Stacey loftin seattle

Pat Sander will take on a new, as yet undefined, role with the district. The district also outlined other new appointments Tuesday. Nick Perry: or nperry seattletimes. Share story. By Seattle Times staff. So many of my memories from growing up in View Ridge involved the Loftin clan and I remember more than a few times of thinking of Ben as my "other dad".

From what I heard at his memorial today, he seemed to carry that passion and involvement into his classroom. As I think about my 2 daughters preparing for school I just hope that they are fortunate enough to have a teacher that is as caring as Ben who they will always remember as such a positive role model.

You are all in our thoughts during this difficult time. Love, Kirsten. He was my 5th grade teacher in Imagine my delight to see him 25 years later as a substitute teacher for my daughter's class at Clyde Hill! He even remembered my name after all of those years! He touched the lives of so many people, and I am especially glad that he touched mine. We are so sorry to hear of Ben's death. He taught Jim and Michelle at Clyde Hill and was one of their favorites.

Such a special teacher. Ben was a special friend to both of us and our family. I have fond memories of coaching Little League baseball and Church League basketball with him. He always showed a lot of interest in our children's lives and was a great example for them.

We have 2 school teachers in the family who thought of him as a role model. We are all going to miss him very much. Ben Loftin was one of my children's favorite teachers at Clyde Hill starting with Linda in I was a room mother and helper so I got to know Ben very well. We all believe he was one of the most caring, inspirational teachers and a wonderful person.

Whenever we went to a Fair, we had to go see Mr. Loftin and get a scone before we did anything else. We were so saddened and shocked to hear of his death. I saw him last year when he was subbing at my grandson's school and we had such a great time catching up on each other's children's lives. Please accept our deepest sympathies, and know that he will live on forever in our hearts. With all our love. I know we will be sharing stories of "Wild Ben" with Scott, Natasha, Nathan and my own family for years to come.

Growing up as a friend of Scott's, I have fond memories of cruising View Ridge on church paper drives in ol' Yellow, the Loftins' monstrous yellow station wagon.

Ben always had a smile and a full refrigerator of cold pop for us kids and, when we got older of course, pop switched to beer and a swisher sweet cigar as well. Ben would always provide me and the other TV reporters that I'd bring by the booth more scones than we could eat. Everyone in the newsroom loved "Ben, the Scone Man!

Julie, of course, has many fond memories of Ben as well, many from holidays at Ocean Shores. In , Ben was a special guest in Julie's class instructing the kids in proper scone-making technique. Scone breakfasts have become tradition at our house because of Ben, just as I imagine they have for many others.

Ben was truly one of the hardest-working, kindest and most gentle men I've ever met. He made sure to pass those qualities on to Scott before he left. This is a great loss, but I think we should all be comforted knowing that Wild Ben's memory will be carried on by all of us and the wonderful stories he has provided.

Dear Pat and family, We were sorry to learn of Ben's death. Our children went to Medina School, but we always heard wonderful things from our Clyde Hill friends about the great teacher, "Mr.

After a bit of questioning, I learned that this special sub was Mr. Ben was making a differnce in student's lives to the very end of his own life. How fortunate that so many chidren could have such a very special teacher. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this difficult time. Fondly, Don and Mary Lewison. Pat and Stacey and family: I wish there were words to use that would make things better. Or a magic wand that would take the hurt and emptiness away.

My thoughts and prayers are all I have and I give them all to you. Love, Nancy Neisinger N2. Loftin was my brother Charlies fifth grade teacher. He was my reading teacher in 4th grade. He was an amazing teacher. He made kids want to learn. I just talked to him two weeks ago when he was substituting for Mrs.

Guerke at Clyde Hill. I told the whole class how great he was and they were lucky to have him there. I also remember going to the Puyallup Fair and my Mom would tell us how the scones were from Mr.

I am so grateful that we have been lucky enough to be a part of Mr. Loftins life. Our sincere heartfelt wishes to Pat, Stacey and Scott, their families, and to the Wise and Loftin families for the loss of one of the finest individuals we have known. That's just wrong. A lot of confidential conversations occur in the office that parents should not be party to.

