CRESCENT BAY — Kandy Ritter, superintendent of Cape Flattery School District, will retire at the end of the school year in June.
The Cape Flattery School Board selected Michelle Parkin, a member of the Makah tribe, for the job on Sept. 23.
She is expected to take over as head of the 500-student district in July 2016.
Parkin worked as a teacher at Neah Bay Elementary School, trained at district schools during her administrator training period, and currently works as the chief of staff for the Makah Tribal Council.
Parkin was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Ritter, 58, has been superintendent for eight years. She had worked for the school district as a teacher and principal since 1988.
“I began as a teacher at Clallam Bay School,” Ritter said Wednesday.
‘Wonderful career’
“It has been a wonderful career. I was blessed to stay in this small community. It was a good fit,” she said.
Her final day will be June 30 — the last day of the 2015-16 school year.
Ritter said she plans to spend a lot of time with family —her children and grandchildren — and relax after retirement.
Slow transition
The early selection of the new superintendent will allow Ritter to work with Parkin during a gradual transition between superintendents, Ritter said.
“We’re going to overlap quite a bit,” she said.
Under Ritter’s management, the district dramatically improved scores in both Neah Bay and Clallam Bay, where the district’s schools are located, which have test scores that soar far above state averages.
Graduation rates at the two high schools improved from the 69 percent of high school students who graduated after four years in 2004-05, to an 80 to 90 percent on-time graduation rate in more recent years.
Other improvements included an increase in the number of students who met state standards in English, math, writing and science.
Fewer than half of all students met state standards on their math, writing and science exams in 2005.
In 2014, 60 percent to 87 percent of district students met or exceeded state standards.
The district has received multiple awards for academic improvement from state and federal agencies in the past four years.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
