Recent News Board of Education Standards Based Education Construction Updates

Superintendent's Profile

Robert R. Neu, Ed.S.
Superintendent, Federal Way Public Schools
Rob-Neu@fwps.org

Recent Video:

• The 2011 State of the Schools Address (25:21 Flash)

Rob Neu, to quote a colleague, “is an amazingly creative thinker who understands the growing challenges of education.”  Neu describes himself as a student-centered decision maker who firmly believes in educating the whole child. A comprehensive curriculum supported by extra-curricular programs, he says, is the foundation of American public education.

 “I understand the need to focus on student achievement as measured by No Child Left Behind. But I remain committed to engaging all students through a curriculum that taps their individual interests and brings relevance to their world,” Neu says.“Every kid has a carrot” that brings him or her to school, he adds, and that allows the school to get them engaged in learning.

Superintendent Neu was hired by the Federal Way Public Schools’ Board of Directors in April, 2010 and officially took over the leadership role on July 1, 2010.  He has proven himself as a leader in his over 20 years of experience in public education.

Prior to joining Federal Way Public Schools, Neu served as the Superintendent of Waterford School District in Waterford, Michigan for four years. He was also the district’s Director of Secondary Education for two years before that, and a principal or assistant principal for an additional 11 years. In addition to K-12 education, Neu has a background in marketing and business.

He has been an exceptional steward of district resources and, simultaneously, an effective change agent leader. Neu led the implementation of major initiatives that have resulted in consistent student achievement gains in all content areas on the Michigan’s standardized tests. While not all students are college-bound, all need to continue their education beyond high school, he emphasizes.

Using professional learning community concepts, Neu and his Waterford team developed district-wide assessments, aligned the curriculum horizontally and vertically, developed an innovative student data analysis system and increased student academic rigor.  The district has also designed intervention and enrichment core elective classes that assist with differentiating instruction and meeting each student where he/she is at in their academic growth. 

Standout communications and resource stewardship skills.
Superintendent Neu successfully led his former school district through the challenging process of reducing the district’s budget by over 25 percent, while maintaining previously existing class size ratios. The process maintained the district’s obligations to the school district stakeholders while focusing on reasonable and responsible contracts that were overwhelmingly approved by all employee groups. He also pursued and was awarded major grant funding.

Throughout this process, Superintendent Neu displayed his strengths in consensus-building. He was required to make tough decisions in order to protect the classroom.  He notes that student programming has not been compromised through the budget adjustments made over the past several years.

In good times and bad, Superintendent Neu has been committed to effective communication with all stakeholders. He developed several advisory councils which include students from each high school by racial/ethnic group. He also established an advisory group made up of a parent from each of the district’s 22 schools.  In addition, Superintendent Neu held Town Hall meetings and focused forums which are open to the community.

Superintendent Neu has a strong history of reaching out to establish relationships with governing officials at the local, regional and state levels. This has resulted in regular trips to the state capital to meet with various lawmakers, including the governor, to discuss legislation impacting public schools. He was also invited to serve on the state’s Strategic Task Force on Education.

The work that lies ahead in Federal Way.

Federal Way has experienced rapidly changing student demographics in the past decade.  It has also endured state funding cuts over the course of the past eight years, and has responded by increasing its efforts to educate state lawmakers. 

In meetings with staff, students, administrators and the greater Federal Way community, Superintendent Neu expressed his admiration for the innovative work going on in Federal Way.  He also noticed a tangible spirit of pride among people in the district.

His experience in developing student achievement programs in the Waterford School District are an excellent fit for Federal Way, where the school board has recently approved a Standards Based Learning Policy. That policy includes defining the common standards that all students should know at each grade level, and aligning curriculum horizontally and vertically to make sure all students achieve those standards.   

The work will not be easy. But, Neu emphasizes, “The worst thing we can do is settle for mediocrity.” 

There’s no doubt our world has changed drastically, and continues to. The last ten years have produced extraordinary changes in technology alone.  “Our children are going to be working in jobs that haven’t been invented yet,” Neu notes.  The system needs to look at using the technology that students bring to school every day to aid learning, he believes.

As Federal Way schools move forward under new leadership, there can be no doubt the district has found a leader that believes that it can educate all children to their full potential, and understands the urgency of making that simple belief a reality.