Seattle Schools Community Forum

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."

Thanks to Miramac for this heads up on the report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Chamber Foundation and Institute for a Competitive Workforce about the Seattle School Board. I'm reading it now and so far I have found a couple of errors: Because there is no campaign contribution limit, they can exercise significant power.  (They being WEA and private donors.) Luckily, this issue got rectified during the last session of the Legislature and the campaign limits are the same as for other candidates.  They also have an error in their graphic which states that the seven Board members represent 5 districts and 2 at-large.   Not true. 

Am I media or not?  I wish the district would make - up - their - minds.  Anyway, there was a media briefing this morning with Dr. Enfield.  Here's what the Slog article had to say. "I think there's a big difference between caving and listening," Enfield said. "The decision that I made originally was hard, but I made a commitment to the community to listen and I listened. I felt this was the best way to move forward." But Enfield said that her decision to not renew Floe's contract had come after a year-long review period. "I have to make the best decision with the data I have," she said. "... The challenge was Floe and I were privy to information parents didn't have. So that was frustrating."   She added that part of the problem was that people failed to understand that there was a proper process in place. Enfield hopes to make that more transparent in the future . "When we make hard personnel decisions, we...

Following an executive session, the Board has amended the agenda for tomorrow's Board meeting by adding votes for the termination of the superintendent and the appointment of Dr. Enfield as the interim superintendent. From the amended agenda: Approval of this item would terminate without cause the employment of Dr. Goodloe-Johnson as the District’s Superintendent. See the Board Action Report here . And this one: Approval of this item would terminate without cause the employment of Donald Kennedy as the District’s Chief Financial and Operations Officer. With it's own Board Action Report . And finally this one: Approval of this item would elect Dr. Susan Enfield to serve as Interim Superintendent and authorize the Board President to execute an Interim Superintendent Employment Agreement with Dr. Enfield on behalf of the Board. With a Board Action Report as well. All of them are for introduction and action at tomorrow's meeting. Immediate action is in the best interes...

I had written to Susan Enfield, our CAO, at the beginning of June to ask some questions. Here was my e-mail to her: "I was reading the Times recently and they had an editorial on Congress and the emergency public school aid. They referenced the school improvement grants here in Seattle and said this: "In Seattle schools teachers at Hawthorne Elementary, West Seattle Elementary and Cleveland High have agreed to be evaluated under a new system that holds them accountable for meeting student academic growth goals. In exchange, the teachers are eligible for extra compensation." I reviewed the SPS press release on this along with each school's fact sheet and I didn't see anything about extra compensation. Could you tell me where I might find information on this or did the Times get something wrong? Also, you may have heard (or read) that I pointed out my disappointment in your report to the Board on the Native American program issues. This is a pretty impo...