Seattle schools opt for a full review

The Seattle Education Association must soften its combative approach toward Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson. Otherwise, an important partnership between teachers and Seattle Public Schools is threatened.

Since Goodloe-Johnson's arrival last summer, the teachers union has been unusually feisty, attributing its bad mood to the superintendent's previous district of Charleston, S.C., where teachers are not unionized.

The union recently voted to oppose Goodloe-Johnson's selection of the national consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to develop a comprehensive plan for the city's 46,000-student school system. For a district hobbled by inconsistent academics and a revolving door of unhappy parents, a new strategy is appropriate.

Local philanthropists, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will pay the $750,000 cost for five full-time McKinsey consultants. So far, so good.

But the SEA says the consultants' "results may undermine" the union and urges its 6,000 members not to cooperate with the consultants spending the next three months at district headquarters.

SEA President Wendy Kimball plans to attend the meetings but won't participate.

Juvenile is the word that comes to mind. Will Kimball also sit on her hands and hold her breath? Rather than abdicating a key role in supporting our schools, the union would fare better with a cautious approach.

A Seattle Times story quotes an e-mail by SEA's executive director, Steve Pulkkinen, warning members that of nine recommendations McKinsey consultants made to the Minneapolis Public Schools, one was to "set clear expectations for all staff, reward successes and develop or remove low performers."

A system with clear expectations, one that encourages successes and doesn't ignore poor performances. Sounds good.

Citizens have consistently supported the schools through their tax levies. In return, they have a right to expect a high-performing district that holds itself accountable. Clear expectations, rewards and interventions aren't far-fetched, they are the baseline.

This strategic plan, which will address curriculum, special education and other programs, is the most important thing the Seattle Schools will do. SEA should not sit this one out.