UW News

May 6, 2010

A new era for the Experimental Education Unit (so long, Jennifer Annable)

UW News

The close-knit community that is the UW’s Experimental Education Unit is marking its 40th birthday and the end of an era this spring — its longtime leader Jennifer Annable is leaving after 25 years with the school.


So this year’s fundraising auction, the EEU’s ninth, will celebrate Annable and all she’s done for the school in her quarter-century of service. The auction will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at the school. This year’s theme is “The Greatest School on Earth,” but with Annable’s news, she’ll likely be the star of the evening.


In fact all proceeds from the popular “Raise the Paddle” portion of the auction — where people make direct donations — will go to the Jennifer Annable Endowment, which is used to supplement teacher salaries at the EEU.


“I always thought I was going to stay and retire from here,” Annable said in her rapid-fire cadence on a recent typically busy day. “But then I turned 60 and I think I had a midlife crisis, and this job opportunity came up.”


The EEU’s principal for many years who became director earlier this spring, Annable plans to retire from the UW on July 2. She has taken the job as principal/director at the Academy for Precision Learning (APL), an independent school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade located in the University Heights Building at 50th and University Way NE. So in a way, she’s just going up the street.


The school was started in 2007 by families whose children used to attend the EEU. “It was started by these families who put their heart and soul and life savings into starting this school for their kids,” Annable said. “They tried public school and it didn’t work out, and they were looking for a spot for their kids.”


Like the EEU, the APL has typically developing children and those with special needs studying together in “small, personalized classes that help every student reach their full potential,” according to its website.


“One of the things they’re looking to do, one of the reasons they hired me, is to help build a community and expand the program,” Annable said. The school has only 19 students now, but it added a middle school-age component in the fall. Annable called the new position “an exciting opportunity for me to do something new. It’s my last hurrah as a career, you know?”


Indeed they do know her well at the EEU, and words like family and community often follow mention of her name.


“There really is no one else who has done more to establish a community, not just a school,” said Chris Matsumoto, EEU principal. “She’s really the person who shaped the community for what it is in terms of family involvement and in terms of connection to the outside community, whether it’s the Seattle School District or other agencies or community members being interested in partnering with us and donating to the cause — really, a lot of that started with her.”


Matsumoto said he has learned from Annable “not only to put families first, but to view the entire (school) community as a family,” including staff, families of current and former students, and supportive local businesses.


Annable said it’s hard to leave because of all her close ties to the EEU. “It’s been really hard because I love and care about all the families and the kids and I have long-term relationships with Zee (Yilma Zelalem, the school’s longtime secretary) and all the people who have been her forever.”


She said, “I’ve seen this place grow and change and become what it is today.” Annable said she remembers well her years there with colleague and lifelong friend Cecile Lindquist, with whom she shared the first-ever Distinguished Staff Award, back in 1997.


Lindquist, in turn, had glowing praise for her old friend. “She was an outstanding principal at the EEU and she managed to work with everybody — the parents, the children, all the staff, whether it’s classroom staff or administrative staff.” Lindquist added, “I can’t even explain how close everybody is who works together at the EEU, it was a great commitment on everybody’s part.”


“Jennifer has left a wonderful legacy of care and concern — and excellence in education.”


EEU supporters have a history of opening their wallets for the annual auction, which each year offers splendid items donated from throughout the community. This year’s auction, being the 40th, promises more fundraising fun, with biddable items such as trips and cruises, parties, classes and workshops, music, hand-created art and a lot more.


Annable’s position of director will not be filled due to budget cuts, but the school will hire an assistant principal to serve with Matsumoto. Annable said that just as Lindquist has continued to be a mentor to her, “I think I can do the same with Chris.”


The EEU is in good shape and the time is right for a change, Annable said. “It’s got a national reputation, things are really going well, research and training are really prevalent. It has become the Haring Center and the school is a piece of that.


“It’s just kind of like perfect timing,” she said. “If I’m going to go, now’s the time.”


For more information about the auction, visit online here, call 206-685-9207 or e-mail eventeeu@u.washington.edu.


To learn more about the Haring Center and the EEU, visit online here.