Creating a lasting impression

Free time is the last thing on the mind of retiring Auburn School District Superintendent Linda Cowan.

"I can't imagine looking that far ahead into my personal plans right now," Cowan said.

As chief-executive officer of Auburn schools the past 11 years, there's a lot of work to be done before she leaves office June 30.

On her long to-do list: speaking at more than 60 community meetings to prepare for the district's four-year $113.7 million replacement-levy measure on the March 11 ballot, visiting close to two dozen schools and more than 124 classrooms to help launch another round of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), and overseeing an evaluation of 22 campuses.

"No one will say that I didn't leave the district in good order," Cowan said.

Those closest to her say that Cowan's tenure as superintendent has been best defined by her willingness to follow through.

Few things convey this more than the "tickler file" — 31 red folders, one for each day of the month — she uses to stay on task each day. Cowan makes a morning ritual of organizing and checking her files, to prevent any task from slipping through the cracks. She keeps a separate folder to represent every month of the year.

"I like to complete things, and I don't like to handle paper more than once," she said. "Sometimes that's a strength and sometimes that's a weakness."

One recent week, her calendar was booked with more than 70 hours of appointments, meetings and tasks.

District officials say her trademark focus and drive will be needed more than ever during her final months on the job.

She wants her successor to inherit the district with no unfinished projects.

Part of it is the superintendent's desire for closure, but, mostly, it's about leaving a mark.

"It's leaving a legacy," Cowan said. "I want mine to be that the Auburn School District is a great organization that is running well."

A meticulous leader

Colleagues say Cowan is a persistent leader who goes out of her way to understand the ins and outs of her schools, which takes her out of the office and into schools and homes.

"She is an ubiquitous leader who seems visible at every event in the district," said Kip Herren, who has been Cowan's deputy superintendent of school programs for years.

Since she became superintendent in 1997, Cowan has hosted hundreds of coffee hours, where she answers questions from parents, elected officials and business leaders. It's an old tradition in the Auburn School District, but Cowan has a special knack for connecting with each group.

"She knows the history of Auburn," said Shirley Partridge, who graduated from Auburn High School and has children who have attended Auburn schools. "She knows the families. She makes things personal."

In addition to her skills as a communicator, colleagues say Cowan's ability to balance the curriculum and the business operations of the district will leave a lasting impression.

"Her focus is academics, but she understands everything that is going on in the district," said Eric Boutin, child-nutrition supervisor for the Auburn School District. "She can tell you everything from why school roofs are maintained a certain way to how a particular education program is meant to help students."

Carving her own path

Forty years as an educator started with a teaching job that she quit: She left Lake Youngs Elementary in Kent after a year because she was overwhelmed by teaching reading and writing to so many students.

Burned out, she took a year off and did some clerical work, then tried teaching again. This time, she taught social studies, math and science at Nelsen Middle School in Renton.

At Nelsen, Cowan says, she found her passion in education.

In the mid-1970s, she received a master's degree and eventually earned a spot as assistant principal at Dimmitt Middle School in Renton. She was one of the few female administrators in any area school district.

"I felt I could help students more as an assistant principal," Cowan said, because she had more time to counsel students and address disciplinary issues.

But Cowan regularly visits classrooms and says she still can't shake the feeling she gets when she works with students.

Each year, she helps to launch annual WASL testing by talking to every fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grade classes about math, reading and writing.

"It's unusual having someone do that," said Pauline Thomas, principal at Washington Elementary School in downtown Auburn. "It's a unique way of telling students that someone important really cares."

Overseeing big changes

Since Cowan joined the district, it has grown from 10,000 students, many from the same families, to 14,500 from diverse backgrounds and incomes.

In the 1970s, about 89 percent of Auburn students were white. Today, more than one-third are minorities.

Poverty in the district has increased, too. More than one-third of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Changing demographics have been the obvious challenge during Cowan's tenure, Herren said. Dramatic increases in poverty and in mobile and immigrant populations have been the biggest stumbling blocks to raising the district's WASL scores.

To combat those issues, Cowan has implemented programs that target reading and writing. She has made food and nutrition a priority to ensure that all kids are given at least one nutritious meal every day.

Growth has been challenging, too.

Mike Newman, associate superintendent of business and operations, says Cowan played a major role in voter passage of a $54 million bond measure to build three schools — Auburn Mountainview High and Lakeland Hills and Arthur Jacobsen elementaries.

Although her critics have been few, a vocal group of residents questioned Cowan's leadership during the push to pass the bond measure. The group did not want to see large schools and helped to squash voter interest in the measure, which barely failed four times.

Cowan and the School Board persisted. Voters finally approved the measure, by 68.7 percent, in 2003.

She oversaw the district's transition from a junior-high (grades 7-9) to middle-school model (grades 7-8) in the 1990s. The move was controversial, but Cowan, a strong supporter of the middle-school model, spoke about the advantages — socially and academically — of moving ninth-graders to the high schools.

Her experience at Nelsen Middle School taught her that students should "stay younger longer," she said.

"In junior highs, 12-year-olds see ninth-graders renting limos and going to proms," she said. "That isn't something students so young should be thinking about."

Looking ahead

In the next three months, the School Board will work with a consultant to identify candidates to replace Cowan.

She will carry on as she has.

There is next month's replacement levy. Upcoming WASL exams. A districtwide building audit to figure out what repairs and upgrades are needed.

Colleagues aren't surprised by her determination to make a clean handoff.

"She is a consummate organizer with a remarkable memory and attention to detail," Herren said.

Cowan says she's spent 11 years in one of the "most difficult but rewarding jobs a person could have."

Running into former students confirms that.

"Students remember when someone cares about their education," Cowan said. "Those are the moments that are exciting."

Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com