1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
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2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you
resided in
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50 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Year of Run |
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In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
1. In a page or less, why are you running for this office? (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)
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My parents chose Seattle as the place to raise their family because this city had a reputation for being progressive. It was a good choice, and I’ve had the privilege of growing up here and attending Seattle Public Schools. My three children are also products of this school system, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I am moved now to run for School Board by a sense of urgency about what the future holds for our children in that system. The budget crisis has seriously threatened the District’s momentum toward achieving our public school goals for all students. Further, the District has failed to make significant progress to reduce the achievement gap that has a profound impact on our children of color. When I hear about the “gap” in terms of statistics and numbers, what I see is children’s lives slipping through our fingers. Although examples of successful schools do exist in Seattle, we have yet to create the conditions in which these learning environments are replicated in order to meet the needs of all children . My top priorities - • Implement a balanced, outcome driven budget. • Hire a superintendent with demonstrated ability to lead educational improvement. • Hold the superintendent accountable for developing outstanding principals who are prepared to support teacher and student success. • Hold the superintendent accountable for focusing teacher professional development on approaches that support them in building a movement to achieve academic success for all children. • Establish superintendent accountability measures for real progress in closing the achievement gap for children of color. • Restore public confidence in the School Board through meaningful parent and community involvement.
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2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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"Over the last 17 years I have had a chance to observe and admire Darlene's passion for what is right, the clarity of her thinking, her respect for the worth of every person, her strength and her courage. She is one of those rare people that leads with both her heart and her mind. " Jim Street, Former City Councilman and Superior Court Judge - Letter to "Friends", 8/14/03
Life experience - My first child dropped out of school after the system failed to respond to her needs. The second child is "gifted" and was successful at every stage, taking advantage of everything the system had to offer. The third was in special ed and benefited from the willingness of special teachers to respond to his unconventional gifts and talents. That experience helps me understand the system's limits and its potential.
Clarity of purpose - I will keep my eye on the prize and am not easily confused or diverted from what is on the critical path.
Change agency - the ability to stand up passionately and effectively for what I believe to be right while striving to connect with the humanity of individuals on all sides of an issue.
Team player - I know how to support others who have the courage to lead, and I have participated in many organizations and processes, bringing both leadership and inclusivity.
Political effectiveness - I have worked in large bureaucracies, both public and private, and I have worked effectively within a political environment to facilitate improvement.
Determination - I chose to run for School Board because I believe that there is nothing more important to the future than the education of all our children. As a person of color I know and feel what loss of education means to our children. I will apply all my skills to changing those outcomes and achieving the vision of academic success for all students.
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3. Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.
4. Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.
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2002 - current: Black Child Development Institute Edcation Committee - evaluation of current conditions in Seattle Public School regarding disproportionate discipline for children of color and worked with committee to strategize with a pilot middle school to address disproportionality.
2002-current: Seattle Race Confernce Planning Committee and project lead - synthesized purpose statement based on planning committee discussion, prepared proposal for race training element of conference, member of public information team working with media, developed personal planning tool for participants.
1999 - current; Neighborhood Development Manager, Dept. of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle - Responsible for oversight of neighborhood plan implementation in Central and SE Seattle. Facilitate coordination of department activities and mobilization of resources on behalf of neighborhood plans.
1990 - current: Boardmember, Past President and volunteer, Sundiata African American Cultural Association - have performed various roles (acting festival director, project lead, general purpose volunteer, etc.) to produce an annual cultural festival with the Seattle Center.
1988- 1995: City Council Legislative Assistant to Jim Street - Staffed City Council Committee on Public Education including initial work on Seattle's Family and Education Levy. Policy development and budget oversight from the legislative perspective for eight years.
1995 - Current: City of Seattle - Designated facilitator for many functional and dysfunctional groups and organizations inside governent and in the community. Valuable lessons in what makes organizations work and how to constructively involve stakeholders in public process.
1986-1987: President, Greenwood Community Council - Opportunity to organize and work with community to advocate for the community with government.
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It is the duty of the School Board to establish the vision for the District, hire and manage the Superintendent of the District, align resources with the vision, monitor progress toward achieving the vision, set policy to provide accountability and continuous improvement and engage the public in the process.
The most important tasks at hand for Seattle School Board are: 1. Hire the superintendent capable of delivering system improvement through knowledge and leadership that will be necessary to implement the necessary shift to approaches that work. 2. Establish a policy environment that holds the superintendent accountable for managing system effectiveness (including financial integrity) in order to achieve outcomes consistant with the District's education mission. 3. Engage the public, to rally the best in community thinking and vision in order to build public confidence and mobilize a full range of resources on behalf of school students. 4. Manage the impacts of the requirements related to WASL and federal "No Child Left Behind " mandates. |
EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website. It includes a summary of the candidate’s education. Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined). The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry. Suggested order is (degree) (subject) (school) (year, if desired).
Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.
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FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement. Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below. We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted. Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined). It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important. If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes, deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed.
Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report. If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.
Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.
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Past President, Greenwood Community Council (1986-87); Black Child Development Institute Education Committee (current); Board President, Sundiata African American Cultural Festival (1990-current); Citizen Representative to Seattle Education Summit (1990); Leader, Seattle Race Conference / Education (2003-current); Neighborhood Development Manager, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle (current); Assistant to City Council President Jim Street (1988-95); active Summit K-12 parent (1990-2000). |
Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (rebecca@munileague.org). Mail and fax numbers are listed below. If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.
Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League: a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletters and other materials. Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org