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Sunday, April 28, 2013

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Failure to Manage

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Failure to Manage:


Seattle Schools Transportation - Towncars?

From the "Uh Oh" department, KIRO news is going to have a report at 5 p.m. about SPS transportation.   They allege it includes private transportation of "hundreds" of students, some in towncars.  (I knew SPS used taxis.)  I'm hoping the district has a clear explanation AND the KIRO actually gives them the time to explain it.


Failure to Manage

The core mission of Seattle Public Schools is to educate students. The executives and managers in the District who are most directly responsible for the accomplishment of that mission are:

  • Superintendent, Jose Banda
  • Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Michael Tolley
  • Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support, Shauna Heath
  • Executive Directors of Schools, Marni Campbell, Carmela Dellino, Kim Whitworth
  • Principals


I don't know about your workplace, but any organization with any kind of intentional management makes a periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the organization's efforts. The same can and should be expected from Seattle Public Schools.



For the schools, the School Report Cards are intended to fulfill this function. The report cards from a number of schools could be combined for the regions and there is a District Scorecard that compiles the data for the whole district.


There are others who have part of the management responsibility as well. They include:

  • Executive Director of Special Education, Zakiyyah McWilliams
  • Director of English Language Learners, Veronica Gallardo
  • Manager of Advanced Learning, Robert Vaughan
  • Manager of Native American Education, Arlie Neskahi
  • Administrator of International Education, Karen Kodama

There are no Report Cards that tell about the performance of these programs. While there is some opportunity to