ExtraOrdinary Districts: Discussion of Seaford, Delaware

To talk about the progress Seaford has made in the last few years (episode #4) Ed Trust brought together Sonja Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, author Richard Kahlenberg, and Sharon Brittingham, a Seaford native who is a former principal and today coaches principals throughout Delaware. Moderated by podcast creator Karin Chenoweth, they had a wide-ranging discussion about reading instruction, school and district leadership, racial and economic integration, and equity and how they all work together to improve schools and districts.

Sharon Brittingham

Sharon Brittingham is a long-time educator and native of Seaford, Delaware. She taught in Seaford for more than a decade and moved to Indian River School District to become principal of Frankford Elementary School (now John M. Clayton elementary School). Under her leadership, Frankford went from being one of the lowest performing schools in the state to one of the highest performing. It was recognized by The Education Trust as a “Dispelling the Myth” school in 2005 and was featured in It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2007). She now coaches principals throughout Delaware as senior associate director of Delaware Academy for School Leadership.

Richard Kahlenberg

Richard Kahlenberg is one of the leading voices advocating for the socio-economic integration of schools and author and editor of many books, including All Together Now: Creating Middle Class Schools through Public School Choice. He is director of K-12 equity and Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation.

Sonja Santelises

Sonja Santelises is CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools. She has been a teacher, a principal, and the chief academic officer of both Boston and Baltimore. She is also the former vice-president for K-12 at The Education Trust, where she led its work in policy, practice, and research.