24.4.11 Rainier View principal transferred after years of parent,

[김상태]

Rainier View Elementary School in Seattle. Some teachers have alleged that the Rainier View principal has created a toxic, stressful environment for staffers. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

By Denisa R. Superville

Seattle Times staff reporter

After years of parent and staff complaints about Rainier View Elementary School’s leadership, the Seattle district removed the school’s principal, Anitra Jones, on Monday and transferred her to its central office.

The transfer, which the district described as “ a temporary assignment,” comes nearly a month after a March 6 School Board meeting when some parents and staff began a public pressure campaign to oust Jones. They described an “unsafe” environment at the South Seattle school that had created a “culture of fear and anxiety.” The school’s PTSA had also called for Jones’ immediate removal or for her to be put on leave as the district investigates the complaints.

지역 교육청이 "임시발령"이라고 설명한 이번 이동발령은 일부 학부모와 교사가 존스 교장을 쫓아내기 위한 공개적 압박 켐페인을 시작하게된 3월6일 학교 이사회가 열린 후 거의 한달만에 이루어졌다. 그들은 시애틀 남부에 있는 이 초등학교의 "안전하지 못한" 환경이 공포와 "불안의 문화"를 만들었다고 설명했다. 이 학교의  PTSA(학부모, 교사, 학생 협의회) 는 또한 존스 교장을 즉시 해임하거나 지역교육청이 불만사항을 조사하는 동안 휴직시킬것을 요구했다

It also followed several grievances filed by the Seattle Education Association on behalf of some of its members. The school’s PTSA also filed complaints to Seattle Public Schools, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, in which the PTSA alleged disproportionate discipline practices at the school fell heavily on Black and brown students, as well as religious discrimination, failure to fulfill students’ individualized education plans, and misuse of Title 1 funds.

이 조치는 또한 시애틀 교육협회가 일부 회원을 대신하여 제기한 몇가지 불만사항 제기에 이어서 나온것이다. 이 학교의 PTSA는 또한 시애틀 공립학교, 주 교육감 사무실, 워싱턴 주 서부지역 검찰청에 불만서를 제출했는데 PTSA는 소장에서 이 학교의 불균형한 처벌 관행이 흑인과 갈색인종 학생들에게 집중적으로 적용되었고 종교적인 차별, 학생의 개별적 교육계획이 적용되지 못했고 Title 1 기금의 오용이 있었다고 주장했다.

“I’m a little relieved, and I am a little surprised,” said Hala Mana’o, the school’s PTSA president, who said the group was still hearing “heartbreaking” experiences from families connected to the school. “But I am hoping that it’s a step toward a place where we all want to go. Let’s move forward …. Let’s be curious about investigating the experiences of people.”

The district announced Jones’ new assignment in an email to parents on Monday, days after it said it planned to hire an independent “reviewer” to look into the school’s practices. Some parents said the earlier announcement did not address their concerns and they questioned why Jones was still in charge while a review was underway.

Jones was not in school Monday, said Beverly Redmond, the district’s chief of staff and spokeswoman.

Jo Lute-Ervin, a former Rainier View teacher and principal at Kimball Elementary School, will fill in for Jones as the substitute principal this week.

“This temporary change does not indicate that SPS has confirmed any wrongdoing by Principal Jones,” according to the district’s email.

“The change is meant to foster peace in the school community. Our aim is to ensure that any concerns at Rainier View can be reviewed objectively without distractions.”

이번 변경은 학교사회의 평화를 촉진하기 위한것이다. 우리의 목적은 Rainier View초등학교에서의 모든 우려사항을 혼란없이 객관적으로 검토할수 있도록 하는것이다

Jones has said that she planned to respond publicly after the school district completes its process. But in a message to the school community on Friday, she said the stories were “outlandish.”

“There is more than one side to every story,” she said. “The first sounds true, until you hear the other side of the story. I ask for your patience.”

The district used careful wording to describe what it plans to do at the 200-student elementary, opting to use the word review rather than investigation.

“We termed it a review of the practices of the school, not necessarily an investigation,” Redmond said. “My reason for doing that is really wanting to make sure we have something, that if we needed to open an investigation it would be as a result of a review.”

Asked whether the review would go beyond Rainier View and include district employees at the central office and other departments who interacted with the parents, staff and families who had complained over several years, Redmond said, “We will follow that information to where it’s going to lead us. We are going to look at things related to Rainier View and its practices.”

이 검토가 Rainier View학교에 그치지 않고 여러해 동안 불만을 제기해 왔던 학부모들, 학교 직원들과 기족들과 서로 교감을 가졌던 지역교육청 직원과 중앙사무실(주 교육청) 및 다른 부서를 포함할것인지를 묻는 질문에, 레이먼드는 "우리는 그 정보가 우리를 안내하는 대로 따라갈것이다. 우리는 Rainier View학교와 이 학교의 관행과 관련된것들을 들여다 보려고 한다 " 라고 응답했다

In response to criticism, the district also added a new hourlong evening session on Tuesday for families to meet with district officials, including Superintendent Brent Jones, about their experiences. The new session will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The two earlier sessions are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Families will get an update on the scope of the review at the meetings.

The district also plans to survey students and families this week about their experiences at the school. A meeting for staff members will be announced before spring break, Redmond said.

Redmond said she hopes that the review will wrap up by the end of the school year.

Some of the complaints about the school and its principal date back years. Former teachers say high turnover meant that nonteaching staff frequently filled in as substitute teachers at the expense of their core duties. Others said they got low eval‎uation scores after questioning Jones. Members of the PTSA said the relationship with Jones had devolveed to the point where they were not allowed to meet on campus. Parents said students were pulled out of class for disciplinary infractions and made to sit in the principal’s office without academic support.

학교에 대한 일부 불만제기는 수년전부터 시작되었다. 전직교사들은 높은 이직률은 수업없는 교사들이 그들의 핵심업무를 희생하고 투입되었다는것을 의미한다고 말했다. 다른 교사들은 존스 교장에게 이의 제기를 한 뒤 낮은 평가점수를 받았다고 말했다. PTSA회원들은 존스교장과의 관계가 교내에서 만나는것을 금지할 정도로 악화되었다고 말했다. 학부모들은 학생들이 규율위반으로 교실에서 쫒겨나 교장실에서 학업상의 지원없이 앉아있도록 했다고 말했다

Jones has been lauded for her leadership during her tenure at Rainier View. The Seattle Alliance for Education gave her the Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence in 2018 for “closing opportunity gaps.” The Puget Sound Educational Service District also named Rainier View a “School of Distinction” in 2016.

Jones will work with the deputy superintendent of academics while assigned to the central office, said Redmond, who added that she did not yet know what Jones’ duties might include. Jones will continue to be paid her principal’s salary, Redmond said.

Mana’o said he would have preferred that Jones be placed in a position that did not require frequent interaction with the public.

“I hope that at the center of all of these things is the voices and experiences of our families and our teachers, as well as the actions of this administrator,” he said. “That’s at the core of this … The district has to work on the engagement with the community.”