the progress we’ve made

We have invested in academic achievement. Our students are now benefiting from the first purchase of new textbooks in decades. Major curriculum changes have been made to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn what is required at his or her grade level – regardless of what school the student attends. We have continued to invest in professional development, tools and support for teachers to ensure quality instruction in every classroom. These changes benefit all students and are fundamental to closing the achievement gap.

We have set high expectations. Accountability for student outcomes has never been higher. Our Board approved breakthrough agreements with our principals and teachers that provide professional development opportunities and incentives while ensuring accountability for student achievement. Our students are participating in more Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and highly capable program options than ever before, and we will open a new APP pathway at Ingraham this fall. Cleveland High School has been transformed to a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program and is available to all Seattle’s high school students. Today, our principals and administrators have a laser focus on ensuring quality instruction in every classroom.

We have demonstrated fiscal responsibility through the worst recession since the Great Depression. Despite four consecutive years of budget shortfalls, our Board has remained committed to investing in the changes necessary to improve academic outcomes for students. We worked together to prioritize funding in our classrooms. Seattle voters demonstrated confidence in Seattle Public Schools by passing two Board sponsored levies in 2010. These levies provide vital funding to backfill some of the gap created by the loss of state funding.

We have demonstrated real leadership.  Leadership means making the right decision even when it’s difficult or controversial. Our Board implemented a new neighborhood-based student assignment plan – the first major revamp of our system in over two decades. We eliminated millions of dollars in transportation costs while being responsive to parents’ requests for a more transparent assignment system. We closed schools in areas with excess capacity and, in response to the first enrollment growth in 40 years, opened schools in other areas. We implemented annual District and individual school reports to increase transparency regarding performance.  When faced with a financial scandal, we acted decisively by installing new leadership and quickly getting back to the business of educating Seattle’s children.

We have increased accountability. Our experiences in 2010 were instructive and humbling. The financial improprieties involving the Regional Small Business Development Program (RSBDP) pointed to the lack of a robust governance structure in Seattle Public Schools. In response, we benchmarked other districts both locally and nationally to learn what best practices we can model. We have developed a governance framework to guide the oversight work of the Board and are progressing with policy and procedure changes that make clear our expectations. We have added two public members to our Audit & Finance Committee to provide professional expertise on financial controls and compliance, reconstituted our School Board office to better enable our volunteer Board, and installed a new Chief Ethics Officer charged with implementing a new ethics program to ensure all Seattle Public Schools employees clearly understand the behaviors expected of them. In addition, our Board is in the process of contracting with the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission to hold ourselves and our employees accountable for meeting high ethical standards of behavior.