A Zenlike approach to running Seattle's schools

At Seattle's Sanislo Elementary School, greetings in more than a dozen languages welcome visitors, including, on a recent surprise visit, Interim Superintendent Raj Manhas.

Quickly scanning the laminated signs, Manhas comes across one and exclaims, "That's my language! Punjabi!"

"But it should go the other way," he says matter of factly, plucking the sign from the wall, rotating it 180 degrees and sticking it back. He shoots a look at Principal Eric Nelson and his staff, whose faces have all gone pale, then lets out a high-pitched laugh. Everyone relaxes and laughs with him.

In the four months since the Seattle School Board appointed Manhas to temporarily take the reins of the state's largest school district, some observers say the mild-mannered former chief operating officer has quickly built trust with diverse groups, sought out opinions before making tough decisions and kept everyone focused on helping children achieve.

Even as a community advisory panel has asked the School Board to begin its superintendent search anew, some think the best candidate is sitting right next to them. Manhas should get the job, they suggest.

"He's one of those jewels that's wrapped in plain paper," said Lisa Macfarlane, a board member of Schools First!, a group that will campaign next year for the school levy, which accounts for one-fifth of the district's operating budget. "Because of his style, because he doesn't toot his own horn, I think people are slowly realizing that. At the time we started the search he was an unknown. My sense is he's done very well. Stability is something the district could benefit from."

Princess Shareef, principal at Meany Middle School, got to know Manhas during a leadership retreat this summer and says he could be superintendent, even though he's not an educator by training.

"He's a very bright man who I believe would surround himself with educators who have the skills to help him lead the district," Shareef said. "His own beginnings are not lofty, so I think he identifies with regular kids, their needs and where they come from. He's a person who brings people together. He's a humble human being."

Asked whether he wants the job he didn't apply for, Manhas is uncharacteristically indirect in his reply.

"I will do whatever I can, but the board has to decide it," he said. "I believe in public education. It is the foundation of democracy and it has made me who I am. I don't walk away from problems and issues. Whatever I can contribute, I will contribute, and I have an exceptional group working with me."

For a tall, slim fellow whose first name (Raj) is derived from the Sanskrit word for king or ruler, Manhas is a simple man who bends down awkwardly at a child's water fountain in an elementary school. He sits at eye level to listen intently as principals talk about their frustrations and gets choked up after visiting schools where homeless kids are succeeding.

Three years ago, he gave up alcohol, dedicated himself to a daily ritual of yoga and meditation and focused on maintaining a life of balance after a hard-charging career that took him through the banking industry, parks development and public utilities.

Since he joined Seattle Public Schools on Oct. 10, 2001, he has worked long days to restore the district's financial health — and is largely credited for succeeding in that task. He has felt the stress of having to make tough decisions.

"It's minor compared to what the folks are doing in the classrooms," Manhas says.

Rajinder Singh Manhas, 55, was born the fifth of six children, in Paldi, a village in northern India, six months after the subcontinent, free of British rule in 1947, was partitioned into India and Pakistan. His Sikh family lost the land they had farmed and fled as refugees to India.

He grew up in Saroya and went to a school that didn't offer much; he didn't have a desk until ninth grade. Manhas spent some of his childhood working with his brothers and father, planting wheat, corn, sugar cane and vegetables.

He looked up to his eldest brother, who came to the United States to study. His brother earned a doctorate from the University of Texas in Austin in 1964 and became a beacon of hope for all his siblings.

"Everyone sort of followed," Manhas said. "Everyone realized we need to get ourselves out of this by education."

Manhas won a scholarship to Punjab University, where he earned an engineering degree. But he had bigger mountains to climb.

Manhas landed in the United States on Sept. 15, 1973. Specifically, in Seattle. He didn't know a soul, and was there to begin graduate classes at the University of Washington.

"I had borrowed money for one quarter's fees and I didn't know where I was going to go for the second quarter, but things worked out," Manhas recalled. He won a scholarship and went on to earn an industrial engineering degree. He decided engineering wasn't for him. After 17 years in banking, he decided that wasn't what he wanted to do, either. He applied for a job with Seattle's Department of Parks and Recreation as director of facilities maintenance and development.

"It was a little bit of a gamble because it was his first public-sector job," said Ken Bounds, then the department's deputy superintendent. "It turned out to be a very wise move. He was able to work with the blue-collar shop folks and the white-collar architects; he was able to build that team. It takes a certain kind of skill to bridge those gaps."

Manhas went on to become deputy superintendent of the Seattle Water Department and later, from 1997 to 2001, director of field operations for Seattle Public Utilities. Then Joseph Olchefske, superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, called Manhas to discuss joining the district.

After touring the district's dilapidated old headquarters, Manhas recalls leaving Olchefske with these words: "How can you people continue work like this?"

Manhas joined the district anyway. Once the worst was known about the financial crisis, he recalls thinking, "Do I really want to stick around? I've never walked away from anything."

Since becoming interim superintendent, his motto has been "hope, health and healing."

He said he is most proud of the culture of teamwork he has instilled and the focus people have on helping kids.

"The work at Seattle Public Schools I've been involved in has been the most satisfying job I've had in my life," Manhas said. But can he raise test scores, turn around struggling schools, motivate teachers or deal with demanding interest groups?

At a school where 80 percent of students are so poor they qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, a teacher recently told Manhas he pushes kids just enough to stretch them but not break them. Manhas was about to say that the concept comes from a Buddhist story, but thought better of giving a lecture and instead congratulated the teacher for all his hard work.

Manhas later shared the story: "He was teaching a lesson of life to someone who was playing a string instrument. If you tighten it too much, it will break. If it's too loose, it won't have any tone. That's the sort of balance in life, balance in everything you do."

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103

Information in this article, originally published October 3, was corrected October 10. A previous version of the story said Raj Manhas was the fifth of six children. Manhas is the fifth of seven children. Also a biographical box accompanying the article and stated incorrectly that his son is 23 years old. His son is 22.