Two innovative Tacoma principals will lead new, rigorous academic programs next school year at Stewart and Giaudrone middle schools – two low-performing schools targeted for improvement through a federally-funded initiative.
Jon Ketler, who co-founded both the School of the Arts (SOTA) and Science and Math Institute (SAMI), will lead the school improvement initiative at Stewart. The Stewart academic program will focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Zeek Edmond, currently the principal at Fawcett Elementary School, will lead the initiative at Giaudrone. The Giaudrone program will follow a standardized global curriculum known as International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.
Both principals will immediately begin work with district administrators to refine their respective curricula, recruit their leadership teams and interview prospective teachers to join their educational teams.
“Two of our most innovative and effective leaders have stepped forward to take on an improvement initiative like no other in the history of this district,” Superintendent Art Jarvis said. “Mr. Edmond and Mr. Ketler each bring a different expertise and will work in different ways. Now, as they design their programs, it’s our responsibility as a district to wrap a system around them that will support them and make them and their teachers successful.”
District administrators selected Edmond to lead Giaudrone based on his success at Fawcett. Edmond graduated from Washington State University in 1995 with a bachelor of science and earned his master’s degree from the University of Puget Sound in 2004. He started working for Tacoma Public Schools in 1996 as a physical education teacher at Jennie Reed Elementary. Before being named principal at Fawcett, Edmond spent one year as the assistant principal at McCarver Elementary School.
“For me, it’s a cyclic piece,” Edmond said. “I began teaching and my principalship at Fawcett, but I did my principal internship at Giaudrone Middle School the first year it opened…I have a lot of optimism and great confidence that we can achieve our goal that every child can be successful.”
In his new role leading Giaudrone, Edmond will seek staff members who:
- Truly believe every child can be successful
- Are open to change and understand the previous instructional approach wasn’t working
- Are willing to use a team approach across the board: disciplines, grade levels, parents, students and other staff members
- Understand that much more is accomplished in groups than by individuals and open the doors to community, parents and colleagues
Ketler, meanwhile, said he requested the assignment at Stewart Middle School, because “I wanted to be a part of developing a sixth- through 12th-grade model of education and creating more opportunities for students…Every kid needs opportunities they are excited about to be successful.”
Ketler is the founder and co-director of the Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) and The Science and Math Institute (SAMI). He serves as executive director of a non-profit organization for educational change, SOTA Partners. For the past 11 years, Ketler has lead a team of community members, teachers, students and parents to create schools that have become leading examples nationwide of successful small schools through personalized, integrated education. The Springfield School of Arts and Academics is modeled after the principles that Ketler has implemented in Tacoma.
District administrators and Ketler recognized that SAMI and SOTA will need continued input from Ketler, who has agreed to maintain an administrative connection to both schools.
Ketler graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1978 with a bachelor of arts. He earned his master’s degree in 2003 from the University of Washington Tacoma. He started his teaching career in Gig Harbor as a substitute in 1981. Later he ran his own businesses before becoming an art teacher at Stadium High School in 1994.
The changes at Stewart and Giaudrone evolved from a U.S. Department of Education nationwide effort aimed at improving the education at the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in each state. Tacoma Public Schools had four middle schools on Washington state’s list – Giaudrone, Hunt, Jason Lee and Stewart.
Following a grant application process in March, OSPI selected 19 schools in nine school districts to receive federal funds to pay for the school improvement initiatives. All four Tacoma schools will receive funds.
In early March, Superintendent Art Jarvis and the school board matched each of the four middle schools with one of the optional federal models. Giaudrone and Stewart are undergoing the “Turnaround” model, which calls for replacing the principal and at least 50 percent of the staff.