Des Moines Superintendent Might Be a Lesson for Seattle Schools

(Editor note - again. I have several comments that I would like to print. If you took the time to write something that helps the discussion, it would be great to include it. But three of these are anonymous and I'm trying very hard not to print anonymous comments. 

Again, any name or moniker will do. It's not that tough to be something at the end of your comment.) 

 

A headline story in the New York Times is that the well-thought of superintendent of Des Moines schools apparently made up/adjusted several items on his resume and appears to not have been a legal resident of the United States. This is a gift article so you will be able to read all of it. 

School district leaders in Des Moines drew up a detailed wish list when they set out to hire a new superintendent in 2023. They wanted someone who could increase reading scores, improve the math skills of Black boys, adhere to an affirmative action plan and much more.

Most of all, Des Moines Public Schools needed a galvanizing leader who could meet a moment shaped by the aftermath of Covid and the racial justice movement of 2020.

Ian Roberts’s application seemed almost too perfect.

Dr. Roberts had spent most of his career in urban school systems, building a reputation as a charismatic, hands-on administrator. He wrote books, gave speeches and boasted of degrees from brand-name universities. His life story was also compelling: an immigrant from Guyana who competed in the Olympics and spoke bluntly about his experiences as a Black man in the United States.

“I believe deeply in the promise of public education being the most important opportunity gap closer for youth, particularly with a focus on diverse populations,” Dr. Roberts, who is in his 50s, wrote in his cover letter for the Des Moines job.

If you read the entire article, it certainly sounds like Roberts really liked the job and was doing relatively well at it. His Board liked him (but now feel betrayed) and how sad to have someone who was well-liked and now their district is rudderless.

Dr. Roberts’s secret life burst into view on Sept. 26, a sunny Friday about a month into the school year, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him after he was found hiding near a trailer park. They said he had fled from officers in a school district-owned Jeep, where a loaded handgun was later found.

Since then, Dr. Roberts has resigned, protesters have held marches calling for ICE to free him and he has been charged with a federal felony in connection to the gun and other weapons officials say they found at his home in Des Moines. Federal officials said those guns had been possessed illegally because Dr. Roberts did not have legal status in the country.

Above all, it raised a fundamental question: How could someone the government says should be removed from the country have risen to lead the public school system of a large American city?

I bring this up because, naturally, it makes you think about the ongoing Seattle superintendent search. My recollection is - when the Board first publicly met with HYA rep Micah Ali - that Mr. Ali said their vetting process was "on steroids." I certainly hope that is so and that it includes vetting if the person is here legally. 

Because this has been a lot of time and money spent to find a good fit for Seattle Public Schools.