Shawn Berinato considered herself a Barton fan when she took the job of PTA copresident three years ago. However, she agreed with other PTA members that the principal could be intimidating. When Barton announced his intention to seek $3,000 in PTA funds for teacher training, she agreed to switch the vote from a show of hands to a secret ballot. The day of the vote, Barton requested a meeting with PTA officers. Berinato said she was shocked when the principal began loudly berating her for trying to undermine him. "He started yelling and jabbing his finger in our faces. He was extremely rude and unprofessional," says Berinato, who immediately resigned her position in protest, then moved her children to another school at the end of the year.
Is Barton's temper a problem? "It's a hard question to answer," says assistant principal Tim Moynihan. Although he's personally never seen his boss yell at anyone, some people have obviously taken offense at the principal's intense, no-nonsense style.
Rick Dahms
Gatewood Elementary erupts in controversy.
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"I have seen him be angry at people," confirms longtime Gatewood teacher Carney, who says Barton's passionate beliefs sometimes get him in trouble. But she also says Barton realized early in his tenure that his temper needs to be reined in and has worked hard to improve.
DESPITE THE CONTROVERSIES, has Barton achieved results at Gatewood? Many current parents think so. Lois Schipper, who will serve as PTA copresident next year and volunteered at the school about once a week this year, says, "I think there's been a critical transformation" at the school. Tawny Hallan says her first-year experience at the school was so positive that her son will continue to attend Gatewood next year even through the family is relocating to Bellevue. Pam Schwartz, another parent, says her daughter has had a great experience at Gatewood. "I'm in the class every week and I see what goes on," she says, "and I love what I see."
Test numbers for Gatewood show dramatic improvement in the direct writing assessment numbers for fifth-graders since 1997-98; third-graders showed similar writing gains until this year, when scores dipped sharply. Gatewood students have traditionally scored below the district average on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (and this year's numbers reflect the general district-wide dip in ITBS scores). However, these numbers are significantly better than Gatewood's mid-1990s test scores.
Charlene Butler, a 30-year Seattle Schools veteran who worked as a substitute teacher at Gatewood this year, says the principal's staff-building work has been an undeniable success. "I've never seen a group of teachers as committed to a single goal as I've seen here," she says. "Schools are not places that are easily led. At most schools teachers have tenure and can wait out [a reformist principal]."
Even some of those who have clashed with Barton acknowledge that he has built an excellent staff. Kay Fiddler, who is looking to send the three foster children in her care to a different school, says the quality of teaching is very good. "Even without the proper resources, even without administrative support, they do a great job," she says.
The principal has been aided by three-year-old changes to Seattle's teacher contract. Individual schools can now hire teachers without regard to seniority in order to meet the needs of their curriculum. He also appears to have the confidence of his employers. Superintendent Joseph Olchefske has told complaining parents that he has faith in his reform principal and his program. The district is encouraged by the changes Barton is making at Gatewood, and "no one is without their critics,"says Olchefske.
When you consider the other problems with principals Olchefske may have, it doesn't seem Barton is likely to become a top priority anytime soon. After resigning in early 1998, district personnel director Tom Weeks told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that one-quarter of the 96 Seattle school principals are "quite weak." Yet former Superintendent John Stanford refused to make any demotions, preferring instead to shuffle good principals to weak schools (a move which also arguably saddled well-run schools with new, weak principals). As an administrator who has worked to improve his staff, weed out poor teachers, and implement a new, ambitious curriculum, Barton easily outshines Seattle's weaker principals.
And reform-minded teachers such as Butler argue that Barton's future is an important indicator for principals who want to make changes. "If people [who] are willing to make things change get their neck lopped off, you just know what that's going to do to the Seattle school system."
