Editorial: New schools chief should embrace and drive change

The criteria for a new superintendent suggest Spokane Public Schools is looking for a superman, or woman, with a mortarboard instead of a cape.

The district’s board of directors and the consultants hired to manage the selection process did an admirable job of outreach to parents, staff and the community, and they received a wealth of comments as a result. Not all of the 900-plus commenters were on the same page.

The feedback was distilled to a list of 12 “desired characteristics,” an outline that will be difficult for any single human being to fill in. With luck, many will try.

Candidates will find a district that has improved student performance, stemmed the dropout rate and significantly upgraded school buildings. The consultant noted, and Tuesday’s levy election results affirmed, strong community support for K-12 education. Schools here do not have the resources available in wealthier, less diverse areas, but they still offer academic programs from special education to Advanced Placement and a broad array of arts and athletic programs, all to a student population that speaks dozens of languages in addition to, or besides, English.

There are failings, particularly a math curriculum that is either ill-conceived or ill-taught, but certainly ill thought of. As an organization, the district remains top-heavy in numbers and compensation. A superintendent willing to flatten the hierarchy should be given a steamroller.

And applicants may also have the opportunity to take over just as the state is finally changing the way teachers and principals are evaluated. As the week ended, the Legislature was close to an agreement that will give greater weight to performance when contracts come up for renewal. Eventually, charter schools may become an option.

A new superintendent should embrace the changes, and the potential they offer for more students to find the learning environment that works best for them. Once the board sets goals – presumably thoroughly discussed during candidate interviews – the superintendent should have a mandate to take what measures are necessary to reach them with as free a hand as possible.

The eventual pick will assess the principals who assess the teachers, who will be evaluated according to the progress made by their students. There should be a meritocracy from bottom to top, and that’s why picking the strongest candidate is so important. A 2006 study by a Denver education consultant concluded that “defined autonomy” – setting clear learning goals, then letting principals determine how they may best be achieved – correlated directly with student achievement.

Secondarily, the superintendent should be an excellent communicator, not just to constituencies within the district, and with its partners in higher education, but also in Olympia and even Washington, D.C.

The district, which expects to make a selection by April, has posted search information online at www.spokaneschools.org.

Stay tuned. Spokane children deserve the best.