| Superintendent appoints
central leaders, special education director and
principals Moves will increase PK-12 coordination and school support without adding new administrators Portland, OR, June 26, 2008: Superintendent Carole Smith announced the appointment of two assistant superintendents and an interim assistant superintendent, along with other organizational changes. The changes are designed to promote better educational outcomes by encouraging greater coordination among elementary, pre-K-8, middle and high schools. Starting July 1, Harriet Adair and Toni Hunter will be promoted to assistant superintendent and Suzie Baier will act as interim assistant superintendent. In these new roles:
Toni Hunter, who also has more than 30 years' experience in PPS, has served as the principal of Grant High School for the last 11 years. She started her career as a teacher and went on to work as vice principal for alternative programs serving delinquent youth. She also was a vice principal at Benson, Lincoln and Madison high schools. Suzie Baier currently serves as director of school improvement. Before coming to Portland Public Schools, she served as assistant superintendent for the Lake Stevens (Wash.) School District. For 15 years, Baier served as a principal and assistant principal in elementary, K-8 and middle schools for the Edmonds school district in Washington. Each of these assistant superintendents will report to the chief academic officer, once that position is filled. While these appointments and other changes will result in promotion or new assignments for some individuals, the moves will not add any new staff positions to Portland Public Schools. Portland Public Schools spends a smaller percentage of its budget on central administration (1.8 percent) than the statewide average (2.7 percent), according to Chalkboard Project data. Consolidating school leadership under two assistant superintendents will bring greater coordination across the district's PK-12 system, as well as among the schools within each PK-12 cluster (a group of elementary, middle and PK-8 schools that feed into a designated high school). Superintendent Smith said, "We're making these changes to better align our educational programs across K-12 grade levels, better support schools and drive transparency in the implementation of our major initiatives." As part of this change, the district has shifted area director assignments and asked area directors to work more closely within new PK-12 cluster teams. Because area directors are responsible for supervising principals at different schools, they play a key role in promoting consistent, quality instruction across the district. Closer collaboration across the PK-12 system can help students negotiate difficult transitions and life passages, such as moving from kindergarten to first grade, or entering high school from eighth grade. Superintendent Smith also announced three appointments to the Portland Public Schools high school team: Charles Hopson, area director of Cleveland, Grant, Franklin and Lincoln high schools; Joseph Malone, principal of Grant High School; and Shay James, interim principal of Franklin High School. "The appointment of these three skilled and experienced administrators enhances an already talented high school leadership team for the 2008-09 school year," Smith said. "With their arrival, we are ideally positioned to strengthen our high schools, improve student achievement and add powerful new voices to our work in developing high school system." Hopson, Malone and James begin their new duties July 1. Hopson, currently principal of Franklin High School, brings 20 years of experience as an educator to his new role. He began his career with Portland Public Schools as a vice principal at Cleveland High School and two years later became vice principal at Jefferson High School. He served as principal of Tubman Middle School before joining Franklin in fall 2003. He also was as an elementary principal and special education teacher in Arkansas. As area director, Hopson will assist the leadership teams at the high schools he oversees. Malone has served for six years as principal of Ockley Green K-8 School, a magnet school with a focus on the arts, sciences and technology. Previously, he was principal of King Elementary School and assistant principal of Beaumont Middle School. He also has held the positions of student management specialist and physical education/health teacher at George Middle School and was a biology teacher and basketball and track coach at Gallatin High School in Tennessee. James, who will serve as Franklin's interim principal for the 2008-09 year, has been a vice principal at the school for three years. There, she has developed strong ties with students, parents, teachers and the community. Before coming to Franklin, she was the assistant principal of Sellwood Middle School and a language arts teacher at Tubman Middle School. In addition to the high school appointments, Smith has announced others at the elementary and middle school level, also effective July 1. They are:
Superintendent Smith also announced the selection of Joanne Mabbott as the district's director of special education. Mabbott brings nearly 30 years of educational experience to PPS, 15 of them in school administration. In her last position with Hillsboro School District, she served as the director of special programs. Her previous experience includes service to Portland Public Schools as a program administrator addressing special education issues in North and Northeast Portland, more than 10 years as an administrator in special education with the Northwest Regional Education Service District, and serving as the director of special education for the Bering Strait (Alaska) School District.
###
Portland Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and educator. |
Print this page[ Top of Page | PPS Home ]
© 2007 Portland Public Schools | 501 N. Dixon | Portland, OR 97227-1804 | USA 1-503-916-2000 | Contact us | Terms of Use