Save Our Schools!

David Della, Cheryl Chow, Sherry Carr

On Tuesday Mar. 20 I attended a meeting of the 43rd Democrats to hear about the search committee for the Superintendent for the Seattle Public Schools. Turnout was pretty crummy but three folks spoke representing the District, the PTSA and the City Council. .

Cheryl Chow, assured us that after much work, the Board she chairs as Council President, had arrived at four key qualities. While I did not take notes, I recall her "truths:"

1. The appointee must be committed to education for all kids
2. The appointee must be able to work with students and teachers
3. The appointee must be able to represent the District to the Public.
4. The appointee must understand the financial limitations of the District.

Whatever these truths, I remember them as more than a bit trite. To make matters worse, later she added that the new Superintendent must be an educator BUT he or she must not bring his or her own ideas about education because the District already has a successful academic policy and a chief academic officer. Also, she made it very clear that there would be NO priority for evidence of administrative or other excellence in non academic spheres.

Lets see .....

these criteria would have ruled out John Stanton, probably the most impressive Superintendent we have ever had. The criteria would also rule out Barak Obama, Dan Evans, Bill Gates, Hyman Rickover, Colin Powell, and of course Norm Rice as potential superintendents of the Seattle Public Schools. On the other hand Ms. Chow, a moderately unsuccessful former principle and administrator in the District, would be well qualified as would several of other recent failures as Superintendent. CHOW for Super?

The other speakers were, perhaps, worse. I had never heard David Della before, but we pay this man about 170,000 dollars a year as a Seattle City Councilman. I had heard good things about David Della. He is a former labor activist and I would guess well intentioned. Past record aside, Mr. Della was dressed in pinstripes, looking for all the world like a salesman at a BMW dealership. Like a car salesman, Della echoes platitudes, reinforcing Chow and assuring us that the City was devoted to focusing ITS resources on helping the underprivileged children who, seemingly, represent a majority of the Seattle School kids. When asked if he knew what proportion of our high school age kids are in the public Schools, Mr. Della had no idea. I have been told it is less than 25% overall and nearly zero in the affluent neighborhoods. The city governed by mr. Della is committed to creating new, costly neighborhoods with NO schools. Can little David spell S-E-G-R-E-G-A-T-I-O-N? Does he think the folks living in 3-4 million dollar condoes in SLU will want to pay taxes to support "kids of color?"

I will not say much about Ms. Carr. She is a striking look-alike for Meryl Streep! I kept expecting weight comments. I honestly can not tell you what Ms. Carr (President of the PTSA) believes except that kids deserve an education. She did seem bored a lot of the time and I gave her some points for that. Oh, by the way, she is very pale. I found it hard to print her skin tone!

Words missing from any of the presentations were: leadership, imagination, commitment, track record, knowledge .... It seems we were being reassured nothing would change.

The image these three gave was of a district comprised ONLY of poor kids whose best chance might be to pass the WASL (our state test to gradyate High School). We were reassured that the Superintendent would not contest with the Teacher's Union or the Principal's Association or any of the activist groups. The bottom line message to any parent was, we know best, we want a superintendent who represents Ms. Chow's constituency (whoever that may be), we have no interest in middle class kids, you should feel guilty if you think your kids deserve the best education THEY can get, etc etc.

Where does this go? It goes to a SSD for and only for the poor. A highly segregated district where outstanding achievements, other than perhaps achievements on the athletic field, is not a goal. Where the assumption is that half of our kids are somethnig called "kids of color" and, I presume the rest are a pale background (like Ms. Carr?). Of course within this tapestry, there are no Koreans or Japanese, Guyanese, or Ethiopians just needy kids pale people can help.

Someone needs to tell Ms. Chow that this sort of condescension helps no one. Educational needs are hardly divided (only) by skin tone. A District meant to serve only the most disadvantaged will offer severely limited horizons to the young lady "of color" who aspires to be an engineer or business leader.

Oh, and someone REALLY needs to tell Ms. Chow that "people of color" is a racist term. We, the pople of Seattle are of several cultures. Some of us do have special problems as a group ...l certainly we still have a lot of poor African Americans and the plight of the urban Salish peoples is a major challenge. The same is true for children (regardless of paleness) of broken homes and some recent immigrants who may or may not have darj skin.

Her use of "people of color" is as much a code word for Black as is the less well intended term used by the comedian Michale Richards. BUT, equating all African Americans with the educationally disabled is racist. And, Ms. Chow, your own ethnic group, those of yellow color do rather well in our schools! Her term is not ill meant, but it is dishonest. To make this point VERY clear the one African American in the room got to ask ms. Chow one of the last questions. Ms. Chow may have answered, I could not tell. She was as condescending as possible, assuming that this man (we were in the University District) could only be concerned with the poorest kids. The speaker is the guy in the LA cap in the picture to the left. I do not know this fellow , but Chow's assumption reminds me of the time in a New Orleans hotel lobby when someone asked a friend of mind, a "person of color" to carry her bags. My friend politely refused and I was emabarased. I wonder how she would react if the man in the LA hat were found to be a Vice President at Washington Mutual?

To be fair. I do not think Ms. Chow is a racist. I think she means well. The problem she and the District faces is a hard one and our unpaid board probably selects against many parents and leaders with too much talent to have the time to serve. She reminds me of a liberal vesion of GW Bush. An overwhelmed ideologue.

The new super needs to be more honest and more effective than Ms. Chow. The alternative is a sort of combined District and Poor House, at the mercy of tax payers whose own kids go to private schools and well meaning but not superb folks like Ms. Chow. Am I being as condescending to Ms. Chow she was to the 43d District?

And the super? What is the chance that anyone of quality, irrespective of colored vs pale, will want a job as described by Ms Chow?