Inside Sonoma schools: Meet Karen Strong and Bruce Abbott

With the hiring of a new permanent superintendent for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District still months away, much of the heavy lifting in the running of the district has fallen upon the shoulders of its two associate superintendents – who are both new to the district themselves.

Sonoma Index-Tribune Education Editor Lorna Sheridan sat down with Karen Strong, who oversees curriculum and instruction, and Bruce Abbott, who oversees the finance department, to get their take on the challenges and opportunities Sonoma’s schools face in the days and months ahead.

How does Sonoma Valley differ from previous districts you’ve worked at?

Strong: Sonoma is smaller, which was something that I was purposefully looking for. It was small enough that I knew we could make some significant changes within a reasonable amount of time. And it’s a tighter-knit community that is interested in what’s happening in our schools and in supporting the schools. Also, the teaching staff is more experienced than in previous districts where I had been and that’s a great asset as a district.

Abbott: Because of the financial distress, there’s a great openness to change here, which is a wonderful opportunity. The other difference is the demographics. There is some tremendous wealth here and some tremendous poverty and it seems to be that you’re almost in one or the other. There’s not a big middle. We’re not the only district in this situation, but it’s a little bit of an unusual mix compared to other towns.

Strong: It’s similar demographically to Napa, which is the district I came from. I think one of the key differences is the level of community involvement here because of the smaller size of Sonoma. Napa is a little larger, a little bit more impersonal.

What keeps you up at night?

Abbott: The financial situation is going to be a lot of work, but it is all very doable. I think the bigger, longer-term issue is student achievement. That’s going to be much longer road to success. I would hope by next year we’re going to say, “OK, we’ve got a financial plan. We know what to do.” My bet is that it’s going to take longer to get our hands around the student achievement issue.

Strong: What keeps me up at night is the fact that a large percentage of our kids can’t read at grade level and can’t do math at grade level. Is this a resource issue or is it more just the need to allocate funds the right way? What I do know is that there are great districts that run at the funding level we have. Sometimes we think that money solves all of our issues when it’s really about innovation. Innovation is thinking differently in our current reality, right?

What are we doing right in Sonoma?

Strong: I think our teachers are extremely dedicated. We have good leaders in place. We have parents who care deeply. We have the raw materials here.

Abbott: I am very happy not to find a lot of inner conflict. People seem to work together well and like working with each other to resolve issues.

You both have a lot of experience with school boards. If you were to write a primer, what’s their role?

Abbott: They are not a board of educators. They’re there to represent the community’s interests, to allow the community to have a voice. The school board is primarily a governance job. Hire the superintendent, approve a budget and provide guidance. When I was a trustee (at the Dixie School District in San Rafael), I always thought it was mainly direction setting. You’re not running the district… you’re not trained in curriculum, you’re not trained in budget, you’re not trained in a lot of things.

Strong: I would absolutely agree with Bruce. It’s about making sure that we have the community’s voice in our ear, that we are paying attention to the specific unique needs of this community.

What attributes would you like to see in SVUSD’s new superintendent?

Strong: I think leadership is about being receptive to ideas and knowing how to respond to the ideas that you do receive, acknowledging and implementing. I think another key is pragmatism… someone who works in reality. And at the same time someone who is imaginative, right?

Abbott: We agree on imaginative. The other two (attributes I look for are) decisive and organized. Those are two things I appreciate in a leader.

If you’re going to feel good about accomplishing one big thing this year, what would it be?

Abbott: That one’s easy for me - developing a sustainable financial model for this district. And knowing what staffing we can support with the revenue we have coming in. And the model has to look down the road quite a bit, at least three years but preferably five.

Let’s get to the point where we can spend less time in board meetings and in newspaper articles talking about the budget and more time talking about student achievement. Let’s get Karen in front of the room and me in the back. The finances shouldn’t be driving the district, student learning should be.

Strong: For me, it’s helping everyone… students, parents, teachers, community members, to understand and know our district goals. What we’re trying to do in our schools and how we’re doing on those goals.

What do you wish parents could understand better about the work being done in the district?

Abbott: There is a trust issue with the community… certainly for the folks who come to our public meetings. And we’re going to have to build that trust over time. Give them good information and follow through and do what we say we’re going to do. I want them to have a clear understanding of the finances, not feel there’s something funny going on.

Strong: It’s the same on the curriculum side. It’s trust and credibility. Let’s peel back the curtains so they can see that everyone is doing the best they can with the best interests of the kids at heart. We have some things we have to fix. But if we can have some optimism and trust that, together, we can make changes for the benefit of all kids.

Contact Lorna at ourschools@sonomanews.com.