Coffee, tea and superintendent

Seattle Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas' monthly kaffeeklatsches represent a shrewd move by a beleaguered schools chief who needs to get out more.

Manhas rotates his gatherings to different neighborhoods. By the end of the year, he ought to have a better view of the city's 100 schools than anyone else. Make no mistake about the significance of this.

Manhas has been low-key — too much so — since his ill-fated school-closures plan last year. City residents were nearly frantic with news about the School District, from its financial decay to its academic challenges.

At one point, public officials — from King County Executive Ron Sims to Mayor Greg Nickels — were weighing in on what needed to be done with the schools.

Less-heard-from was Manhas. That, thankfully, is changing.

A visible and transparent leadership is essential, no less so in our public schools. Parents have lingering concerns that still need to be addressed, including the status of safe drinking water in the schools and the district's delicate financial condition.

A critical issue for college-bound high-school students is the district's stubborn refusal to offer six classroom periods a day. Effective high schools strive for six periods but often fall short because state funding pays for five classes a day.

The School Board will take up this critical issue in a work session next Wednesday. Parents will undoubtedly be on hand to voice their opinions. But Manhas' coffees make it just as easy — and no less effective — to appeal directly to him.

Now that Seattle has a new chief academic officer — Carla Santorno, a Denver Public Schools administrator — Manhas can concentrate fully on leading the district, including being its public face.

A higher public profile is good for Manhas, a competent schools chief who deserves to continue at his job. More importantly, an open and accessible leader is good for a city that has shown time and again it cares greatly about its schools.

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company