What kind of chaotic school was Coe anyway? Give Enfield a chance? Where does that come from? How can you say that after what she has just done firing Floe? I came across this article about Coe's ex? It would kill me to see kids outside my classroom, looking in, crying, because they were assigned to a different class for the year.

Kids sobbing outside her classroom because she wasn't their teacher? Sounds a bit like TFA hyperbole to me. With all due respect, what are you bringing to Coe? Tell us who you are and how you make decisions as a leader.

Like Mr. Elliott, I have a strong sense of social justice. I am keenly aware of my responsibility to meet each child academically, socially and behaviorally where they are right now, and push them to the next level. I also think it is important that we take a good hard look at ourselves as a school and ask if kids are learning because of us, or in spite of us? Test scores at Coe have been status quo for the past few years. Coe has some of the highest test scores in the district among elementary schools, so if that's the only measure Loftin was taking, Coe's "status quo" was actually pretty good -- although I think she meant to say "stagnant," which is still a weird thing to say about a strong, well-supported, successful and popular school.

If she used that 'learning in spite of us' line on Coe's teachers, I can imagine this was not received as an endearing comment. I hope her assignment to Coe was not another case of the district tampering with something that was not broken.

Having seen the district interfere with and weaken other strong, successful schools and programs, this story sets off some alarm bells. I wrote the article referenced above by Seattle-Ed It's so weird to see your words lifted out and then twisted thinly-veiled nastiness about TFA and district tampering. Yes, I read this blog enough to know the disdain with which TFA is held among most regulars here. It is a cheap shot to tar her with that brush. I have no idea what to think about Tate Loftin, her abrupt departure and the concern it has caused.

And I am a long-time parent at this school. What I do know is that Coe is a warm and welcoming learning community with a dedicated staff and supportive parental group. We are going to be fine. I don't know the story about Floe, so I won't get involved. My last words. Mary, I'm not twisting anything. I am merely remarking that I found Loftin's comments a bit odd.

She uses some common ed reform jargon "status quo," a focus on test scores and tells a story about her apparently brilliant teaching that I've heard before, mostly from TFA-ers including former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee -- who was forced to back down from her statements about her own teaching brilliance when evidence proved that false.

That's why that reference came to mind. One might also ask why Loftin didn't remain a teacher if that was story true? Honestly, maybe teaching, rather than management, is her strong suit. I certainly hope Coe will be fine.

So it was an unfairly demanding year for him. Now I am chagrined to hear that this entire year under Loftin has been problematic for Coe.

So that adds up to two years of disruption by the district of a strong successful school. I'm asking why. And as a Coe parent, you should too. My family and I are involved members of the Coe family. It spiraled out of control to the point he chose to take charge of a new school.

The amazing personality some saw from Mr. Elliott was adored by many, others saw through the smoke. Loftin did have big shoes to fill. She came into the school with many folks not happy that Mr.

Elliott left. Was that her fault? No, put yourself in that situation. However, there were many people who try to reach out to her to no avail. Stringent rules were set into place and while some were reasonable, the presentation of said rules was questionable.

However, the connection made between Ms. Loftin, the students, some staff, and families was hard to see. As of now, no one knows. Take two Again SP Seattle-Ed nasty speculation without any basis in fact. Did you know for a fact that Loftin is a TFA-er or ed reformer? If so, then provide the proof. If not, then keep your speculation to yourself, please. Oh, and I couldn't agree more with Trying to Understand that it would be good to have some closure on this. A POV from the.

This blog seems an opportune way to communicate to parents. I have done my duty by e-mailing Nancy to give my historical perspective on Coe and this particular school year. Coe has an overall above average teaching staff with great parents and wondering kids.

Before Tate left, she came to me to talk about many things and to try to get a perspective on events the previous few weeks. But the following speculation might be accurate, or might not. The end truth does not always emanate out from the people involved.

We may never publicly know the truth. Tate might have reached a breaking point with the continuous mostly well-intentioned advice from staff and parents. We might someday know the true story, or we might not. Did she come in with an agenda and the teachers at the school pushed back?

