Building Equity by Building Relationships

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WHEN FAMILIES in the Highline Public Schools community disagree with a district decision, they sometimes quote the Highline promise at school board meetings: “Every student in Highline Public Schools is known by name, strength and need and graduates prepared for the future they choose.”

That pledge is “deeply ingrained” in the system, says Susan Enfield, now in her ninth year as superintendent of schools in Burien, Wash.

“Our promise is now so pervasive that they’re actually using it as a way to hold us accountable,” says Enfield, who helped develop the promise. “We’re not making that happen for kids every day and we know that. But we show up the next day and try to do better. But it is hard because at its core, that promise is a commitment to equity.”

Relationship building is a priority for Enfield.

“She lives and breathes it,” says Gil Parsons, principal of Sylvester Middle School. “She is really effective at personalizing relation-ships with principals. … (and has) a real authentic kind of way about our children and our families.”

Enfield began her career as an English and journalism teacher in Cupertino, Calif. She never intended to become an administrator until she attended the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University.

“The decision to apply and go through that program changed my life and that’s not an exaggeration,” Enfield says. “It changed how I thought about the work, it changed the work that I did.”

Anne Baunach, executive director of the Highline Schools Foundation, says in a district of 19,000 students, she’s amazed Enfield can call on students by name. Plus, she appreciates Enfield’s commitment to others.

“She always has time for a call, a text, anything,” Baunach says. “Whenever you meet with Susan, you feel like you’re the most important person in her world right then.”

Her colleagues suggest Enfield’s greatest asset is her authenticity. “There are no games being played with Susan,” Baunach says. “What you see is what you get. She will share the good and the bad. I think she’s well-respected because of that, and people want to be part of her team.”

Enfield says she concentrates on making the tough decisions she believes will positively impact the students in Highline’s schools. She calls this responsibility “hugely inspiring.” One administrator says her leadership “inspires hope, heart and humanity.”

When she first came to Highline, Enfield says, only half the students were enrolled in full-day kindergarten, and the district wasn’t investing in professional development for kindergarten teachers. In her first year, she made tuition-free kindergarten available for every child.

“[I had] a team that worked really hard to make it happen and teachers who stepped up and said, ‘This is really hard, but I want to do it,’” she says.

Additionally, Enfield advocates for providing broadband access for all students. She says, “every child needs to be connected to the internet. Otherwise … we’re not providing a free, appropriate education for every child.”

During her tenure as superintendent, four-year graduation rates have increased from 62 percent in 2013 to 83 percent in 2019, the district has created six dual language programs in schools, and participation in Advanced Placement courses is up 50 percent.

“Equity is hard to achieve because not everyone gets the same,” Enfield says. “It is not for the faint of heart, this work. But it’s some of the best work I think that happens on the planet.”