Superintendent Search

The Northshore Board of Directors has launched a formal process to seek the next superintendent of our school district. The School Board is conducting a national search and is committed to a transparent and thorough process, and invites you to return to this page for updates that will include more details about how community members, families, students, and staff may engage in the process moving forward, the anticipated timeline, and other updates.

The School Board hopes to announce the next Northshore School District superintendent by mid-May 2025.

 

National Superintendent Search Timeline

This timeline will serve as a calendar of important dates and milestones in the stakeholder engagement and superintendent selection process. It will be updated as needed.

 

Northshore Superintendent Finalists

The Northshore School Board is excited to announce our three finalists for the 2025-26 superintendent position. Finalists were selected after an extensive public engagement process, including a broad community survey and interviews with staff, students, labor partners, community partners, and families about the desired experience and qualities of our next superintendent. 

Thirty-two individuals applied and 6 applicants were moved forward for first-round School Board consideration representing high-performing districts from across the nation. After completing the first-round interviews, the Board is honored to present the finalists to our students, staff, and community.

click here to learn more about the finalists

 

Public Engagement

Town Hall

Superintendent candidates will participate in a Town Hall on Tuesday, May 13. The Town Hall will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Northshore Concert Hall at Inglemoor High School (15500 Simonds Road NE, Kenmore). The Town Hall will also be live streamed below and an online feedback form will be available so anyone can provide the School Board with their input on the finalists, either in person at the event or while viewing the livestream.

Town Hall Survey Links: 

The survey will open at 5:30 p.m. prior to the Town Hall and close that same evening at 9:30 p.m.

When completing the survey, you will have the option of selecting the candidate you are providing feedback about within the survey. You will need to complete the survey THREE times, once for each candidate.

 

Watch the Town Hall Live on Tuesday, May 13

 

Community Survey and Focus Groups

The Northshore community was encouraged to share input on the next superintendent’s desired experience and qualifications through an online survey. The translated online survey asked respondents to rate the importance of various qualifications for the position. The survey was open from March 14 to March 31, 2025. Over 2,000 individuals responded, an increase of 829 respondents from the 2022 Superintendent Search. 

In addition, the Superintendent Search Firm, Ray & Associates, hosted individual meetings and focus groups with community leaders, elected officials, labor partners, staff, students, funders, and current District committees, etc. to complement the community survey. These focus groups took place on March 25 and 26. 

The School Board will use the online community survey results, individual and focus group meeting feedback to understand the values of our Northshore community and qualities and experience people believe the next superintendent should possess. This compiled feedback supported the School Board’s determination of these 12 characteristics desired for our next superintendent.

To learn about the community engagement findings, please review Ray & Associates' Northshore School District Stakeholder Report. 

 

Northshore School District Highlights

The Northshore School District, a high performing public school system, serving the Washington state communities of Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville, and surrounding areas, is seeking to hire an experienced, equity-focused leader as its Superintendent for the 2025-26 school year.

With a mission to strengthen community through excellence in education, the Northshore School District serves more than 22,000 students in 34 schools. The District is located just northeast of Seattle, spanning 60 square miles and two counties in a flourishing and highly desirable area for families and businesses.

Notable highlights about Northshore School District:

  • Northshore’s work is guided by a bold, five-year strategic plan (2022-2027) focused on ensuring racial and educational justice. 
  • Northshore students are high achieving, outperforming the state average on graduation rate, the SAT, and ACT. Ninety-five percent of students graduate in four years and over 80% of students pursue higher education. 
  • Students also have access to robust extracurriculars in every school. These opportunities include award-winning visual and performing arts programs, robotics, celebrated athletic programs, and more. 
  • Northshore is a language-rich District, serving students that speak over 100 languages and dialects. 
  • Northshore celebrates its diverse student population and is committed to supporting the unique needs of every student and helping them to succeed. 
  • Northshore educators are highly accomplished, as we are home to the 2025 Washington State Teacher of the Year, 2025 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year, 2025 WEA Education Support Professional of the Year, and the 2025 Washington State Secondary Teacher-Librarian of the Year.
  • The district has a legacy of strong community support, having most recently approved two educational levies and one capital construction bond in February 2022. The bond, which needed 60 percent approval from the community, is helping the district maintain and modernize our school buildings and support the district’s commitment to equity and excellence for years to come.