First in a series
[img]1451|left|Supt. Patti Jaffe||no_popup[/img]Going into her final School Board meeting tonight – 7 o’clock in Council Chambers – Supt. Patti Jaffe’s demeanor resembled a Super going into her first meeting.
Upbeat, cheerful, not a whisker of nostalgia in view even though this is her last Tuesday, her last Wednesday, her last Thursday, her last Friday.
For someone supposed to be sentimental and occasionally emotional, Ms. Jaffe’s sunny mien was more like that of the gentleman said to be hanging out in the wings, prepared to succeed her in a few days.
These are among the subtle but crucial reasons she not only has lasted but starred for 42 years in the Culver City Unified School District. Her career has been about what she says, what she believes, not about her personality or her anything else that is intensely personal smothered by layers of privacy.
Except for a select clutch of intimates, no one throughout the school network ever knew whether she was having a down day or if something was going sideways in her personal life. She never let on.
Even and consistent, she also was congenial and businesslike. Curious types never were allowed to pry below the enigmatic surface.
After four decades in the classroom and at the deputy level in administration, Ms. Jaffe’s original strategy, to retire two years ago this month, was blown up when Super Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté abruptly resigned over Memorial Day weekend.
Tired, Retired, Unretired
Through the darnedest set of coincidences and happy circumstances, Ms. Jaffe was convinced to be the Interim Super and then the permanent Super.
The cream that is Ms. Jaffe rose to the top at a propitious time in Culver City history:
Exactly at the right time, as the once sleepy waystop was maturing into a genuine destination after a decade of striving for sophisticated expansion.
Unlike her two immediate predecessors, Ms. Jaffe bleeds and breathes Culver City. No game-playing. No hiding under the desk. Media savvy, she understands why it is vital to answer questions and proudly represent the face of Culver City.
Ms. Jaffe was not LittleMiss Muffet who sat on a tuffet – some people just don’t like her. If it is a numbers game, though, the overwhelming number of people do.
Again allegedly unlike her two immediate predecessors, by intention and by fact, she will walk out the door with spotless hands and a clean heart financially, not trying to slip a big fat fish through a keyhole.
(To be continued)
