Superintendent scolds parents over ‘unacceptable' response to new principal

Parents packed the board room at the John Stanford Center on Wednesday afternoon with a host of demands for Seattle Public Schools related to hiring protocols, technology in classrooms and support for Native students.

Before opening the meeting to public comment, Superintendent Ben Shuldiner, School Board members and a district official addressed the recent controversy and parent response to Principal Anitra Jones' appointment to lead Adams Elementary School in Ballard.

The Adams controversy loomed large at the meeting because in the eyes of many parents present, it represented the first test of Shuldiner's promises, after taking the helm of the state's largest district in February, to bring more transparency and accountability to Seattle Public Schools.

Earlier this month, the district appointed Jones to be the new principal at Adams Elementary, shocking community members who were surprised she still had a job after an onslaught of complaints arose in 2024, including allegations she created a "toxic" learning environment at Rainier View Elementary in Southeast Seattle, and a state agency's determination that she unlawfully discriminated against staff.

Board President Gina Topp spoke directly to the Adams community, several of whom were present at the meeting.

"This is a very difficult, scary situation and (the Adams) community deserves transparency and answers to their questions," Topp said. "We know this has been an emotional process, and it is clear from the testimony list tonight and a recent community meeting at Adams … that there are strong feelings and concerns."

She reminded attendees that the School Board is not involved in school-level hiring and placement decisions - that authority lies with the superintendent.

District 1 Director Liza Rankin requested that the board conduct an audit of the district's human resources protocols, including timelines of and investigations, hiring decisions and leaves.

"We are paying close attention," Topp concluded, before asking Shuldiner to recap Monday's meeting at Adams Elementary, where parents met Jones for the first time in an often-tense conversation that continued until nearly 10 p.m.

Shuldiner thanked the Adams community for showing up and asking critical questions about the decision to appoint Jones. He then spoke bluntly about how he's been struck by the tone and conduct of Adams parents at the meeting and in emails to him. He said the behavior made him "sad" and "uneasy," and called Monday night's frequent interruptions of both him and Jones "unacceptable."

Shuldiner said he was concerned about the "righteousness" Adams parents displayed Monday night. "It worries me because it shows not a willingness to truly engage, not a willingness to really listen."

" (Adams) is the seventh-richest school in the district, the people in the audience were, at least presented, almost as all white, and you had a Black principal saying these things and being interrupted," Shuldiner said. He described what he felt was a microaggression at Monday's meeting, when a parent told Jones she was speaking too slowly.

"It worries me that that is acceptable," Shuldiner said. "I'm concerned because I feel like this is how it's been."

Many of the audience members who were Black applauded.

"It's the Seattle way," Shuldiner said he'd been told by others as he prepared to step into the role at SPS, after five years as superintendent of Lansing School District in Michigan. "People get righteous, say their things, and we just say OK. We can't do that anymore. If that's the Seattle way, I want a new Seattle way."

He concluded with a call to action.

"What I ask is that we move forward together, we don't prejudge and we recognize how we act in certain public spaces and what we do and how we say it," Shuldiner said. "I know we can do this together."

Bev Redmond, chief of staff and public affairs for SPS, said that as a fellow Black woman, she felt the way Jones was treated was "insulting," "undignified" and "discouraging for the Seattle that I had grown to know."

"We can disagree on presentation, on facts," Redmond told the crowd. "We can speak with passion, but we should never be asked to surrender our dignity and be treated as less than human."

"If our response, Superintendent Shuldiner, on Monday was perceived as rude and insensitive, I deeply apologize," said Kerry Lynd, the vice president of Adams Elementary's PTA, during public comments. "We want to speak to the merits of our concerns."

She reiterated concern that Shuldiner asked Adams parents to document any issues that arise with Jones as a clear indicator that he doesn't trust the district's process to hold principals accountable.

Adams parents peppered the meeting's public comments, repeating their demands that Shuldiner not place Jones in a principalship until the district further investigates the past allegations against her.

Two teachers who used to work at Rainier View Elementary under Jones said they were disappointed by Shuldiner's remarks, which felt like the superintendent was "scolding the community." The teachers spoke to The Seattle Times anonymously out of fear of retaliation. They both still work at schools in the district.

"I'm disappointed," one of the educators who was listening to the meeting online said. "I feel like the superintendent inherited this issue, but it is up to him now to deal with this and deal with it in a way that really helps the people who work for him - the teachers and educators in that building and the Adams community."

The largest share of public comments Wednesday came from parents concerned about what their children can do on district devices, including watching YouTube videos, playing games, searching harmful content, watching pornography, talking to strangers and using artificial intelligence to write their essays.

"Children do not need EdTech products to be successful in the future," said Emily Cherkin, an educator, advocate and SPS parent, using the colloquial term to refer to educational technology. "The best preparation for a digital future is an analog childhood and an education built on people, paper and pencils."

Parents demanded more transparency around what their child is actually doing on the devices they use at school and what data they are consenting to share with companies when students use district devices. They also voiced concerns that safety features installed on student laptops for schools disappear once students bring the laptops home.

Parents, and some students, begged for a stricter cellphone policy that bans phones from schools altogether. Washington is notably behind other states that have outright banned cellphones in public schools.

A group of parents advocating for what they call "intentional tech" also introduced a petition that asks the district to set limits on EdTech use and screen time in classes, in addition to banning cellphones.

Los Angeles Unified School District recently passed a resolution barring screens for kindergarten and first grade students and capping usage for older students.

Experts have linked excessive screen time to academic, physical and emotional harm, including anxiety and depression, executive function disorders, eye disorders, sleep loss, neck pain and screen addiction.

The Urban Native Education Alliance was also present at the meeting, and called on the district to reopen Indian Heritage High School, which closed around 2014, and to provide more data on enrollment, graduation and performance within Indian Education Huchoosedah programs.

The alliance also requested more collaboration and support from the district at the dedicated Native education school in North Seattle's Licton Springs neighborhood, which serves Indigenous students from kindergarten through college.

The alliance also asked to establish a Native advisory council to the superintendent, regular community listening sessions and to co-develop restorative justice practices to address past harms to Native students and families.

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 11:32 PM.