Don't hire her... she makes too much sense!

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES. At a news conference Friday, Seattle schools superintendent finalist Maria Goodloe-Johnson said the city can't afford its preference for so many small schools.

From the Seattle Times, "Schools superintendent finalist says she relies on research for tough decisions."

Clearly, applying theory to practice, and developing functional processes, systems, and structures, rather than personalized policies that fall apart when the players do, seems counter to how local politics works these days, at least in DC...

From the article:

Maria Goodloe-Johnson, the second of two superintendent finalists in town to speak with Seattle school officials and community leaders, told an invitation-only forum on Friday that she didn't consider herself a cheerleader for education.

Instead, the current superintendent of the Charleston County School District in South Carolina emphasized her reliance on data, research and communication to make decisions that may not always please parents and teachers. ...

Speaking about Seattle's recent experience of closing seven school buildings, Goodloe-Johnson said the city's preference for small schools is financially untenable. "When I looked at Seattle, I was surprised at the number of schools. If we were in business, we'd be bankrupt. When you have schools with very, very small enrollments, you still have to pay the light bills, water bills and hire teachers." ...

Describing her approach to closing the achievement gap between African-American students and other groups, Goodloe-Johnson outlined a comprehensive strategy that included 15 extra hours of tutoring per student each week, Saturday classes and summer school. After touring Seattle schools, Goodloe-Johnson said she disagreed with separating special-education kids, instead preferring to mix students with different abilities.

Hmm. I like the no-nonsense, direct style.
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Another thing Charleston, SC schools do is a "First Day Festival" the weekend before school starts. It's a great way to communicate to the community, to parents, to children, how much school matters.

See the past blog entry "Charleston's "First Day Festival" promotes commitment to and involvement in education."