver that.
Hersey
Super helpful. Any specific mention, the necessity of someone who has navigated a metropolitan system in relationship to Special Education and disability.
Ali
Percentage of Special Education students, percentage of open IEPs, the percentage of IEPs being implemented with fidelity, AL data for Sped (sic), math data for Sped (sic), and overall graduation data for Sped (sic). Those concerns were uplifted from parents. Kids in that group "have a special uniqueness. They come with a special advocate and that advocate is called an attorney. So they are going to have their demands met. "
Me
Many Special Education parents WOUULD love to sue the district over lack of fidelity to 504s and IEPs but do not have the funds. Most all those parents would just like to see their child get the services they need and not be driven to a lawyer.
Ali
Principals have the most touchpoint with community and need support.
Sarju
I am absolutely not surprised at the finding. It is "a call to action and that action is to start doing right by the communities that we have historically failed. And that includes the DHH community. "
She then pointed out that she attended the "black family summit" (which I think she means the session for black families) and "not a single other board director was there. So ya'll don't know what those black families said."
There were MANY sessions so to expect directors to be at any given one is not a valid response. Also, why didn't she single out Hersey and Clark as the other black directors?
She continued saying that she was told that there is some group deciding who the superintendent will be and there was a meeting about it. "What that tells me is that there is a desire to not change the status quo."
Or, possibly that she shouldn't listen to conspiracy theories. Again, cryptic talk. WHO told her this? Did she tell them that they are mistaken because she is seeing the process as a Board director?
Clark
She thanked HYA. Reviewing the report a couple of things stuck out to me. One being, after working over the last decade in community engagement and policy, when I see "being a systems thinker, that's great but that can be contradictory to being action-oriented."
Her example was from the Ad Hoc Committee on the Budget and their discussion of needing to revamp budgeting timelines in the middle of developing a budget and having someone who can navigate that complexity. She said that she is hearing and feeling frustration from community who want change and that we are at a tipping point and yet can't just turn on a light switch of real fast change.
Me
Really valid points about the situation.
Ali
It sounds like community doesn't want a "supervisor of the system, but someone who's an actual leader who can model instruction, who understands facilities, all of the other ancillary components. And understanding the components from a holistic perspective, an interconnectiveness. "It's not an elected office, you are not directing individuals through fiat or edicts."
Briggs
She pointed out something I wondered about on one slide about the survey that said the survey was "developed by the Advisory Committee" and who is that?
Ali
The internal HYA committee and working with SPS staff and making sure we had the appropriate questions loaded into the survey.
Me
Okay, I find that odd that it was not notated as such. Also, why ask SPS staff and not the Board for "appropriate questions" given how many times Ali has said it's the BOARD's process? Hmmm
Briggs
Related to what Clark just said, she referenced wording of "disparate groups." What was "contradictory" vis a vis groups?
Ali
He stated that there were "general focus groups" and "specific communities" focus groups. What would "culturally developed pedagogy" look like to one specific group versus another in a diverse system?
Next Steps
Ali said the finished Leadership Profile will be combined with any notes from the Board for a finished document.
The next step after that will be interview protocols and those would be sent to the Board. There will then be the presentation of the slate.
Sarju
Before interviews, isn't there reviewing applications?
Ali
Oh sure and names will be redacted. The Board asked for this. Everyone on the slate will walk in "from just the sheer content and the character will emanate from the papers."
Then final interviews after slate is reviewed. He said after that the Board would make a selection and vote on it at an October meeting and "the new superintendent will start, tentatively, November 1."
I have news for him. A couple of directors have indicated they are NOT going to fill the spot just to fill it. If they don't see someone they are onboard with, they will say no.
And, it's not a good idea to hire someone who didn't get a universal yes from the Board.
Topp
Board members have invites to all these items, using the nomenclature that Mr. Ali has stated, on their Board calendars.
Hersey
The blind process - in addition to the names is there any type of review on your end that would be able to strip any identifying information? Like "as an Asian person," etc.
Also, are we informing the candidates that this is a blind process and they should submit an application with that in mind?
Ali
1) He's smiling but he says, "These are excellent questions and I did not pay him. We did not talk before this meeting. So I want to be very clear on the record. The leadership profile, we're rating and ranking the applicants against the Leadership Profile. Once we are done today, Madame President, we walk out of here and no one in SPS will be part of the review process."
Me
It appeared to me that Mr. Ali was making a joke about his personal relationship with Director Hersey. It felt like a nod and a wink that yeah, they are insiders to each other but nothing to worry about. Frankly, I found it shockingly unprofessional.
He continued:
No one has been selected and no one has been privy to the portfolios.
The blind process was the lure and knowing that applicants' information would not be floating around the U.S., that's encouraged a diverse pool of applicants.
Once we have notified individuals that they will be slated, all of their information will be presented in a way where there'll be no identifiable characteristics. They would take out such things and gave the example of someone who said, "I was recently at my son's bar mitzvah."
Me
I hope he means redacted because I would not like them choosing sentences and taking them out and diluting what the person was trying to present.
He said that President Topp will not see any portfolios in advance or any other directors. He also stated that President Topp had not asked to see anything in advance.
Briggs
The question was then asked about the cutoff for applicants which apparently she hadn't recorded. President Topp said they were still accepting applications through September 15th.
My view is that some of that Leadership Profile seems vague. I had thought it would drill down to be more precise. Experienced and Accountable seem an odd pair to put together. I guess HYA would put forth experienced superintendents and then ask them when they were held accountable for some action they took?
"They are interested in someone who can move the system, push the system."
"They want someone who understands the challenges and brings forth remedies."
I would say both are true.
I have no idea why Director Michelle Sarju felt the need to stir the pot with unfounded information. In some ways, maybe it might be better for the new Board to pick. It just feels like the current Board has old grudges or stuck ideas when the goal is to move forward.
end of update
And I missed most of it. Sorry. I will try to get the info from today's special meeting of the Board for this information from search firm HYA.
I did learn that there were over 20 applicants and the window is still open to apply until September 15th. Micah Ali, the HYA lead, said that NO one at SPS or the Board will see any portfolios until HYA presents its slate. He stated that even President Topp won't nor did she ask to see any of them in advance.
That portion of the meeting was two hours so probably a lot of questions from directors.
They broke for a few minutes and will come back for a Civics update. I'm unsure exactly what that means but I'll listen in and update this post.
( I note in the agenda for tomorrow's Board meeting, Acting Superintendent Fred Podesta's contract is posted. It looks like it's about $343,500 with car allowance and retirement fund deposit. He, of course, gets health benefits and vacation benefits but no sum was attached to that. He will get a per diem, as it happens, at his base salary ($320,355/260 days a year.)
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