It sounds like the school allowed a lot of freedom to studenst sit whereever in the lunch-room and parents hang out in the office that Stacy Loftin tried to change but ultimately it sounds like it was the harsh words of teachers that drove Tate out.

I wonder how she tried to change teachers? Maybe Coe is an example of teachers pushing back against the Ed. Reformers, maybe? If it is, I salute the teachers of Coe.

Needless to say, being in the position of a principle is a pretty thankless job, as they have the task of trying to please not only the district administrators, but the staff and the parents also.

For example, I do know that many parents were unhappy at the start of the year when it was announced that students could no longer roam the halls and classrooms before school started while teachers were busy trying to plan for the day. This was a policy that the staff had desired for years, and Ms Loftin went to bat for them by implementing it.

Needless to say, this did not make her popular with many parents. The staff was told that the administration knew nothing. When asked why they were waiting so long to make that statement, Ms Coogan was evasive… and no explanation was forthcoming. It was obvious that the puzzle pieces were not fitting together. So the teachers, staff and community have been left in the dark until after the May 15 deadline….

Meanwhile, because the district remains mute, the rumors and the blame have all fallen on the shoulders of Ms Loftin. A case in point of the blame falling on Tate's shoulders comes from one previous email And it could also be said that Ms Loftin did not abandon her post, but that the district abandoned her.

Coe's situation is not so different from some of the "successful" schools with very involved parents and strong fund-raising PTSA. There is a trade off when schools rely so much on parent volunteers for office help, tutoring, classroom assistants, and fundraising in some schools for FTE positions. You do loose some of the professionalism and confidentiality that exist if a school had adequate funding for paid staff.

It is difficult to control the loose lips of well meaning volunteers. It is not unusual to hear random discussions among parents about certain students or speculation about teaching staff and building issues. We have staff with children attending the same school they work in. As a result, there are friendships among staff, parents and their children. Generally, this should not pose a problem in good times. But when there are building issues, these relationships become part of the problem where certain groups of parents appear privvy to info or have access to stafff's ears while other parents do not.

So what appears to be a strong school may in fact have a weak foundation of community building. You need a smart, mature, and experienced principal who can lead, unite, and maintain a balance of professionalism and a welcome atmoshphere in a school. SSD parent. Just another day of staff changes. Cathy's consultant contracts and income from products she has sold the district continue to flourish under Enfield.

This year Feldman is serving as a literacy expert, and her next contract is already being planned so next year she'll serve as a math expert. Have literacy scores increased -- no Was her contract award an act of cronyism or was there an actual competitive bidding process before this contract was awarded?

Will this come up when the auditors begin looking through the books? Imagine what could've been done with the hundreds of thousands spent on training.

What if we'd served the students directly instead? Would that have been a better use of these funds? All of the major staff changes going on are disconcerting for many reasons.

Especially coming from someone with no real track record of successful leadership. Does that mean Kimberly Kinzer is back in the principal mix? Betcha Bagley would love to have her back. I didn't. But her story about being such an amazing teacher that kids who didn't get assigned to her class stood crying outside her door and implying that the other teachers in the school were not as good as she demonstrated an unappealing bit of hubris that is common among the current ed reform crowd, with TFA-ers the most common culprits of this.

But if the story is true, then it's a shame she didn't remain a teacher, because inspired and inspriring teachers are hugely valuable. As for the ed reform part, Loftin was hired by Goodloe-Johnson, who was very much a corporate ed reformer. Loftin said some things in that interview that indicated she may have shared that mindset.

But what it really sounds like is that Loftin was probably not the right fit for the job at Coe. My main point is, with various other schools in the district that do need attention, that are chronically under-enrolled, have students that are perhaps struggling more than others, why doesn't the district focus on helping them, instead of meddling with -- and arguably weakening -- schools that are functioning well?

Now Coe has a leadership vacuum and families losing confidence in the school. It's sad, really. The Susan Enfield - Cathy Feldman connection. It's about some questionable practices in Portland involving a consultant named Cathy Feldman, and her connection to then-School Superintendent Vicki Phillips and Phillips' underling, Susan Enfield.