4 Seattle principals demoted

Declaring that principals will be held accountable for their performance, Seattle School District Superintendent Joseph Olchefske has taken the unusual step of demoting four of them.

The demotions are the strongest, most public action in the memory of Seattle administrators to remove principals viewed as failing to do an adequate job.

Olchefske has told the principals of three elementary schools and one middle school that their contracts will not be renewed next year. The group includes three tenured principals: Sherrill Adams, now at T.T. Minor Elementary; Maribeth Phair, Bagley Elementary; and Sharon Aune, Loyal Heights Elementary. The other is Hamilton Middle School's Cathy Thomas. Tenured principals have at least three years' experience.

"What this is about is having a high-quality principal corps. We want our principals to be the finest in the country," Olchefske said. ". . . We have clearly said in no uncertain terms the role of principal is a leadership position. We want our principals to be very, very strong leaders."

The principals were informed of their demotions in private meetings with Olchefske on Friday. Each was accompanied by an attorney provided by the Principals' Association of Seattle Schools. One said she plans to appeal; the others may also.

The elementary principals were told they may return to their former jobs as classroom teachers if they wish to remain with the district. Thomas has the option of becoming an assistant principal.

Olchefske, in his second year as superintendent, said improved training and mentoring has produced "huge progress" in the quality of principals, but administrators who fail to improve to an acceptable level must be removed. He declined to discuss the principals' performance.

There were no allegations of misconduct, Olchefske said.

Olchefske has been credited by the School Board with something his predecessor, the late John Stanford, didn't do: making sure every principal gets an annual written evaluation.

Demoting or firing a tenured principal is unusual, and Olchefske said none of the district administrators he has talked to recalls Seattle ever doing so. But former School Board member Ellen Roe said William Kendrick, superintendent from 1986 to 1995, demoted some tenured principals early in his time with the district.

Statewide, fewer than 40 of 2,650 principals and assistants are demoted or fired each year, according to the Association of Washington School Principals.

"There are no winners in this kind of thing," said Margie Kates, Beacon Hill Elementary principal. "Everybody loses because it's hard on the person being terminated, it's hard on the person having to do the termination, it's disruptive for those schools . . . though it may be for the best."

Terry Barber, of the Association of Washington School Principals, said, "The association recognizes that the accountability piece is going to smack pretty hard on principals. They're the lightning rod, the most visible person in the school."

The association is now working on a document that describes what's expected of principals that districts can use to help prevent firings down the road.

The demotions drew praise from some observers.

Verleeta Wooten, president of the Seattle Education Association, called it "a bold step" that she welcomes as long as the proper procedures were followed.

"One of the things we've been asking for is more accountability for principals," she said. "If teachers are being held accountable, we feel that principals should fall under the same kind of scrutiny."

The demotions, however, complicate the task of recruiting principals at a time when candidates are in short supply.

Betty Hoagland, president of the Seattle Council Parent-Teacher-Student Association, said that in the past, ineffective principals often were promoted to central administration jobs. By demoting them, Olchefske "is putting the schools and the kids first."

School Board member Barbara Peterson also praised Olchefske's willingness to demote principals.

"If we're going to turn the schools around or we're going to improve them, everyone says it's an effective teacher and a quality principal they want in their school," Peterson said.

The school district previously announced Adams would be reassigned to a school other than T.T. Minor and that Thomas would be moved from Hamilton. But their demotions were not expected.

Adams declined comment yesterday, except to say she is working with her lawyer on an appeal and plans to fight the demotion.

A former nun and former Catholic-school principal who spent 21 years in the Lake Washington District as principal at four elementary schools, Adams has been on the job at the Central Area school for two years.

She has been in charge of overseeing a unique partnership between the district and Seattle businessman Stuart Sloan, who adopted the school and is spending millions of dollars over the next eight years to lower class sizes, train teachers and extend the school day and year.

At a meeting with Olchefske at T.T. Minor last week, some participants blasted his handling of Adams.

"I'm troubled to see a person with the experience she has treated this way," said community member Walt Hubbard Sr. "I think she's been dealt with pretty unfairly."

Olchefske said he believed Adams had done a good job laying the foundation, but now a different kind of leadership is needed at T.T. Minor - someone who offers strong instructional leadership and can bring the community together "to wrap their arms around this school."

Thomas' school, Hamilton, is undergoing major changes to meet the district's goal of boosting enrollment there. Her successor, Terry Acena, is planning Hamilton's transformation into a center for international languages and cultures.

Thomas began teaching at Sealth High in 1971. Before becoming principal of Hamilton in 1997, she was an assistant principal at Rainier Beach and Roosevelt high schools. She did not return calls yesterday.

"I'm glad that she's going to be in the school system in one way or another and they're providing for her, because she's a pretty special lady," said Hamilton PTSA President Glenn Lirman.

Phair has been principal at Bagley Elementary for eight years, before that serving as head teacher at Bryant and Viewlands elementaries. She's worked in the district 25 years.

Some parents and staff had been unhappy with Phair's leadership for several years, to the point that when they learned Phair was returning to the school last fall after a personal leave, a few left the school, said Rick Veit, outgoing PTSA president.

Veit said a number of parents also had written the district, asking for new leadership.

Phair said she's been told test scores are one area of concern for the school, and she doesn't feel she has enough control over those or enough flexibility to use resources to best help students.

"We have some parents who want to see our school perform better and so do I," she said. "But we have students coming from a variety of situations and we have a very mobile population. These aren't excuses, but they are hurdles to be overcome."

Phair is considering appealing. "I know over time I will be able to share information to more accurately reflect my performance as a principal," Phair said.

Loyal Heights Principal Aune taught at small districts before becoming an assistant principal in Sedro-Woolley in 1992 and principal of Seattle's Cooper Elementary in 1993. She moved to Loyal Heights in 1997. Aune did not return calls yesterday.

Seattle's chief academic officer, June Collins Rimmer, characterized yesterday's demotions as the move to accountability and clarity that principals wanted.

"I personally have heard principals call for this," Rimmer said. "They want even more clarity in terms of expectations."

But Jim McConnell, a principal for 25 years and president of the Principals' Association, said principals aren't sure what is expected of them as reforms change the shape of education.

"We're in the leadership roles, we work directly with teachers and kids and we need some help," said McConnell, principal of West Seattle High. "Laying all of these standards, state tests and public pronouncements of expectations is great, but what has changed? Where is the support? Where can I get some help?"