The speeches were short, the community-mingle-and-chat time long, during the fifth and final Seattle Public Schools regional “Welcome Back” meeting last night at Chief Sealth International High School. Above, Sealth principal John Boyd (left) is with Gatewood Elementary principal Rhonda Claytor, Mohamed Roble from the district’s Family and Community Engagement team, and head teacher Chris from Roxhill Elementary. Boyd and Claytor were two of 11 principals announced as in attendance from West Seattle schools; those who weren’t, had events under way at their schools.
Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson was there, sharing a story she said she’d told at the previous meetings – about her kindergartener daughter wanting to choose her teacher, and hearing from Superintendent Mom that she couldn’t, but whomever she got would be “excellent.” She touched very briefly on several hot topics – saying that districtwide “curriculum alignment” was not the same as standardization, that the district has invested in its teachers through the recently approved contract, and that testing is vital – “it’s how we give formative data back to teachers about students.”
Her second-in-command, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Susan Enfield, spoke briefly, promising parents, “We will see gains [in student achievement] this year.” She also discussed the reorganization of the “executive directors” reporting to her and in turn directly supervising principals. Instead of being each assigned to manage a type of school, like elementary or middle or high school, they are now assigned regionally for “more tailored engagement with the community”; Aurora Lora, who’s in charge of West Seattle, spoke briefly, mentioning a “professional development” session earlier in the week in which she and the region’s principals gathered at Denny International Middle School. And there were other district leaders, such as Family/Community Engagement manager Bernardo Ruiz:
He told us that SPS families will see information sent home soon about what’s available for support through his department – with one major event coming up soon: a Family Academy and Early Learners’ Resource Fair, 10 am-2 pm October 16th at South Shore School (4800 South Henderson), featuring free workshops. The superintendent, meantime, is scheduled to return to West Seattle for another community event, one of her “coffee chats,” 6-7 pm October 25th at West Seattle Elementary.
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