'I hope people see beyond rumor,' says Superintendent Juneau as she looks to her exit from Seattle Schools

When Seattle Superintendent Denise Juneau exits her role in June 2021, it will come after heavy criticism from within the district and controversial reports of misconduct by teachers and administrators.

While speaking to such criticism on KUOW, Juneau readily touts a series of successes under her leadership.

Superintendent Juneau spoke with KUOW's Bill Radke on The Record, a day after she announced she is resigning at the end of her contract.

“I hope people see beyond rumor and innuendo and rhetoric that flies around and looks at the work we are doing, looks at the numbers because it’s been super strong and moving forward in the right direction," she said.

Juneau's announcement this week comes on the heels of another startling story out of the district.

KUOW reported that school officials at a northeast Seattle elementary school opted to respond to a second grader’s behavioral issues by frequently locking him in an enclosed area outside, referred to as “the cage.”

The Special Education PTSA took a vote of no confidence in the district after the news broke. But it's the latest in a string of stories and criticism of the district and Juneau herself. KUOW has also reported on a trend of teachers facing little disciplinary action after concerning conduct.

This week, The Seattle Times reported that Seattle School Board President Chandra Hampson did not believe there were enough votes on the board to renew Juneau’s contract.

She said she felt that Juneau “lacks the skills to effectively manage the district’s operational challenges and respond to feedback from community members, particularly around allegations of racism, abuse and misconduct in schools.”

That echoes sentiments from the local chapter of the NAACP which also told the Times that Juneau failed to make progress on items they’ve asked for, including better outcomes for Black studies, and districtwide ethnic studies classes.

The NAACP said the district had lost Black men in leadership since Juneau came on board and said the district has failed to reach students of color during pandemic shutdowns.

Juneau said she has been meeting with the local NAACP chapter and discussing these issues. She said she feels great progress has been made on all these concerns, particularly the plan to implement an ethnic study program across the district. She said she has also spoken with the school board president, but was unaware of how the School Board as a whole would vote on continuing her contract.

“There’s a lot of things swirling around and a lot of opinions," Juneau said. "I just stick with the work that we are doing and look at our numbers."

About those numbers, she said: “We’ve had a 5.5% increase in students of color graduation rates over the last two years...

"Fifty-five percent of people who we’ve hired as central administrators are people of color this last year," she continued.

The School Board

Another factor that has played a role in Juneau's exit is a divide between her and the School Board — a factor she could not deny when speaking with KUOW.

“When I looked out toward the next three years I just didn’t feel it was something that I could commit to," she said.

"The current Board and I have been challenged," she said. "We’ve been working really hard. I think we have similar philosophies, the same values, but we really didn’t have an opportunity to find our balance and really gel together."

Juneau notes that the pandemic has prevented her and the board from meeting in person and having a closer working relationship, especially after new members joined the board. She said that meeting eye-to-eye for discussions is valuable.

“We got thrown into a pandemic and everything went remote and was super disruptive, so I just think we never found our groove and that just takes away a dynamic that has s huge impact."

Juneau said she values Seattle Public Schools staff and the board and hopes the next superintendent feels the same way.

“What I hope for with Seattle Public Schools is that at some point they get some longevity in leadership so things can be set in place," she said.