Campaign for kids:
My campaign for the District II position on the Board of Directors of Seattle Public Schools is being suspended, but I will continue in the future to work for what is best for our public schools. Let's clean up district headquarters and bring an end to the business as usual approach in our public schools. We need to have the Board of Directors adequately supervise their one and only employee, the superintendent, and appropriately serve as the policymakers and good stewards of our public schools. For the sake of the children and millions of taxpayer dollars and resources, we must work together to ensure that all in the district are being held accountable and responsible for their role in our district; from the Board of Directors, the superintendent and directors/managers, through to the principals, teachers/staff and students in the classrooms.
Background:
I have been actively involved in education for eighteen years and have consistently served as an advocate and supporter of learners and learning as well as teachers and teaching. One of my guiding beliefs in life is that I serve God through my service to others, this has allowed me to find great happiness, fulfillment and pleasure in my work for the education of our youth. Coming from a family with generations of educators in our history, it was rather natural that I would pursue a career in education. Having raised my daughter and son in Seattle and guiding them through their education in Seattle Public Schools, I truly appreciate and understand the challenges facing many parents with children in our public schools. My work in the district as well as my contact with associates, colleagues, friends and good people that work in the district provides me an appreciation, insight and understanding as to the issues and problems that confront the public schools in our city.
Experience:
During my twelve years of serving students in the Seattle Public Schools I served as a classroom
teacher, assistant administrator, co-administrator, and Head Teacher of a district wide program. I have also served as a senior faculty member for a master's degree in teaching program, an assistant principal and principal, and a director of a technology program in addition to my current work as a writer and an education researcher and presenter at conferences.
The success that I have experienced effectively working with people from across the socio-economic and cultural spectrum of our society provides me a strong foundation for my work to improve how our public schools serve all students in our city. My history of a collaborative approach to my work with all of the stakeholders in the school community will transfer over to my work with all concerned with the public schools in our city. My passion and research regarding effective programs and initiatives that improve how our schools effectively serve English Language Learners and migrant students will certainly enhance the skills and abilities that I bring to my work for improving the Seattle Public Schools. The passionate advocacy and support that I provide learners and learning as well as teachers and teaching will assist me in my work to ensure that proven and research based curriculum, initiatives and programs are being implemented and supported in the district. My education, experience and training will allow me to review initiatives and programs as well as practices in the district with a critical eye and appropriately serve as a concerned member in our community for the improvement of our public schools.
Education:
I am proud to have earned my Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science, Master In Teaching, Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in School Administration, and Education Doctorate (Ed.D. ) in Educational Leadership degrees from Seattle University.
Reasons for entering candidacy:
(CAMPAIGN IS SUSPENDED)
I have rather reluctantly filed as a candidate for the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, District II position and appreciate your vote as well as any support that you may provide our campaign. For too long the public schools in our great city have struggled through mediocrity; academic achievement levels that are not significantly improving for any group of students; a lack of real accountability being consistently applied throughout the district, multimillion dollar scandals on a regular basis, mismanagement shown through lax policy making and ill conceived plans/programs as well as poorly considered decision making in addition to the cronyism and favor trading culture in headquarters.
Hopes for substantial change have faded in light of the current board maintaining a business as usual approach, remaining detached and unresponsive to key stakeholders with a pattern of deferring to the headquarters administrators and staff far too often.
The current Board of Directors has demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to adequately supervise the superintendent and serve as the policy making board for the district. Our interim superintendent has refused to consider reducing the amount of district resources devoted to headquarters operations, currently 9% each year, to be in line with comparable districts at 6%; add these millions of dollars to the millions of dollars lost to frequent scandals and it becomes clear that the district is lacking good stewardship. The incumbent members of the board have turned a deaf ear to legitimate concerns brought to them by knowledgeable stakeholders in the public schools while remaining unified in utilizing selective sources of information and input. Even more troubling is the impact that this has on the students that the district serves and because of this it is crucial that good people in our city join together and bring an end to business as usual in district headquarters. For the sake of the children as well as millions of dollars in taxpayer money and resources, I have entered the race for the Board of Directors position for District II in the Seattle Public Schools. Let's work together to clean house at district headquarters and create powerful learning environments throughout our city.
Solutions:
There are no simple or magic answers to resolve the issues and problems facing the Seattle Public Schools and no individual will be able to single-handedly clean up headquarters operations and solve the problems our district has struggled with for too long. It will require the sustained efforts of all of the stakeholders in our school community to ensure that we clean up headquarters operations and establish the interventions and supports necessary to create powerful learning environments throughout our city.
We must act upon the documented issues that have been plaguing district headquarters operations for nearly a decade; the Moss Adams report following the multimillion dollar scandal that surfaced under superintendent Olchefske appears to have been slipped into some deep drawer or placed on a high shelf in headquarters along with subsequent audit findings and reports. The recent million dollar scandal that led to the ouster of superintendent Goodloe-Johnson revealed that cronyism and favor-trading, along with intimidation and an unhealthy culture, continues to reign at headquarters. It will be imperative that the Board of Directors adequately supervise their one employee, the superintendent, and serve as the policy-makers for the district; appropriate stewardship of our public schools has not been evident and must be the top priority of members of the board. Our public schools are at a critical juncture, the search and selection of a permanent superintendent will provide one of the best opportunities for us to address the issues and problems that have continued to plague district operations. It will be important to avoid bringing in another seagull actor, a person that flies in and drops a bunch of crap on our schools and then flies out, as our next superintendent.
It will be crucial that key positions in headquarters are filled with the most able, prepared and qualified individuals; the superintendent will need to be held accountable for appropriately supervising the directors and managers in headquarters. The headquarters directors and managers will need to appropriately support and supervise building principals, building principals will need to appropriately support and supervise teachers and staff, and teachers and staff will need to appropriately support and supervise students in the classrooms.
The Board of Directors will need to authentically engage all of the stakeholders in our school community, providing genuine opportunities for all of the various stakeholders to take an active role in the decision-making for our district. We must bring an end to allowing select voices to be heard and considered during the decision-making process. All of the members of our school community must be held to high standards and accountability, from the Board of Directors through to the students in the classrooms.
Working together we can clean up district headquarters and create powerful learning environments throughout our city. We must work together to bring an end to the frequent multi-million dollar scandals, mismanagement of our public schools and the abuse, fraud, theft and waste of millions of taxpayer dollars and resources; our students deserve better and the concerned members of our community must demand more from those entrusted with the sound operation of the public schools of our city.
