A message from the Superintendent

Dec. 20, 2012

Good afternoon:

As we head into the New Year, I am pleased to announce several appointments and leadership changes in our District, specifically to Teaching and Learning.

Our core work at Seattle Public Schools is based in Teaching and Learning, and I want to thank all of you for your continued hard work, especially in light of key leadership positions that have been unfilled. I am confident the team announced today will bring stability to the department and carry out the work we need to do through the end of the 2012-13 school year.

Michael Tolley is now the sole Interim Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. I want to thank both Michael and Marni Campbell for co-sharing this responsibility this fall, while still continuing to do their work as Executive Directors of Schools. Now Michael will focus on Teaching and Learning, and we will create a solid plan for the Southeast region in Michael’s absence. Marni will return to her Executive Director of Schools duties full time.

We have a search firm in place to recruit for the Assistant Superintendent position and I hope to have it filled permanently by the end of the school year. I want to thank the entire Teaching and Learning staff – from Central Office to our principals, teachers and support staff – for your dedication this year.

Additional leadership appointments include:

• Curriculum and Instruction: A hiring committee interviewed finalists in November, and I am pleased to announce Shauna Heath as our new Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Shauna has been the principal at Lafayette Elementary since the start of the school year. She joined Seattle Public Schools from the Kent School District, where she served as principal of Sunrise Elementary. Shauna will oversee Early Learning, College and Career Readiness and core content areas. She will report to the Interim Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.

• Early Learning PreK-5: Kimberly Kinzer will now serve as Director of Early Learning, with a focus on Pre-Kindergarten through 5th Grade. In this new role, Kimberly will build a strong early learning foundation, overseeing Head Start, Special Education PreK, WaKids, the Families and Education Levy’s PreK-Elementary implementation, and the Race to the Top’s Start Strong component. Her goal is to ensure students are prepared for kindergarten, to align the District’s assessments, and to create solid transitions from grade-to-grade.

• College and Career Readiness: Janet Blanford will now serve as Director of College and Career Readiness for Grades 6-12. Janet will focus on making sure our secondary learners are prepared for college, career and life. She will oversee Career and Technical Education, counselors, course approval and course catalogs, the high school steering committee, the Families and Education levy’s middle and high school grants, and the Race to the Top’s Stay Strong component.
 
These three individuals will work closely together to provide strong leadership for the District’s Curriculum and Instruction Department. They will collectively be responsible for leading the district-wide implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and taking the Multi Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to scale among many other initiatives.

We are working on updating our organizational charts. That should be completed by mid-day tomorrow and posted online at http://bit.ly/SPS-OrganizationalChart.

In addition, our Executive Directors of Schools will now report to the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. This gives the Teaching and Learning team more direct access to our principals and schools.

I appreciate your hard work and dedication to our students and families. As always, please feel free to contact me with questions or ideas.

Sincerely,



José Banda
Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools

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