Guest Post: Please Advocate for the next Advanced Learning Supervisor in the district

[The following is a guest post from former Board Director Sue Peters.  Note:  the replacement job has not been posted yet on the SPS site. ]

Head of HCC/AL programs Stephen Martin is retiring from SPS this year. Speak up now to request highly qualified, appropriate replacement

Dear HCC/Spectrum and AL communities,

You may be interested to learn that the District’s Supervisor of Highly Capable and Advanced Learning programs, Stephen Martin is retiring from SPS as of 9/1/19, per a recent Personnel Report that was approved by the Board at their Feb 6, 2019 Board meeting: https://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/18-19%20agendas/February%206/C02_20190206_Personnel%20Report.pdf

I encourage any families in the HCC/Spectrum/AL community who would like to weigh in on the new hire to contact the Board, and Supt Juneau ASAP. It looks like this is being done quite quickly and with no public input.

Write to them at: superintendent@seattleschools.org; spsdirectors@seattleschools.org,  dmdebacker@seattleschools.org

The existing job description is here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/seattleschools/classspecs/750082?keywords=Advanced%20Learning&pagetype=classSpecifications

But missing from the listing is any requirement for experience and expertise in gifted education. Instead the focus is primarily on administrative tasks, with one reference to advanced learning.

To the best of my knowledge, Martin is the only one in the Advanced Learning Department with significant experience in gifted education. Here’s his bio: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/advanced_learning/department_information/contact_advanced_learning/stephen_martin_bio

I have written to the Board and Supt. Juneau noting this discrepancy and have asked that the district hire a highly qualified replacement with meaningful gifted ed experience. (Letter included below.)

Regards,

Sue Peters

Request for highly qualified replacement for retiring supervisor of HCC/AL Stephen Martin

Dear Superintendent Juneau and Board Directors,

In light of the fact that Stephen Martin, the District’s Supervisor of Highly Capable and Advanced Learning programs, is retiring from SPS as of 9/1/19 (per a recent personnel report: https://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/18-19%20agendas/February%206/C02_20190206_Personnel%20Report.pdf), I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to hire a highly qualified, appropriate replacement for him.

Currently, Mr. Martin is the only member of the Advanced Learning Department staff with significant experience and expertise in gifted education (as his bio demonstrates, included below). So it’s important that his replacement be at least equally as knowledgeable and experienced.

The candidate should also have a proven commitment to ensuring robust and appropriate programs and services that meet the academic and emotional needs of all gifted and advanced learners throughout the district, and a commitment to outreach to those who have been underrepresented in the programs.

Yet, the job listing that has been posted by SPS for Mr. Martin’s replacement makes no mention of the terms “gifted education” or “Highly Capable” among the skills, experience and education requirements of the position: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/seattleschools/classspecs/750082?keywords=Advanced%20Learning&pagetype=classSpecifications (excerpt included below).

The position as posted doesn’t require teaching experience or familiarity with gifted ed pedagogy, nor is there any mention of experience with twice exceptional students, also a group whose needs must be understood and met by the AL Department. The position doesn't even require an MA in education, just a “closely related field.”

I hope you can agree that this description does not accurately convey the appropriate requirements for this position. So I ask that it be revised to better and fully reflect the demands of the position and the expectations of families and students of SPS, so the District will be better able to recruit the best candidate for this position.

The new hire should be someone who:

• Has a proven track record of relevant and substantial experience working with gifted children.

• Has relevant and substantial training in gifted education and programs, including programs for twice exceptional children (https://nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents/twice-exceptional-students), and those who are gifted in single domains, and understands asynchronous development (https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/social-emotional-issues/asynchronous-development).

• Is committed to genuine efforts to expand diversity in the program, such as expanding and simplifying referrals, investing in teacher and administrator training, and community outreach, rather than through superficial measures such as limiting private appeals (which does little to nothing to increase diverse representation in the program).

• Understands the need for gifted education and recognizes that it is part of basic education, as established by state law.

• Is committed to providing meaningful, appropriate curriculum, as prescribed by law.

In sum, I ask that the district hire a highly qualified, talented replacement, quite possibly from outside of SPS, to address the needs of the roughly 4,000 students in SPS identified as Highly Capable, and the over 8,000 students identified as Spectrum or HCC, plus the many advanced learners districtwide

Lastly, please reach out to the Highly Capable and AL communities for input. And please let me know if I can assist in this process in any way, as a past SPS Board director and member of the SPS APP/HCC community for the last 14 years.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters

SPS & APP/HCC parent since 2005

SPS Board Director (President & VP), 2013-17

Founding Member, Parents Across America

Founding Editor, Seattle Education Blog

BIO: Stephen B. Martin, Supervisor, Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs

<< Return to Department Contacts

Stephen graduated from Bridgewater State College and Boston University, and has done postgraduate work at Florida State University in Gifted Education and the University of Southern California in Educational Policy Planning and Administration. At FSU he studied with Dorothy Sisk, who had served as the Director of the U.S. Office of Gifted and Talented, working with all the state departments in establishing policies and programs for gifted children. Stephen has served as teacher, principal, or gifted coordinator in Massachusetts, the Philippines, Germany, Colorado, and Washington. He is a member of the National Association for Gifted Children (served on the Advocacy Committee with Joseph Renzulli), the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted (board member and twice president), the Northwest Gifted Child Association, and has served on the Washington State Gifted Advisory Committee. Since joining the Advanced Learning office in 2010, Stephen has focused on making opportunities for advanced learners available at all schools, and increasing equitable access for underrepresented students. Working in collaboration with the SPS Department of Technology Services and private consultants, Stephen and his team are upgrading Advanced Learning systems to better serve Seattle families.


https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/advanced_learning/department_information/contact_advanced_learning/stephen_martin_bio

Excerpt from the current SPS job listing:

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

Knowledge of:

• Theories and practices of Advanced Learning program education and required services 
• Aptitude and achievement test measures and their interpretation 
• Current research, emerging trends for the development of quality programs and the delivery of effective services 
• Curricula and instructional strategies 
• Effective methods for budget management and fiscal control
• Computer technology for operations management 
• Practices and principles of supervision; intervention and communication strategies with parents/guardians. 

Skills in:

• Budget preparation; fiscal control 
• Demonstrating instructional methods 
• Effective communication (listening, writing, speaking); providing timely response 
• Prioritizing and meeting critical timelines 
• Preparing district, state, and federal reports 
• Facilitating group meetings 
• Computer technology 
• Data collection and analysis 
• Problem solving and decision-making 
• Public relations 
• Evaluating the effectiveness of assigned programs 

Ability to:

• Provide leadership and direction 
• Work effectively and professionally with department staff, central office staff, principals, teachers, parents, and outside agencies 
• Effectively represent the district before the public 
• Monitor and track compliance data 
• Coordinate multiple activities simultaneously 
• Supervise assigned staff 
• Work effectively in a multicultural community 
• Minimum Qualifications

EDUCATION:

Master's degree in education or closely related field.

YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:

Three (3) years of teaching experience, including two (2) years of program management or administrative experience in an urban environment.Three (3) years of teaching experience, including two (2) years of program management or administrative experience in an urban environment.

CERTIFICATES & LICENSES:

-Valid Washington State Teaching Certificate or evidence of ability to obtain a Washington State Certificate before starting in this job.

-A valid driver' license or evidence of equivalent mobility.

PREFERRED:

Administrative Credentials.