People who know education agree on a couple of things: First, when it comes to leadership, the principal is the most important person in a school. Second, when it comes to school budgets, saving money wherever possible is critical. That's why what's going on at Chief Joseph Elementary School in North Portland is so hard to understand. Five years ago, Principal Kathie Yarnell arrived at the school with a focus on literacy and a plan to get parents involved. She started by implementing programs such as RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) and the SMART volunteer reader program. Last year, she had teachers return early from summer break to learn how to instruct each child individually, rather than just tossing out information to a group. Yarnell was following the model that has resurrected Humboldt Elementary, but she was doing it on a shoestring. "We had really worked hard on school improvement plans," Yarnell says. "I feel we're on the verge of great success." Yarnell has a stellar reputation in the district and the neighborhood. "Kathie's just about as good as they get," says Molly Chun, a teacher at Applegate Elementary School whose kids went to Chief Joseph. "She's wonderful; I would have loved to work for her." At 53, Yarnell isn't really ready to quit, particularly with her programs just starting to show signs of success. But booming financial markets made the Public Employee Retirement System benefits too tempting for the 31-year veteran to ignore. Locking in recent gains guaranteed that her retirement would be more comfortable. Her pension also allowed her to make an offer she thought the district couldn't refuse. Yarnell proposed that she retire but return next year on a part-time basis--at the pay level of a first-year principal. Yarnell could afford to do this because her husband's health insurance would cover her. She would share her job with a senior teacher who specializes in innovative reading programs. She estimates that, by paying her at a lower rate and avoiding the costs of PERS and health insurance, the district would save up to $20,000 a year with the job-share arrangement. As a bonus, a good teacher would get some administrative experience while working with a pro. Parents cheered the plan, which would keep a treasured administrator in place and provide continuity. "I thought it was a really neat idea," says PTA member Mark Smith. "She has been wonderful and really enthusiastic. I would love her to stay." But last Friday, the district denied Yarnell's proposal, and Chief Joseph parents hit the warpath. "I think it's a real slap in the face to all of us, especially to her," says Denise Merrell, the former head of the school's PTA, who has sent all seven of her children to Chief Joseph. "Kathie was the kind of principal who reached out to parents and kids. She was really supportive of new ideas and would do anything to help." It's hard to say why the district told Yarnell to get lost. Parents and teachers are mystified, and the district officials involved failed to return WW's phone calls. It's not as if Yarnell's offer to work for reduced pay had no precedent. Former Kelly Elementary School Principal Mary Beth Van Cleave, a nationally renowned educator, retired in 1996, but volunteered to come back the following year at reduced pay. Her sacrifice allowed the school to hire another full-time teacher. Van Cleave was widely applauded at the time for offering a creative approach to money woes. If anything, the district is more broke now than it was two years ago, and the lure of early retirement has drastically cut the number of qualified principals. In addition to being miffed about the loss of Yarnell, parents are also unhappy about the man named to succeed her: Michael Jordan, currently principal at Sabin Elementary. "We've heard a lot about him," says Scott Ellertson, a Chief Joseph parent, "and from what we hear, this Michael Jordan is no superstar." Parents and teachers alike are concerned about Jordan's reputation. The longtime Sabin leader won a national award for excellence in 1994, but more recently he's been the target of criticism from parents who believe he is autocratic and has trouble communicating. Jordan does have strong supporters in the Sabin community, such as Byron Kellar, chairman of the Citizens Budget Review Committee, but even Kellar admits, "Michael may bring some baggage with him." Last week's hiring of Ben Canada as the new district superintendent was seen as a milestone for Portland Public Schools. But parents and teachers say that within an individual school, it is the principal who has the most influence. "I know what the district went through to hire Ben Canada," says Chief Joseph PTA president Amanda Ellertson, "but in our school the principal has more impact than the superintendent. If it's a bad choice, it's better not to have anybody." It could be that Jordan just needs a change of scenery. But parents at Chief Joseph feel they should have been consulted. Both they and teachers at the school were asked to write down the qualities they wanted in a new principal. The man chosen, they say, bears no resemblance to what they asked for. "To be consulted in that way but not in the final decision was insulting," the PTA's Ellertson says. Parents note that their peers at other elementary schools, such as Beach, Buckman and Clark, were able to interview prospective principals earlier this year. That's because in each of those situations the new principal came from outside the district or was promoted from the vice-principal ranks. District spokesman Lew Frederick says such parental involvement isn't used when a principal is transferred from another school in the district. Why a lateral transfer should be treated any differently from a new hire situation is a mystery, even to people who've gone through the process. "The rules for transferring principals vary from day to day," says Beach Elementary School Principal Miguel Salinas, who has served as principal at five Portland schools. Getting a principal stuffed down the chimney is particularly galling at Chief Joseph, because the school is a model of community involvement. Parents say the district has shown zero regard for the people it is meant to serve. "I'm always amazed," says Chun, "when the kids' best interests aren't put first." In a year in which more than a third of the principals in Portland will leave their jobs--some because the district can't pay them--it's difficult to understand why Jordan wasn't placed in one of the many schools that genuinely need a new person. It's even more difficult to understand why the district rejected Yarnell's offer. "When I was working in business, creativity was rewarded," Salinas says. "When someone like Kathie Yarnell offers you a proposal, you should pay attention." |
