Take Aways from Superintendent Community Meetings

I attended two of the scheduled parent and community input meetings for the Tukwila school board in the board’s effort to develop the superintendent candidate profile and ultimately its hire of a new Tukwila School Superintendent

Here are my take away/observations from Tuesday, January 15th at Tukwila Elementary and on Wednesday, January 16th at Cascade View Elementary.

My complements and trust is in board member Dave Larson. (This is not to imply anything negative towards other board members) Larson in my humble opinion is meticulous in his studies regarding district policy, student achievement, parent and community involvement and is objective in his analysis of the challenges and issues facing our district. His attendance and observations at both meetings will no doubt assist the board in their decision making process.

The Tukwila Elementary School convening was markedly different from the Cascade View convening. There was a small but good mix of parent, teacher, staff and community members at Tukwila. The conversation centered on district communication or lack thereof, the need for diversity at staff and board level and the qualifications those in attendance would like to see in the next Superintendent. Qualifications such as the ability to effectively communicate, lead a diverse district with integrity and to remain in the job for some time. Some thought experience was essential, others thought that the “right person” for the job with the ability to gain experience was more important.

At Cascade View, I was amazed at the parent turnout. I counted at least 37 parents with many small children in tow. There was a large Nepalese, Vietnamese and Latino turnout. Discussions were through interpreters within these groups and were quite animated. The concerns were more focus on the kids and issues of safety, transportation and communication with teachers. This parent involvement is not doubt part of the reason Larson reports that Cascade View ranks in the top 2% of state schools http://bit.ly/TccZ1t.

Here’s my overall take away: When it comes to our children, it doesn’t matter what race, culture, gender, creed, age, political party or any other classifier we may have for ourselves; all our kids matter and the love and desire we have for our kids to achieve is unconditional. As a community, we want human beings in place who’s sole focus will be to provide a safe, equitable learning environment for growth and development of our children.

I Love Tukwila