By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle Public Schools’ search for a new superintendent is officially underway, and last week community members had their first chance to shape the process. At a gathering held at Byrd Barr Place, families, educators, and residents shared their views on what qualities the district’s next leader should embody.
“This evening is important for the Black community because we certainly want to see and hear the voices of our families, our parents, our residents,” said Beverly Redmond, Chief of Staff for Seattle Public Schools. “This is a vital part of the process of selecting a new superintendent, a new leader for the Seattle public schools.”
The event was the first in a series designed to collect perspectives from across the city. Feedback from attendees will be translated into a survey and combined with insights gathered through interviews, focus groups, and forums with students, staff, labor partners, and community members. According to Redmond, these inputs will form a District Leadership Profile Report that will help guide the selection of candidates. The report is scheduled to be presented at a special School Board meeting on August 26.
“[The feedback we get from this meeting will help us] develop what we call a district leadership profile,” Redmond said. “That profile, with all of the input from the community, is a pretty substantial report. Each and every candidate will be able to use it to begin crafting their application and moving through the selection process.”
The search process began in March with the announcement that Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones would step down at the end of his term. Soon after, the School Board hired the executive search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) to manage recruitment and help shape the process. By April, the timeline was established, and outreach to the community began.
Recruitment for candidates is already underway. The superintendent position was posted nationally over the summer and applications will be accepted until September 15. This fall, the Board will review the applicant pool, conduct interviews, and select finalists for deeper vetting. A final decision is expected before the end of the year, with the new superintendent stepping into the role for the 2025–26 school year.
Ted Howard, Seattle Public Schools Accountability Officer and former Garfield High School principal, said events like the one at Byrd Barr Place are critical to ensuring the district’s next leader reflects the priorities of the community.
“I think anytime we have an opportunity to affect change for our young people, our ancestors, our people who have done the work, we need to actually model that,” Howard said. “Our young people know how and what we care about, so they know how to move things forward.”
“Right now, we are trying to figure out in this complex situation of the world changing. How do we do this in a time period that kids who used to be able to play in a backyard, grow up naturally, how do we do that in this time period,” Howard continued. “And still give them the education, culture, the characteristics and things that they need so they can grow into a productive adulthood.”
