FERNDALE — As a long-time teacher, administrator and parent, Ferndale School District superintendent candidate Dana Rosenbach has seen how school districts run from almost every angle.
Rosenbach spoke to the Ferndale community about her belief in meeting students where they’re at and providing for their individual needs during a forum on March 23. She also emphasized the importance as a leader to be open and available to conversations with anyone in the community.
“In order to improve the learning outcomes for all our kids is to understand where each of our students are starting.” — Dana Rosenbach
During her opening statement, she relayed her personal experience of her middle child, born at 23 weeks, and the struggles he faced in his early years. By working with the school district and meeting his specialized needs, he found success and recently graduated from a master’s program in Scotland.
From her life as a parent to her time working in school districts in Florida, Virginia, California and Washington — each with their own unique roadblocks — she’s come to define equity based on the outcomes for students.
“In order to improve the learning outcomes for all our kids is to understand where each of our students are starting,” Rosenbach said.
In her eight years as superintendent of North Mason School District, she’s helped institute multi-tiered learning — a model that addresses the “students’ academic, behavioral and social needs using a continuum of supports, including a proactive approach for addressing the needs of the Whole Child,” according to North Mason.
Rosenbach has also experienced the struggles of balancing a budget and not passing an important levy while a superintendent.
In 2020, her school district failed to pass a levy due to a concerted “vote no” group that they initially dismissed. When Rosenbach turned around to propose another levy, she included the dissidents on the levy committee to find out exactly why they voted no. She and the district used their input to propose a levy that did pass in 2021.
“We learned how important it is to involve everybody, even the people you think don’t want to be part of the conversation,” Rosenbach said.
In Ferndale, an important 2020 operations levy was rejected by voters, but a second, smaller levy to fund schools was approved later that year. In 2022, voters approved another levy with 59% of the vote, despite significant pushback from a large group in the community encouraging others to vote no “to hold the district accountable.”
Ferndale parent Joel Saxman told Cascadia Daily News he was most interested in hearing approaches toward communication with the community.
“Whatever she does in North Mason may not translate to this if she gets this role,” Saxman said. He said he was positively intrigued at her interview and community forum by her ideas about communication and working through complex issues, like a levy failure.
Rosenbach believes as a leader, it’s important to be open and available for conversations with the community. She is of the mindset that small group conversations are the most effective, so they can find the point at which they disagree and work from there.
“A public forum is not the place to have a conversation and a meeting of the minds,” she said.
Rosenbach is the second candidate to speak at a public forum. John Parker went on March 22, and Karin “Kristi” Dominguez will go on March 24. The public has the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to the Board of Directors. The board will announce the new superintendent at 8 a.m. on March 25.
