Larry Nyland

In Marysville, a "work in progress"

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County Bureau

After a seven-week teachers strike in 2003, a $2.5 million budget shortfall, poor test scores, crowded schools and a demoralized teaching staff, Superintendent Larry Nyland said he has needed all of his 33 years' experience as an educator and administrator to get the Marysville School District back on track.

At his office in district headquarters last week, Nyland described his leadership since taking over last July as a "work in progress."

But he said he's proud of the district's emphasis on improved student achievement, optimistic that a proposed $170 million measure to build schools will be approved by voters Sept. 20 and pleased that negotiations with the teachers union have produced a tentative agreement.

"We've taken on key issues and hopefully made things better," said Nyland, who was the director of academic improvement in the Highline School District of South King County before arriving in Marysville.

Critics charge that there isn't much evidence yet of improved student learning. Scores from the 2005 Iowa Test of Basic Skills show little improvement in reading and math from the previous year among sixth- and ninth-graders, and only a slight gain among third-graders.

Skeptics also wonder whether Nyland's optimism amounts to a feel-good gloss over persistent problems.

"Everybody's happy, but are we doing a better job with students?" asked Bob Zigler, a former Marysville parent who served on the district's facilities committee.

Zigler questioned whether Nyland can stand up to the teachers union, which in 2003 had the highest pay of any district in Washington except Everett. The terms of the proposed three-year teachers contract won't be released until union members vote Aug. 27, leaving citizens wary about whether the district can afford the deal.

Zigler said Nyland's praise of teachers and the teachers' praise of him, coupled with the kudos Nyland regularly bestows on employees in his monthly superintendent's notes, amounts to a "love fest."

But teachers counter that being treated as partners and professionals is a welcome change from the previous administration of Linda Whitehead, in which they said they were painted as the district's enemies.

"We needed a love fest," said Toni Aldrich, a teacher at Shoultes Elementary School and an 18-year Marysville veteran. "We came from feeling we weren't respected as professionals, from being told that good things weren't happening in the classroom. Dr. Nyland has built a sense of pride and community. It's no longer us against them."

Aldrich and other teachers say they've been re-energized by the district's focus on literacy. District administrators, new reading specialists, principals and two teachers from each school attended weekly training sessions during the school year to learn strategies to improve students' reading fluency and comprehension. Professional development has continued in summer and will be expanded to more teachers in the coming school year.

School Board member Michael Kundu, part of a new majority voted into office since the strike, said Nyland has focused on the district's most pressing problems: relationships and academic results.

He noted that the district began informal negotiations with the teachers union early in the school year, although the contract wasn't set to expire until August. He said he thinks the literacy initiative will boost test scores and classroom performance in the coming years.

"We think he's doing an admirable job," Kundu said.

If there's a weakness in Nyland's performance, Kundu said, it has been the district's official communications, including newsletters, Web-site updates and informational material for a bond measure that narrowly failed in May. Kundu, who manages communications for Naval Station Everett, characterized the materials as "rambling publications that look like they were made on a home computer."

Nyland eliminated the position of communications director when he took over, partly to save money and partly because the former director, Judy Parker, was closely associated with Whitehead's tenure and the strike. Nyland has taken over her duties.

But what Nyland's publications lack in polish, Kundu said, they make up for in sincerity.

"I think people in the district appreciate the contrast from the previous administration's glossy largess," he said.

Nyland has regularly put in 10- and 12-hour days since moving to the district and worked even longer hours during the bond campaign.

He said that, although the work has often been exhausting, it has also been exhilarating. And Nyland feels at home in his new community.

"It feels like a good fit. I'm glad to be here," he said.

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com

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