Superintendent candidate Thornton says "let's deal with" race

In his Seattle debut Thursday, Gregory Thornton, one of two finalists for school-district superintendent, presented himself as an experienced educator with clear plans for academic success.

In town for a whirlwind round of interviews with school officials and community leaders, Thornton presented a list of solutions to Seattle's educational ills, but he conceded the wish list came with a high price.

"Reform is expensive," he said at a news conference.

He demurred when asked how he would fix Seattle's ongoing budget woes, saying he didn't know all the facts. "I'd be in a much better position if Ms. Chow asks me back," he said.

Board President Cheryl Chow accompanied Thornton as he visited area schools, met the local press and answered questions at an invitation-only community forum.

Today, the other superintendent finalist, Maria Goodloe-Johnson, is expected to follow a similar schedule.

In his presentations, Thornton, 52, was energetic and upbeat. Like a politician on the stump, he touted his accomplishments, specifically citing his success in raising the grades of African-American students in Montgomery County, Md., where he served as deputy superintendent from 2002 to 2004.

"In Montgomery County, we eradicated the [academic-achievement] gap, not just closed it," he said. "We were able to raise the bar and close the gap."

Montgomery County's scores on the state's standardized test reveal considerable progress by African-American students, although as a group they didn't score as well as whites in testing at every grade level from 2003 to 2006.

In Philadelphia, 56 private charter schools operate independently from the school district, but Thornton said Seattle doesn't have the same needs, and he wouldn't seek to change the current system.

Thornton said he wants to replicate Philadelphia's experience in implementing a districtwide core curriculum that allowed teachers flexibility while enforcing uniform standards.

That would be a big change for Seattle, which has started moving in that direction, but where schools for years haven't been required to use a district curriculum.

"I think you need a framework at every grade level really delineating what kids should know and be able to do," Thornton said. "I want to say, 'Here's the minimum of what children ought to know.' "

At a televised community forum on Thursday, Thornton answered questions about how he would work with the School Board, hire principals and encourage private grants.

Many of the questions related to race, prompting him to say: "In the community, everywhere I go it's about race. It comes up in nearly every conversation I've had. That says to me, folks, it's time we stop talking about it and let's deal with it."

Nancy Eitreim, president of the League of Women Voters of Seattle, said she was impressed with Thornton's background and delivery.

"He's a good candidate. I didn't hear anything that didn't go off well with me."

Seattle Times reporter Linda Shaw contributed to this report. Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com