Tammy Campbell is a left-leaning activist who offers K-12 educational consulting through her consultancy firm The Scholar First. Prior to entering the parastatal consulting sector, Campbell was superintendent of the Federal Way Public School system in Washington State for six years.

She has expressed support for critical race theory-aligned “racial equity” initiatives and argued that supporting them was “the red thread” that defined her time as Federal Way superintendent. ¹

Background

Before rising to prominence as superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools, Tammy Campbell worked variously as a K-12 teacher, principal, executive director of teaching, and as a higher education faculty member at Washington State University, Gonzaga University, Seattle University, and the University of Washington. ²

Federal Way Public Schools

Starting in 2015, Tammy Campbell became the superintendent of the Federal Way Public School system in Washington state. Her biography on The Scholar First website notes that local voters approved a $500 million bond package during her superintendency to support public schools. It also asserts that during her tenure, advanced-placement participation, post-graduation enrollment at four-year post-secondary institutions, and graduation rates for non-white students all increased. ³

The Scholar First

On May 12, 2021, following her departure from the Federal Way Public School system, Tammy Campbell incorporated The Scholar First as a limited liability company, registering it with the Louisiana Secretary of State. ^{4 5} Three days later, The Scholar First signed a “letter of Agreement” with the Grand Rapids Public School system in Michigan to provide a three-hour virtual workshop for $7,000. In June 2021, the school system signed another letter with the firm for “leadership sessions” between July 2021 and June 2022 for $70,000. ⁶

According to a Consultant Report Card profile published by Parents Defending Education, a national K-12 education watchdog group, The Scholar First has done at least $77,000 worth of business with public school systems. ^{7 8} The firm’s website includes testimonials from clients such as Carol Lautenbach, the assistant superintendent of Godfrey-Lee public schools in Wyoming, Michigan, and Michal Dunn, a superintendent in NEWESD 101, a large educational cooperative-service-provider based in Northeast Washington. ^{9 10}

Activities

On July 22, 2020, the Seattle Times published an opinion piece, “Invest in a diverse teacher workforce,” coauthored by Campbell; Mia Tian, the dean of the University of Washington College of Education; and Denise Juneau, the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. The article, which begins by claiming that the United States is presently and visibly suffering from the “repercussions of white supremacy and systemic racism,” argues that the state should implement policies to facilitate a “racially diverse educator workforce.” Such policies would include offering (at the local, state, and national level) financial assistance to non-white students who aspire to teach, as well as providing mentorship and professional development programs for non-white teachers during their first years in the profession. ¹¹

On April 27, 2021, Campbell appeared as a guest on the education podcast SchoolCeo, discussing how “racial equity” was “the red thread” that ran through all her efforts during her time as superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools. ¹²

1. “Dr. Tammy Campbell: The Red Thread of Racial Equity.” SchoolCeo. April 27, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://podcast.schoolceo.com/episodes/dr-tammy-campbell-the-red-thread-of-racial-equity.
2. “About Me.” The Scholar First. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://thescholarfirst.com/?page_id=2.
3. “About Me.” The Scholar First. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://thescholarfirst.com/?page_id=2.
4. “The Scholar First, LLC.” Open Corporates. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_la/44418667K.
5. “New Domestic Filings.” Louisiana Secretary of State. May 9, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://coraweb.sos.la.gov/NewCorpNewsletters/NewCorp_20210518.txt.
6. Homepage. Scholar First. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://thescholarfirst.com/.
7. “Who We Are.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://defendinged.org/about/.
8. “Scholar First LLC (The) | Tammy Campbell.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/tammy-campbell/.
9. “About NEWESD.” NEWESD 101. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.esd101.net/about.
10. Homepage. Scholar First. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://thescholarfirst.com/.
11. Tuan, Mia; Campbell, Tammy; Juneau, Denise. “Invest in a diverse teacher workforce.” he Seattle Times. July 22, 2020. Accessed November 1, 2021.  https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/invest-in-a-diverse-teacher-workforce/.
12. “Dr. Tammy Campbell: The Red Thread of Racial Equity.” SchoolCeo. April 27, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://podcast.schoolceo.com/episodes/dr-tammy-campbell-the-red-thread-of-racial-equity.