With all the craziness surrounding the Marysville School District the past several months, it might be difficult for some people to recall that there’s another Superintendent Whitehead in Snohomish County.
Carol Whitehead has led the Everett School District since 2000 and she was just named superintendent of the year by the Washington Association of School Administrators. Not bad for a person who was the first in her family to attend college. Not bad for anyone, actually.
Whitehead deserves credit for earning the praise of the entire school board, which participated fully in filling out the forms to nominate her.
Upon her arrival here in 2000 she announced, "I believe that public education is the heart of a democratic society. It is critical that we work to keep public education alive."
One has only to glimpse at her resume to know she has proven her dedication to public education — not just in Everett and this state, but throughout the country.
She taught her first class of 45 first-graders in a rural Alabama town. Many of those children hadn’t been to kindergarten and some didn’t even know how to hold a pencil properly.
She has also taught in Georgia, Florida and Indiana. In Washington, she has served school districts in Tacoma, Federal Way and Bremerton. She was no stranger to the Everett School District when she came aboard as its superintendent. Between 1978 and 1988 she was a reading specialist, principal and director of curriculum and instruction.
Her next challenging role will include figuring out, along with her staff, how to meet demanding state and federal standards for student achievement. It’s a mandate familiar to every other district in the country as well, one delivered in an effort to keep public education alive and thriving to meet the demands of an ever-changing business world.
With a solid work history behind her, a knack for making tough decisions in a warm and personal manner, and the recent recognition of her efforts, Whitehead is in the perfect position to meet this latest challenge.
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