The new Seattle School District superintendent, Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, spent her first day on the job attending classes.

On July 9, her first official day in the job, the superintendent toured West Seattle High School, where she sat in on a summer school class.

Riding a yellow school bus packed with members of the media, Goodloe-Johnson first toured Northgate Elementary School to watch teachers be trained in the "Everyday Mathematics" program, the district's new math curriculum. Then she moved on to West Seattle High School to talk to students in a Language Arts credit-retrieval class and students in a drivers' education course.

This is part of Goodloe-Johnson's plan to spend the first 120 days on the job touring schools in the district and assessing the current system. This strategy is similar to the "Charleston Plan for Excellence" she developed as superintendent in Charleston County, S.C. After spending several months consulting with students, teachers and parents, she hopes to have developed a long-term improvement plan by February.

"I have an entry plan which really consists of listening, learning, visiting the schools, looking at the data to see what is working, what's not working, what's in the schools, to really understand the system," said Goodloe-Johnson.

Last April, Goodloe-Johnson was offered a three-year contract with a $240,000 annual salary. She is Seattle's second female superintendent and the first black woman to ever hold the position. She is also the first professional educator to hold the position in more than a decade.

The language arts class Goodloe-Johnson attended is part of the Seattle Public Schools Summer School Programs, a program in which students who are not meeting standards in core subjects can master skills in credit-retrieval and focused study courses. There are spaces for more than 2500 students in the program, which is hosted at West Seattle, Ballard, Franklin and Aki Kurose courses.

Goodloe-Johnson stopped to talk to each student in the class individually, asking their opinions about West Seattle High School. According to Goodloe-Johnson, the students were positive about the school and many said there is "nothing they would change."

"One student specifically said she really appreciated smaller classes," Goodloe-Johnson said.

After speaking to students at West Seattle High School, Goodloe-Johnson said she plans to tour more campuses and speak to students on the first day of school.

Kat Lewin may be contacted at wseditor@robinsonnews.com