Highline Superintendent Finalists

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Highline Announces Finalists for Superintendent Position

Field narrowed down to two candidates

The Highline School Board has chosen two finalists for Superintendent. The board reached a decision in deliberations this weekend, after an intense round of interviews with four candidates. The new superintendent will replace Dr. Joe McGeehan, who is retiring in June. The two finalists are:

Dr. Kay Royster:

Dr. Royster has served as superintendent of two school districts: Peoria, Illinois and Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has also held several other leadership positions in school districts across the nation, including Assistant Superintendent for Instruction of the Atlanta Public Schools and Chief Academic Officer of the Detroit Public Schools. Dr. Royster has worked closely with the business community and participates in many civic and professional organizations locally and nationally. In each major leadership role, Dr. Royster has spearheaded a strategic planning process engaging parents, citizens, and employees in setting the direction for improving the achievement of students. Her work is characterized by an emphasis on professional development and significant increases in student achievement.

Mr. John Welch:

Mr. Welch has been the deputy superintendent for Highline Public Schools for three years. Mr. Welch has worked in both K-12 education and in post-secondary education, most recently working as the vice president of South Seattle Community College and prior to that several years in the Federal Way School District. Mr. Welch brings experience from the private sector and municipal government working for the Boeing Company and for the City of Tacoma. As deputy superintendent, Mr. Welch is responsible for leading the teaching and learning and school improvement efforts for all Highline schools including high school design and the creation of Aviation High School. Mr. Welch's expertise has been to identify and align resources, conduct research, and help implement best teaching and learning practices.

The school board will do a final round of interviews next week, which will be open to the public. The interviews will be held at ERAC, located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW in Burien. The interview with Dr. Kay Royster will be held March 1, 6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.; the interview with Mr. John Welch will be on March 2, 6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

A panel of approximately 30 community members, representative of stakeholder groups, was selected by the school board to attend the interviews and provide written impressions of each candidate based on the interview questions posed by the board. The board plans to make a final decision on a superintendent by mid-March. The new superintendent will start on July 1, 2005.