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friday, February 17, 2012
School board told not to rush supt. search By GABRIELLE NOMURA Bellevue Reporter
Slow down the superintendent search and don’t rush into hiring Seattle Schools interim superintendent Susan Enfield, was the message to the Bellevue School Board uttered by a handful of the 30 teachers and parents Tuesday night at the Wilburton Instructional Center. The feedback was part of a public input sessions before the board will decide whether or not to hire Enfield. The board had discussed an accelerated search process after discovering that Enfield was also a finalist for a position with the Highline School District.
Several parents said a desire to live in Washington and lead Bellevue schools long-term were important to them. On that note, some raised a concern that Susan Enfield Enfield has moved around in her career. From 1999 to present, the longest Enfield has stayed in one position was as deputy superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver (August 2006 to June 2009). However, Jacque Coe, spokeswoman for Bellevue public schools, emphasized that
the board also has received a lot of positive feedback about Enfield. Coe pointed to the first public input session held at Odle Middle School, attended by a handful of teachers and parents. Some attendees praised Enfield’s qualifications and urged the board not to wait too long in the search process, as other districts want to hire her, Coe said. At the second session Tuesday night, Stephen Miller, former Bellevue Education Association president and a current Odle teacher, said it was essential that the new superintendent have a proven track record for working well with staff. “Don’t just choose someone who says the
right thing during the interview” he said, addressing the board. Former school board president Judy Bushnell, who stepped down from the board in 2010 after 18 years, attended the event. Bushnell, who helped bring in former superintendent Mike Riley, called the search for Amalia Cudeiro’s replacement “the most important decision you will make as a board.” Staff and community members are encouraged to email the board at board@ bsd405.org with their input. Please put ‘Supt. Search’ in the subject line. The school board will likely publish its findings from these input sessions after mid-winter break, which is Feb. 20-24.
Bellevue facility brings beach volleyball inside By Nat Levy Bellevue Reporter
Bellevue is known for a lot of things diversity, good food, its bustling downtown, but sunny days of beach volleyball isn’t one of them. But in true Pacific Northwest fashion, a couple of Washington natives have adapted the game to fight this area’s grey existence. Brian Park and Brian Boyer opened up East Beach Volleyball late last year, an indoor beach volleyball retail company and academy. The facility features three courts in the warehouse location on Northeast 116th Avenue, a store area and a tropical style where players can cool off with a Gatorade after a tough game. The store has been a plan for Boyer and Park for years. Previously, with a store on Alki Beach, business didn’t last all year round. Seattle is not replete with beach volleyball courts, and even then, players have to
brave the traffic, and parking issues at Alki or Golden Gardens in Ballard. “The biggest thing is there’s not a whole lot of public courts for beach volleyball,” said Boyer, who played volleyball during his time at the Naval Academy. “To really put in a nice, quality court costs a lot of money, and there’s not a lot of public money there for developing volleyball courts.” So Boyer, who has been playing volleyball since 2001, and Park decided to fill that void. East Beach operates as more of a training facility than a recreational space, though open gyms happen on Friday evenings. Boyer, along with three contracted instructors run several group classes as well as individual sessions. They teach players the game, from the basic concepts, to advanced skills. They can also help players get up to speed with a limited gym and workout supervision. Though the academy doesn’t See beach, 3
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Brian Boyer dplayed volleyball in the Naval Academy, among other places before cofounding East Beach Volleyball Academy. chad coleman, Bellevue Reporter
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