Seattle Public Schools names new chief academic officer

Seattle Public Schools has selected Susan Enfield to be its new chief academic officer.

Enfield, who most recently was deputy superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools based in Vancouver, Wash., starts her new job in Seattle on July 6.

She succeeds former chief academic officer Carla Santorno, who is accepting a job as deputy superintendent in Tacoma.

The position of chief academic officer is one of the most influential in the school district. As such, Enfield will be in charge of policies regarding curriculum, teaching and testing and will manage the district's schools. The chief academic officer also arranges for professional development for principals and teachers and oversees programs for special-education, advanced and bilingual students. Enfield was selected after a national search that included interviews by teams of staff, community and labor-association representatives. Earlier this year, she was a finalist for superintendent of Bellevue schools.

According to Seattle Public Schools, while in Vancouver, Enfield initiated a five-year plan for math-curriculum implementation and support, nearly doubled the number of students enrolled in advanced placement classes, and established a team to address the district's increasingly diverse student body.

Before joining Evergreen Public Schools, Enfield served as director of teaching and learning at Portland Public Schools. She also served as director of the bureau of teaching and learning support, and was special assistant to the secretary of education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She began her education career in 1993 as a high-school teacher in Cupertino, Calif.

Enfield earned her doctorate and master's in education from Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program. She has a master's in education from Stanford University and a bachelor's in English literature from the University of California-Berkeley.