Peninsula Daily News news sources
OLYMPIA — Michelle Reid, assistant superintendent for the Port Angeles School District, is one of three finalists for the position of superintendent of the Olympia School District.
Reid was featured in a public forum Thursday night in Olympia, according to The Olympian.
The new Olympia schools chief will replace retiring Superintendent Bill Lahmann.
The Olympia School Board, which oversees a district serving more than 9,000 students, plans to announce its choice Monday.
“I would say, first and foremost, I just have a passion for children,” Reid, 52, was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
“I really care about public education, and I [would bring] just a passion for kids and some technical expertise in the area of teaching and learning and working with people.”
The Olympia School Board chose three finalists Saturday.
The other two finalists, who visited the district earlier this week, are:
— Jonathon Holmen, special services administrator for the Lake Washington School District in Redmond.
— Dominic “Dick” Cvitanich, superintendent of the Lake Pend Oreille School District in Ponderay, Idaho.
Reid has been assistant superintendent in the 3,968-student Port Angeles School District since 2004.
Before that, she worked as a high school principal and assistant high school principal in the district.
She also has worked as a teacher and athletic director in the Granite Falls School District.
Reid and her husband, Terry, have four children, ages 17 to 30.
In their spare time, they enjoy skiing and playing tennis.
“I’m really just a normal person thinking of joining an extraordinary system,” she said.
Port Angeles Superintendent Jane Pryne said she has been “extremely fortunate” to work with Reid.
“Although her departure would be a tremendous loss for us, we are very excited for her at the prospect of this new challenge,” Pryne said.
Reid has a bachelor’s degree in natural science and chemistry from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Washington.
She expects to earn a doctorate in education from UW in June.
She said she was impressed with the Olympia School District’s offerings, especially its array of alternative-learning programs.
